There's a sense of optimism on the tennis courts at Ballard High with the team returning eight varsity players and Head Coach Tony Richardson aiming for a third place finish in KingCo.

"We're having a good turnout this year. We have a lot of good players out there," said Head Coach Tony Richardson.

Former Ballard High tennis player and coach Travis Roach spent time working with some players at the University of Washington during the summer. Players have also spent time with boy's coach Brad Hamilton to work on their tennis skills.

Richardson said the off season workouts are what the team needs to get better.

Neah Ortman is the returning number one player and should retain that spot. She has been winning her challenge matches during practices.

Natasha Keller is the team's number two girl. Mikaela Louie is number three.

Louie was out with an injury last year. She has worked with Roach on a serve that is less of a strain on her back. "She is doing well now," said Richardson.

Senior Co-Captain Bebe Besch is back for her final season. She is also a doubles player.

Ballard hopes to challenge Lake Washington, Eastlake and Redmond in KingCo. After those three schools, the league schedule is wide open for Beaver wins.

Since last season, the team has been pushing players to improve their games. Towards the end of the year, Richardson was juggling his lineups to get other players experience to build for the future. He has even moved junior varsity players up to get varsity experience.

With so many varsity returners, Richardson hopes the team can finish the year in third place in the league.