After finishing in eighth place out of the nine Missouri Valley Conference teams last year, the women’s tennis team is looking to improve its ranking in the conference this season.

“We would like to finish higher in the conference than we have the past few years, and we believe with hard work we can do that,” said Tom Lilly, the Jays’ head coach of 13 years.

In the fall, the Jays participated in a tough program to improve their strength and conditioning.

“It has paid off for most [of the team] in a big way,” Lilly said.

Along with their fitness, they have focused on improving their doubles play. With most members of the team having new doubles partners, they’ll need to get used to playing and communicating with each other. Doubles positioning and playing smarter tennis will be one of the other keys to making big strides this season.

“[Coach Lilly] wants us to improve our movement in doubles,” said sophomore Kelsey Schmidt, the team leader in overall wins last season. “We are going to have to work hard at practice to turn our improved doubles movement into habit.”

Their tough non-conference schedule will generate many challenges along the way, but Lilly hopes that bringing extra intensity into matches and practices will help them overcome many of those challenges. If the Jays can finish higher than last year in the Valley, they will break into the top seven in the conference for the first time since 2005. Senior captain Tess Reddin is confident that their goals are achievable.

“All the girls have been working hard and have been making lots of progress,” Reddin said, “The team is much stronger this year than in the recent past. We also have a freshman (Anna Kirshenbaum) who is a great addition.”

Reddin, who recently broke into the top 10 in Creighton career victories, has been the Jays’ top player for the past two years. Last season, she was in the top half of players at the one singles position in the MVC. She is a leader by example and keeps quiet and calm on the court.

“I call her the ‘silent assassin’ because she just goes out and does her job on the court without saying much,” Lilly said.

Lindsey Erickson is also a senior captain and provides great leadership for the team. Since having surgery over the summer, she appears to be playing her best tennis, which is perfect timing considering the Jays are just four matches into the season.

Despite starting the season 1-3, the Jays are staying positive and are looking to pick up a win in their next match on Saturday in Lincoln against the University of Wyoming.

“Our main goal is to be playing our best tennis during April and in the conference tournament,” Lilly said.

If they can do that, they just might have their best season in years.