For college tennis, February equates to August for football players. The athletes slog through a month of conditioning.

And while the players workout, their minds focus on the next month and its regular matches.

“Everything right now is hard. We have 6:30 workouts in the morning and we all have class at 8 and then we all go to practice. We do homework and go to bed. That’s basically February,” junior Sallie Kiser said. “When our matches start, it gets better.”

So why is everyone on UNCW’s women’s tennis team, through the weights, runs and cold afternoons on the court, smiling? Coming off a first winning season (10-8 overall, 3-3 CAA) in years tends to brighten things up. Making this even more significant is that last year’s roster featured five sophomores and two freshmen.

“This year, we’re a team that people are starting to get worried about,” Kiser said. “People have been noticing us more than the last two years that I’ve been here. People are giving us more credit. It’s exciting.” With three new players, the team relies on a deeper roster and strong internal competition for match-day positions.

“We’re competing for our spots daily, rather than being guaranteed a position like last year,” sophomore Lindsey Hess said. “We’re pushing each other more. It’s definitely a better atmosphere this year.”

The Seahawks hold their home opener Feb. 12 against High Point and face a daunting CAA schedule later in the season. VCU, William & Mary and Old Dominion top the league most years, but UNCW feels surpassing James Madison for the No. 4 slot may finally happen this year.

“I don’t know if they’re as hungry as we are. It’s going to take a team like us who’s worked very hard and is good all the time to sneak in just one time. We’ve kind of beaten the people we should beat and now we’re ready to add a few more to that list,” coach Jenny Garrity said. “We would lose to some pretty good teams, walk off the courts and think, there’s not a lot that separates us from them. We always seem to be on three of the 4-3 end or the 3-set losses that we’re in there but couldn’t squeak out.

“I think they’re going to use that experience last year to really build on that for this year.”