The Iowa women’s tennis team will open the season this weekend with the Tribe Invitational in Williamsburg, Virginia.

The Hawkeyes will start the round-robin dual tournament today at 1 p.m., against William and Mary. Following that, they will face Old Dominion at 1 p.m. Saturday and Dartmouth at 8 a.m. Sept. 17.

“We’re looking forward to starting the season,” head coach Sasha Schmid said. “It’s always great to go out to the first tournament and really see what we can do.”

This is Schmid’s second year as head coach. In her début season, she coached the Hawkeyes to their first Big Ten tournament since 2014. Under Schmid’s command, Iowa won its first nine matches last year, tying the best start in program history.

If the weather permits, the Hawkeyes’ tournament will be held on the outdoor courts at the Millie West Tennis Facility in Williamsburg. If weather isn’t ideal, they will play inside the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center in Williamsburg.

The team welcomes three freshmen — Danielle Burich, Yufei Long, and Danielle Bauers — to the program this season. The freshmen playing in Williamsburg are joined by five returning Hawkeyes: Zoe Douglas, Anastasia Reimchen, Montana Crawford, and Adorabol Huckleby.

“The freshmen haven’t played [with us], and I’m really excited to see them compete,” Schmid said. “This is a great opportunity for us.”

The first-year Hawkeyes are just as eager for the opportunity to play alongside Iowa’s veterans for the first time.

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“I think I’m most excited about competing with the team and seeing how all of our hard work has paid off,” Bauers said.

She was named a five-star recruit and ranked No. 40 in the nation among high-schoolers by tennisrecruiting.com.

On Sept. 12, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced that Douglas, the team captain, was ranked No. 92 in its preseason college poll. She was joined by teammate Elise van Heuvelen, who ranks 117th.

Perhaps even more exciting, the duo was ranked No. 42 in the nation as a doubles team.

“They’re two really great players, and they complement each other really well,” Schmid said.

But at the end of the day, a ranking won’t win a game, van Heuvelen said.

“Ranking is just a number, so I just want to keep getting better,” she said.

Unfortunately, the duo won’t be seen in Williamsburg — van Heuvelen suffered a minor calf strain last week and will not travel.

The pair, however, should play at the ITA All-American Tournament on Oct. 3.

In preparation for the Tribe Invitational, the Hawkeyes focused on meshing youth and veteran leadership.

“We’ve been doing a lot of team bonding stuff, with three new freshmen, just getting ready for Friday,” van Heuvelen said. “We’ve done a lot of singles and doubles drills, and Zoe [has] really helped with that. [Schmid] has been really helpful.”

The veterans have a lot to teach the newcomers, and their influence has been rubbing off, it seems.