After its most successful season in recent years, the Kansas University tennis team has realistic hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2007.

“We definitely have very high expectations, and I think with the year the girls had, they want to continue building,” KU coach Amy Hall-Holt said. “They understand the importance of each of their matches, and with some good wins last year, we’re really wanting to make it into the NCAA Tournament. And they have definitely been putting in the time and effort over the summer to get to that level.”

The Jayhawks lost just one player, Christine Skoda, to graduation.

With an extra year of experience under the belts of key athletes like junior Elizaveta Avdeeva and sophomore Ksenia Bukina, KU could improve on its 14-11 record.

The stellar play of Avdeeva and Bukina in the 2005-2006 season garnered them spots on the All-Big 12 singles team. But put them together on a doubles team, and it potentially spells doom for their opponents; they also earned All-Big 12 doubles honors.

Having some of the top performers in the conference should make for a smooth transition for newcomer Kunigunda Dorn – Hall-Holt’s lone freshman recruit.