After earning their fourth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, the women’s tennis team has higher expectations after failing to advance past the second round the last three years.

Not only could they not get past the second round, but have fallen to Gustavus Adolphus two-out-of-those-three times.

They now have a chance for revenge. After earning the No. 3 seed, the Warhawks will face No. 6 Edgewood College in the first round Friday at the University of Chicago. If they win that game, the ’Hawks will face the Gusties for the third time in the last three years in the tournament.

“I think we can get farther than last year,” head coach Frank Barnes said.

The ’Hawks lost to the Gusties earlier this year on March 12.

The team finished the regular season 21-5, going undefeated at home and in conference play. With the rate they are playing right now, the ’Hawks should advance further compared to last season.

“We’re playing much better now than we were this time last year,” Barnes said.

After a long break from play after the Midwest Invite April 9 until the AQ Tournament April 29, the team has had another layover period. The ’Hawks have had a 13-day layoff since participating in the tournament and junior Kalla Schaefer said it will be a key to stay sharp.

“This is the last tournament of the year, so we want to go in strong playing our best tennis,” Schaefer said.

Schaefer has been one of the strongest contributors all season. Since coming back after a semester hiatus, she has taken over the No. 1 singles spot and contributed in the second half of the season.

“I think we have a really deep team that can definitely be competitive,” Schaefer said.