Say this for UNCW’s men’s tennis squad – life’s not dull.

With four of its six singles players at the school for less than a year, losing one player over the Christmas Break and adding two new athletes in January, the squad continues tinkering with doubles combinations and seedings.

And the Seahawks, who went 14-9 overall and 4-2 in the CAA last year, starts the spring season with three tough competitors. UNCW fell to No. 28 Auburn 6-1 on Jan. 30, but came agonizingly close to pulling off the upset against No. 25 South Carolina in a 4-3 defeat the next day.

UNCW continues its challenging start when it hosts High Point, an NCAA Tournament squad, on Feb. 12.

“I definitely see the effort and performance of South Carolina definitely being a positive,” said senior Scott Curry, one of two of the team’s upperclassmen. “I think the team has a chance to do something special that no UNCW has ever done in terms moving into the upper two or three in the conference and getting into the national rankings or NCAA berth. I think the key is to stay focused on the goal. Just try to get better every day as a team.”

Curry, along with junior Danilo Mendes, provides the leadership for one of UNCW’s most talented-ever tennis squads in program history. Players, such as January newcomers Caio Piacentini and Tim Meredith, provide an infusion of new ability.

“The term ‘young’ is all relative,” coach Allen Farfour said. “You get kids now that coming in as freshmen that have played tremendous amount of competition tennis that may be ahead of someone in the program who’s played two or three years.”

But the new lineup means that the fall season, a long exhibition slate to train the squad and adjust lineups, holds little impact on the spring.”It’s really a new team,” Farfour said. “We’re kind of behind.”

The squad needs to gel quickly if it hopes to reach the upper echelon of the CAA. For years, Virginia Commonwealth has dominated the conference and they finished as the national runner-up three years ago. William & Mary usually battles Old Dominion for the No. 2 squad.

The Seahawks feel they possess the talent and attitude to join the top squads.

“We definitely have a good group,” Curry said. “A couple of times in the past, we had one or two players not buying into the team concept. This year people are buying into the team concept and team atmosphere.”