For a team loaded with inexperienced talent, the Marquette women's tennis team wasn't expected to be a world-beater this year. It fought hard, won the matches it was supposed to and dropped a few to the teams it was, well, supposed to.

A record of 17-10 means that it was a good year for coach Jody Bronson's squad. A few bounces of the ball the other way and it could have been an outstanding year.

"I'm really happy with how (the season) went," Kylie Moore said. "We got ranked for the first time in a while, so that was nice. We were in and out of the rankings, but it's nice we're starting to show our improvement."

The team wavered back and forth all year long in the top-75 before peaking at No. 69 in late March. Heading into last week's Big East Championships in Florida as the fourth seed in conference, Marquette met an anti-climatic end with losses to Rutgers and South Florida. A consolation win in between those matches against Syracuse provided some relief but not enough as the team limped to a sixth-place finish.

"We were disappointed," Bronson said. "I think we were better than how we finished. We learned a lot from this experience this year and we'll be better prepared for next year."

Despite the late-season struggles, the team was not without its successes. Arguably the biggest victory for the team was a 4-3 come-from-behind thriller against then-No. 42 ranked and conference rival Louisville at home on February 6. After dropping the doubles point, four of Marquette's strongest players took singles matches for the win — freshmen Paola Calderon and Olga Fischer, Moore and senior Robin Metzler. The upset generated a lot of momentum as the Golden Eagles moved through the season.

"The Louisville win was a great motivator for the team," Bronson said. "We hadn't beat Louisville for a long time, and they were nationally ranked. I think it helped propel us and instill confidence in us."

Marquette graduates just one senior this year in Metzler, whose strong 3-0 singles performance in the conference tournament was the exclamation point of a productive career. With her departure, the team must now look to new avenues for leadership in current juniors Maggie Wilson, Elly Strother and Moore, who is an academic senior but still has two years of eligibility.

"I think they'll step up and be leaders," Metzler said. "Freshmen need a lot of guidance, but they've been around. They just need to be strong in what they believe in."

Looking forward, Marquette returns Calderon and Fischer, who as freshmen held down the No. 1 and No. 2 singles spots all season rather successfully. Calderon was probably the most consistent player for the Golden Eagles all year and Fischer managed to accumulate a 10-game singles win streak by mid-season. Now that they have a year of tennis under their belts, Bronson wants them to continue improving and find that killer instinct.

"Obviously, experience is key," Bronson said. "Having gone through the first year, they understand — having played at the top of the lineup — what it takes and how many good players there are and the little things that separate winning and losing matches."

While this season has come and gone, the training for next year begins right away for Bronson's team.

"It's up to everyone to make the commitment to make themselves better so they can make the team better and they can push their teammates," Bronson said. "You can't just take the summer off and pick up where you left off. If you want to do well, you've got to commit and be working on it all the time."