In 1999, the women’s tennis team posted a 1-15 record, and first-year coach Bill Campbell got to sort through all of four scholarship requests.

Seven seasons and four Big Sky championships later, Campbell had 380 applicants from all over the globe to choose from this season. And with a roster made up exclusively of foreign-born players, the Hornets international flavor is evident.

That’s what a successful program can buy you, options. But the program’s success is built on signing the best of the talent available.

“Other sports in the recruiting process, they are recruiting for positions -an offensive lineman, or a running back,” Campbell said. “I basically try to recruit for a No. 1 all the time. I’m also looking for players who have big upside. Players that have nice strokes, and have a lot of room in their game to continue to improve if they work hard.”

A tough schedule against ranked opponents, like those that Campbell engineers yearly, can elevate a program’s national standing considerably, which can in turn lure international talent. “As soon as we got nationally ranked, the number of young people sending requests began to skyrocket,” Campbell said.

With better recruiting comes better chances of beating ranked schools. It’s a cycle and one that Campbell seems to be riding effortlessly.

“In all honesty, I don’t find it hard. I love to recruit,” Campbell said.

Sure, every now and again, he’s admittedly made the wrong choice. Prospects don’t always show what they’re made of in a telephone conversation or one day’s performance at a tournament. But despite adding six freshman recruits to only two returning starters, the team is ranked No. 52 in the nation.

Athletic Director Terry Wanless said Campbell’s recruiting savvy is as important as his coaching. “The results of the program show the quality of the recruiting,” Wanless said. “Recruiting is the lifeblood of success, but once they are recruited, they need to get better over time, and that is something we have seen.

“I’m not sure people understand what a good teacher he is.”

Campbell explained that the first step in a foreign recruit’s search begins with location more often than not, typically looking to schools with warmer climates such as California and Florida. Next, they’ll check to see which schools are nationally ranked, and then find out whether those schools tend to recruit foreign players.

Star senior Margarita Karnaukhova met Campbell at a tournament at Sacramento’s Rio Del Oro Racquet Club, one of the many clubs ran by Campbell’s company, Spare Time Inc.

“He said if I wanted to play, I could come to Sacramento,” Karnaukhova said. “I ended up not even considering other options.”

She also said that while Sacramento’s warm climate, ranked program and exceptional practice facility all play their part in a recruit’s decision, it’s the intangibles that really mattered to her.”It is more important to have a team that has girls with great personalities that you can have good relationships with, instead of only thinking about a team’s ranking,” Karnaukhova said.

Josh Terrell can be reached at [email protected]