Ready to erase last year?s dismal record of 5-15 and start this season?s schedule, the women?s tennis team is ready to come out and compete in the Big Sky Conference.

“It?s the strongest team the school has ever had,” head coach Bill Campbell said. “I would be disappointed if we were not over .500 for the season.”

Campbell, starting his third season as head coach is finally seeing his players come together. “We had a very good recruiting year,” Campbell said. “This is the first year that I have all the players that I recruited.”

According to Campbell, this year?s team will consist of only one senior, and a number of juniors.Some of the players to watch this season will be Italina Kirkenis, Gabriella Lundqvist, Laila Karim, and Marta Gronowicz. Campbell also said that Caroline Svensson, returning from last year?s team, has vastly improved in the last year.

“We have a bunch of girls that are very good,” Campbell said. “We have nine players on the team, and they all can play. The whole team will be fun to watch.”

This year?s schedule should be very rewarding for the team. They will travel to Honolulu, taking part in the Hawaii Team Tournament, and toward seasons end they will host the Big Sky Championships.

Hosting the Big Sky Championships should give the Hornets extra motivation, giving them the opportunity to take part in the tournament it will host.

“There are usually three or four teams in the Big Sky that are real good,” Campbell said. “I want to win so that we can make the Big Sky. We can challenge for the Big Sky.”

Other notable dates on the schedule are UC Santa Barbara, which according to Campbell is usually a ranked team. The team will also host UC Davis, and Campbell believes that he has a team that will be competitive against the Aggies.

Home matches for the Hornets will be played at Rio Del Oro Racquet Club near campus.Sac State, according to Campbell, is expected to compete in the Big Sky Conference because of its depth and strong group of players.

“We have a lot of depth on the team. We have a strong group of girls that are ready to play,” Campbell said. “It will be good tennis.”