The temperature is predicted to stay below freezing in the next few days, but springtime can't be far away. After all, the University of Evansville tennis team begins its season this Friday! 

Coach Steve Brockriede's Purple Aces are coming off an outstanding 18-9 record in the spring of 2007, and with five veterans returning, they are confident about another successful season in 2008. Evansville hosts Austin Peay on Friday at Tri-State Athletic Club at 6:00 CST, and then hosts IPFW on Sunday at the same site, beginning at 10:00 a.m. Fans are invited to attend the matches at Tri-State Athletic Club. 

UE's returning players include senior Sara Wilhoite, juniors Allie Cox, Lisa Kawamoto and Stephanie Millis, and sophomore Susan Elliott. Three newcomers are expected to compete for playing time also. Going into their first spring season at UE are freshmen Pin Sorensen and Kate Chybowski, who played well last fall, and freshmen Payal Sharma and Riette Kotze, who joined the team after Christmas. Sharma is expected to redshirt this spring in order to come back to full strength from an injury. 

"We lost some outstanding players to graduation, but we return a solid nucleus and we have some strong players joining our program," Coach Brockriede says. "Our expectations have grown, and that's the sign of a good team."