The return of students to campus also marks the time in which Iowa women’s tennis gets back into the swing of things for its upcoming season.

The Hawkeyes will bring back just four players from the 2017-18 roster, including lone senior Adorabol Huckleby. The others are sophomore Danielle Burich, sophomore Danielle Bauers, and junior Elise van Huevelen Treadwell. Four incoming freshmen and one sophomore transfer student will fill out the revamped roster.

“We are definitely excited to get the season underway,” said head coach Sasha Schmid. “We are still getting used to each other since this is a new team, but we are building our chemistry and learning about each other each and every day.”

The Hawkeye chemistry will need some time to rebuild before Iowa’s first match at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Regionals on Oct. 12 in Iowa City. The opening tournament will provide a great chance for some of the younger athletes to gain experience for the spring season. New additions Michelle Bacalla, Sophie Clark, Samantha Mannix, Cloe Ruette, and transfer Ashleigh Jacobs will get a chance find out what Hawkeye tennis is all about.

When speaking about her freshman class, Schmid is optimistic about their ability to compete.

“We have a great group of new kids,” she said. “I think the tennis is strong and that we will be a lot deeper than we have been in years past. You can see they are hungry and are ready to compete hard for the Hawkeyes and each other.”

Although this roster is a younger than last year’s team, Schmid isn’t that concerned with how much veteran leadership was lost to graduation.

“It’s always tough to lose great seniors,” she said. “We had a great senior class last year, so that’s what we are trying to develop now with this team. We only have one senior this year, so leadership is going to have to come from a lot of different classes this season.”

That leadership starts with Iowa’s sole senior, Huckleby. Last season as a junior, she had an up-and-down season, finishing 8-12. Now, being the lone senior, she is ready to take her game to the next level while also helping the younger players learn the Iowa way of tennis.

“We have a lot of new girls,” she said. “So I’m excited to see how the team dynamic changes as we move along. I’m looking to be a good senior to these girls by being happy, positive, and leading by example. I want to show them what Iowa tennis is all about.”

Besides a new start, another thing Iowa has going for it is its health. Last season, the Hawkeyes had numerous injuries causing them to fall to a 10-14 record. Right now, Iowa is fully healthy for the first time in a long time, leaving room for plenty of success.

Schmid sees a lot of strengths in the squad, but the one that she feels most strongly about is the depth.

“I think our overall depth is the strongest part of our team,” she said. “Other things that I like about our team is our overall chemistry as well as our competitive spirit. I think we are also going to fight and compete really hard. These are the things that I think are going to be in our favor the rest of the way.”