After a championship year that included a school-record 24 wins, the SMU women’s tennis team is not resting on any laurels as the 2009-10 season approaches. And having lost four seniors to graduation, including co-captains Monica Neveklovska and Natalia Bubien, head coach Lauren Longbotham-Meisner insists there is more work to be done.

“We strive to be the best team in the nation, and we’re not there yet,” she said. “We’re still underdogs because we have to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke. We know it wasn’t.”

Last year, the No.23 Mustangs compiled a 24-2 regular-season record and entered the Conference USA Championships in Houston as the top seed. There, they shut out the UTEP Miners and Rice Owls before defeating two-time defending champion Tulsa in the final round, 4-1.

Going forward, the players and head coach alike continue to set high standards for themselves.

“My goal is not to lose any college match,” Lesniak said. “I think the team can improve in overall fitness and go to the finals.”

As for perennial powerhouses like Rice and Tulsa, Longbotham-Meisner said, “We just worry about ourselves. We want to be the best.

“Our philosophy is not going to change, and we’re going to practice as hard as we can.”