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117 T he 2016-17 season was one for the record books for the University of Iowa women's tennis team. e first season under head coach Sasha Schmid featured the second-best start in Iowa history (9-0), the most wins since 2010 (16), and an appearance in the Big Ten Tourna- ment. Although the season didn't end the way the team wanted, the Hawkeyes can still keep their heads high. "When you look at those types of statistics, it's fulfilling and I think it was a good season," said Schmid. "I'm proud of year one. It's a great step- pingstone for us to build upon next season. e team was committed and I think it worked hard." e Hawkeyes made improvement from last sea- son. Following a year where the team was unable to win a conference match, Iowa finished with five Big Ten victories, its most since 2010. e Hawk- eyes were ranked as high as 47th in the ITA Na- tional Team Rankings. "e team bought into the culture," said Schmid. "We held a high standard of effort and attitude daily. We used that to build belief, and you need something to build off of when we didn't have a lot of wins, and I think you could see the belief from match to match." e team looks to build of this season's success as it moves from a younger, inexperienced group to a more veteran-based team. "Having a great season and then coming up short in the Big Ten Tournament could be what we need to stay hungry and humble," said Schmid. "It showed us that we need to work hard over the summer and get back aer it next year to move from the middle of the pack to that next tier." e Hawkeyes will return seven of nine players next season, including three seniors: Montana Crawford, Zoe Douglas, and Anastasia Reimchen. e three combined for a 39-26 singles record in 2016-17. "I think that is going to be key for us," said Schmid. "e three seniors next year are good kids and staples for this program. ey were important everyday singles and doubles players for us. Being able to have them lead the group next year is going to be awesome." In addition to the seven returning players, Iowa is also welcoming three newcomers: Yufei Long, Danielle Bauers, and Danielle Burich. "I'm excited about those additions," said Schmid. "With those three kids, there will be a lot of healthy competition and a lot of hunger, which will help us." e Hawkeyes look to continue with their new culture, focusing on fitness and confidence for next season, as well as use next year's fall schedule to their advantage in order to make a push in Big Ten play. "I want to get back to our core values of working hard on fitness and using conditioning as some- thing we can build confidence," said Schmid. "We have a great schedule next year with a lot of com- petitive matches that will be challenging for us in a good way. at will hopefully set us up to peak by the time we get to the Big Ten season."