Coach: Carol Gullstad (first year as head coach, fourth season with varsity team)

Last season: Won seventh-consecutive 3A state championship.

“I tell people jokingly if you follow a program where you’ve been losing, you have nowhere to go but up. You follow a program that has [seven] state championships in a row, it’s pretty daunting,” Gullstad said. “We have a lot of returners, we actually have a very deep team, and I’m very familiar with everyone. It’s actually pretty comfortable stepping into the shoes, and I’m not going to reinvent the wheel.”

“There are some things that of course she does different [than previous coach Mindy Blakeslee], but it’s nothing like we’re going from something completely different to something completely new,” said Miji Suhr.

Captains: Caroline Hamilton, Miji Suhr

Other key athletes: Grace Bethards, returning 3A KingCo champion

Strengths: Experience, depth.

“We have 11 returning varsity members and six that made the postseason from last year,” Gullstad said.

Needs to improve: “The thing I’ve been talking to the team about is our mental toughness and competitive composure, that we’re pretty good already but we can grow in that area,” Gullstad said. “Tennis is chess on your feet. Learning how to quiet the mind and focus is really going to be an emphasis.”

Goals: “I think more than anything else, I want them to walk away from high school with a great memory of that one team concept,” Gullstad said.

“If these guys walk away saying ‘I had so much fun this year,’ then I think we’ll feel like we accomplished a lot.”

“Take it one match at a time. I think ultimately, win Kingco, districts and state,” Hamilton said. “We can’t get complacent, we always have to work harder. But I think it’s fair to say we all have that goal in mind.”

“As a result of that, as Caroline said, we can’t get complacent because we have a target on our back. We are everybody’s biggest match,” Gullstad said. “Every time we face someone, they are gunning for us. If we relax too much, then someone can take us.”

Meets to watch: 3/31 vs. Interlake, 5/3 @ Bellevue