Although Patriot League action hasn't begun yet, AU is already on top of the rankings for Women's Tennis.
Sure, it's on top because it's first alphabetically, but with the team winning back-to-back Patriot League titles, there isn't any reason it shouldn't be the choice for a hat trick. The team lost only two starters from last year, and with many underclassmen this team looks dangerous once again.
AU returns this season with a strong team despite the loss of Katarina Kollarova, who graduated, and Kristina Georgieva, who used up her NCAA eligibility.
AU is picked to come in second place in the Patriot League this year in the PL preseason poll, behind Army, which the Eagles beat last year to win the Patriot League title and advance to the NCAA tournament.
However, with senior Aleksandra Zerkalova and junior Brandi Kligman being the only upperclassmen, this team is ready not only to win now, but for years to come. Of the nine girls on the team, five of them are sophomores, and some are ready to play a big role as the team looks to three-peat.
Yet in the end, it all starts at the top, and AU has Zerkalova slotted to be the No. 1 singles player. She's one of the top singles players in the entire Patriot League, and she showed how good she was last weekend by winning AU's only point against a good Winthrop team at Virginia Commonwealth's 4x1 in Richmond, Va.
Following Zerkalova in singles play are strong players such as Julia Colarusso, who is Zerkalova's doubles partner, Kligman, and sophomores Tessa Hollyn-Taub, Merrisa Hollinger and Rachael Honig. With a team loaded with talent, it's easy to understand why it was picked to finish so high in the Patriot League.
Although AU lost to Winthrop, 4-1, it disposed of Drexel in an earlier match. In that match, AU's youth movement showed why the future is so bright for the tennis program, with AU dispatching Drexel, 5-0, with only one junior playing in any match. Easily beating a Colonial Conference team shows the kind of depth that AU has this year.
When it comes down to it, wins against nonconference teams are nice, but in the end it's how you do in the Patriot League that counts, and this year is shaping up to be very competitive.
After last year's Patriot League loss to AU, Army comes into the season being voted the top team in the conference and could be the team to beat in the Patriot League.
Another team to watch out for is Lehigh. Lehigh, ranked third in the conference, returns eight players from last year and is looking strong again.
With Army and Lehigh gunning for the top spot in the conference and looking to step over AU to do it, the first weekend in April is going to be incredibly important. That's the weekend AU opens Patriot League action with Lehigh and Army both visiting AU's campus to take on the Eagles.
With such a competitive league this year, the Eagles will have to play very well to rise to the top of the mountain again. But with a team that hasn't reached its peak yet, the chances are very good that the Eagles could once again be soaring to the top of women's Patriot League tennis.
