By Mason Clarke
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Excitement and anticipation surround the Iowa women’s tennis team as its autumn competition begins.

The 2015-16 squad is very young, with five newcomers making up half of the team’s 10 positions. The team may not have much experience, but veteran head coach Katie Dougherty likes what she has seen at the last few weeks of practice.

There is especially confidence about the team’s four freshmen.

“They’re doing a really good job,” Dougherty said. “I can’t ask for more from them.”

Also new to the team is junior Natalie Looney, a transfer from South Carolina, who the coaching staff feels has added quite a bit to the team.

While this year’s team may include a large number of new players, don’t count out the tremendous leadership and experience of senior Annette Dohanics.

She has played for the team for the past three seasons, holding a career won-loss percentage, in singles and doubles combined, of better than .500. In all of her seasons on the squad, Dohanics has won the team’s Grinder Award, a further display of her dedication to the game and to her team.

Dougherty said she has seen great leadership so far this season from Dohanics.

“The thing that comes to mind when I think of [Dohanics] is, you know, how hard she fights out there,” Dougherty said. “If we can get 10 people fighting that hard, we’re going to be in a good position.”

Assistant coach Denise Dy is also happy with the work of Dohanics.

“It’s really overpowering sometimes having one senior and five new players … but I think [Dohanics] has done a fantastic job so far, and she’s very grounded,” Dy said. “She has a good mindset … I think we’ll see good things from her.”

Dougherty noted that the team has put in extra sets throughout the last four weeks of practice. The coaches both noted their players have taken on a competition-like mindset — important, because practice becomes games this weekend.

“[The freshmen] are going to be the young ones starting off, so I’m pretty excited to see them come out and see what they’re going to bring onto the table,” Dy said.

The freshmen won’t be the only new things Iowa sees this weekend. A new scoring system is expected to have an effect on the Hawkeyes.

The Division-I Competition Oversight Committee announced this year that a no-advantage scoring system would be put into place, beginning with the fall season.

The system makes for quicker matches, as a set can be won on the first point scored after the score is 40-40, as opposed to the required 2-point victory in past seasons.

Dougherty thinks the scoring system could potentially help her team out.

“We’re going to be getting used to that even more and using that to our advantage,” she said. “The new scoring system favors the underdog a little bit more and the person who’s willing to step up in the moment.”

As the fall tennis season commences, Dougherty wants her team to develop.

“We’re going to be looking for growth,” she said. “Just competing hard and smart and getting after it out there.”

Follow @makeclarson for news, updates, and analysis on the Iowa women’s tennis team.