When a pair of seniors-to-be approached Douglas High girls' tennis head coach Roger Rusmisel about amping up the offseason workout routine last winter, the team came away with a clear mission for the future.
"Our intent, from that moment on, has been to make girls' tennis at Douglas High School on par with volleyball and girls' soccer at the school," Rusmisel said. "We want to field an athletic and competitive squad and we know that in order to do that, we have to build through our offseason program."
Those seniors, Cesarina Ceglia and Jamie Lundergreen, have become what Rusmisel calls the face of Douglas Tiger tennis in the months since.
"They are our co-captains," he said. "They came to me and asked if we could start doing weights and offseason workouts.
"We started in February running and working out and we are seeing the results now. The girls really bought into it. We worked out three days a week for most of the summer and we had an average of 12 girls every practice. We only have 13 on the team, so that's obviously a substantial percentage.
"The girls on the whole are stronger and more fit. The first-year players from last year have seen dramatic improvements and the more seasoned players have gotten even better."
Ceglia, a fourth-year letter winner, will be a part of a singles rotation that includes two-time defending regional champion Amelia Ritger and freshman Kari TenBroeck, who has been a strong competitor on regional juniors circuits for years.
"When you look at who we have, we are right there with Reno and Galena in singles," Rusmisel said. "We are as strong as any other team out there.
"Amelia kind of speaks for herself and Ces wasn't seeded at regionals last year but she beat four girls who were seeded. She's just a talented player."
Ritger, a junior, comes into the year having never lost a Northern 4A match (a streak of 67 matches).
"Amelia is mentally tougher than anyone else out there," Rusmisel said. "People watch her play and kind of discount her because she doesn't rely on that power game all the time. She is just a very intelligent, very patient player.
"She's certainly a favorite to win the region again, but a lot of the top players are back. It'll be a tough slate and anytime you have a streak like that, the pressure kind of builds over time. But she, if anyone, is capable of handling it."
Ceglia has posted a 37-23 record in singles matches over the past two years and was a standout on the doubles side as a freshman.
While the singles side is essentially set, Douglas will be rebuilding its doubles pool with some key returning components.
Lundergreen, who started in the No. 3 doubles slot with Sarah Weaver last year, will likely slide into the No. 1 slot with Linsey Glass.
"Jamie is going to be a very strong doubles player and Linsey is a two-time letter winner for us," Rusmisel said. "They could be a good pairing for us."
Weaver, now a sophomore, may end up pairing with her sister, Emily, in the No. 2 slot.
Emily Weaver has been an all-league shortstop for the Tiger softball team the past three years and came out for tennis this year.
"Emily brings a lot of that athleticism and competitiveness that make her such a great softball player," Rusmisel said. "She and Sarah could be a very powerful team."
He also said that junior Katie Sawicki should be involved in the doubles starting lineup as well, although he'll be testing out pairings across the board to find a suitable fit for everyone.
"We have a small returning core on doubles but there are some real important newcomers that we are hoping for big things from," he said.
Another newcomer that Rusmisel said he thinks could make an immediate contribution is Susie White, who has been a standout performer for the Douglas track & field and basketball teams in the past two seasons.
"We recruited her to come out for Tennis and it's the same as with Emily, she brings a lot of athleticism to the table," Rusmisel said. "She's a beginning player but her overall competiveness and experience as a varsity athlete gives her a good edge."
Douglas is coming off a 7-4 season as a team and its third-consecutive playoff appearance.
Joey Crandall can be reached at (775) 782-5121, ext. 212.
