OMAHA, Neb. – The College of Saint Mary tennis team is excited to open the spring portion of its 2024-25 season on Wednesday.

The Flames have three scheduled matches on their spring break trip to Hilton Head Island, S.C. They will meet Asbury (Ky.) University on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m CDT, then take on Illinois Tech on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. CDT, and will wrap up on Friday at 9 a.m. CDT against Nazareth (N.Y.) University.

Under the direction of Coach Mike Johnson, CSM is looking to improve on last season's records of 7-10 overall and 1-6 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference.

Johnson graduated one of the top players in the conference in Renee Acena, along with another talented starter in Blake McDowall. However, the Flames have some experienced players back.

Sophomore Iyaanah Pardiwalla is slated to take over at No. 1 singles, while junior Carolyna Truong is expected to play at No. 3 singles. Senior Miranda Swanson will be the starter at No. 4 singles, while junior Darece Van Auken will move into No. 5 singles.

"The strengths of the team this season are going to be resilience and setting ourselves up for the future,'' Johnson said. "On paper, we have some tough matchups this year, but we need to find a way to punch above our weight class.''

With just six players currently on the roster, depth will be a concern.

"We cannot afford an injury,'' Johnson said. "Nos. 1, 2 and 6 singles are going to be a struggle this season with the depth of the other teams we face.''

The Flames narrowly missed out on a trip to the GPAC Tournament last year, and Johnson said the team is "playing with the purpose to make the cut into the GPAC Team Tourney'' this season.

Johnson is encouraged to see former team members and the team manager stepping forward to help the newer players in practice. He continues to have high expectations for the program, and he always has the big picture in mind each season.

"I expect each player to grade themselves on growth and adaptability on the court,'' he said. "Ultimately, the scoreboard is what tells the tale, but I want our players to understand the future is more important than the scoreboard today. We need to improve and challenge ourselves to improve our technique and our strategy, so that we can bring this new game style into matches later in the season and into next year.

"It's important to remember that we are not just recruiting tennis players at CSM, we are building tennis players at CSM.''