After an 11th place finish at the state tournament a year ago, the Powell Panther girls’ tennis team is set to return half its lineup this season looking to improve on that finish.

“There’s a lot of the same things I’m seeing on the boys’ side of things that they’ve (the girls) been putting time on the courts through the summer months, coming in ready to play,” coach Joe Asay said. “We’re always excited. Tennis is a great game, and I love to see the kids come out excited about tennis and ready to swing a racket.”

Leading the way for the Panthers will be junior Naomi Whipple, who returns at the No. 1 singles spot and will look to improve from an 0-2 mark at the state tournament with several competitors ahead of her graduating apart from the top two finishers.

Behind Whipple the Panthers return a number of seniors from the state team last season, including Kyra Morrow at the No. 1 doubles spot who has played at the No. 2 singles spot before, along with the duo of Elaina Kousoulos and Isabelle Urbach, and Bailee Allred at the No. 3 doubles spot.

“There’s going to be some movement certainly in where these gals fall,” Asay said. “But we’re pretty excited about what we’ve got there.”

Last season, Morrow, Kousoulos and Urbach all won a match at the state tournament in their respective divisions while Allred was part of a duo that went 3-2.

Along with those varsity returners, Asay said there will be some new faces this year hoping to fill in those varsity spots, along with a familiar face in junior Noelle Leighton, who Asay said has shown improvement over the past year.

“Noelle I think is somebody that’s been really coming along and once again spending time on the courts improving her game. It’s gonna be fun to see how she kind of slides in (the lineup),” Asay said. “There’s going to be some great opportunities for any kid that wants to come out and compete here this first week to have an opportunity to play in that three spot. It’ll be fun to see what that looks like.”

With new athletes coming into the lineup along with a strong mix of juniors and seniors, Asay is hopeful those upperclassmen can help lead the newer Panthers along and help them feel comfortable in varsity positions should they compete in them early.

“What I’m looking forward to is for some leadership on the girls’ side of things. To just help some of these new kids that are stepping into the varsity experience, to be comfortable out there competing, recognizing that you know how to do your part and recognizing your role when you step out on the court,” Asay said. “I think there’s some good leadership at the top and I really think there’s some other young gals stepping up ready to be a part of it.”

Powell opens up the season at home starting next week, welcoming in Green River at noon Monday  before taking on Rock Springs at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Asay said opening the season at home with two matches on separate days will help benefit the Panthers early on, allowing the team to also get some junior varsity matches in at home before school starts the following week.

“It will definitely be nice to kind of feel like it’s not all crammed in,” Asay said. “It’ll be great to just get out. It’s always great whenever we have the opportunity to give our JV kids some match play. But we’ll get a good look at the kids down on the south side of things.”

Powell will get a number of matches before the end of August, including a set of conference matches with Jackson, Sheridan and the Gillette schools over the following two weekends.

The Panthers will hope for improved standings at the conference tournament in Cody on Sept. 19-20 and state in Gillette on Sept. 25-27.