By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
Back-to-back regional championships, the first in school history, have placed some pretty lofty expectations on Dowagiac's 2006 girls' varsity tennis team.
The Chieftains also have to face an entire new set of opponents this season was they have switched from the Big 16 Conference to the Wolverine Conference.
Despite the switch, Dowagiac will open with a familiar foe on Monday when it travels to Stevensville to face Lakeshore in a non-conference match.
Dowagiac must find a way to replace several of its key players from a season ago.
Gone are the No. 1 and No. 2 singles players, as well as half of the Chieftains' No. 1 doubles squad.
Veteran coach Chuck Rubino knows that it won't be easy, but is looking forward to the challenge.
"This will be a work in progress for all of our players," Rubino said. "We have a lot of players in new positions. Every one of our singles players except Taylor played doubles last year. And even our doubles teams, with the exception of Kate and Kayleigh, have not played much together."
Replacing Lisa Rubino, who earned All-Big 16 and All-State honors last season, at No. 1 singles will be Taylor Townsend.
Set to replace Ann O'Keefe, who like Rubino was a regional champion in 2005, is Ashley Smith. Smith played doubles last season.
Lindsey Tyler and Calie Daniels comprised the Chieftains' No. 1 doubles team last season. The pair earned All-Big 16 honorable mention status.
Tyler has graduated, while Daniels has moved up to play No. 3 singles.
Shelly Urbanski, who also played doubles in 2005, moves up to the No. 4 singles spot.
Kayleigh Sundman and Kate Duzynski will move up to play No. 1 doubles this season after spending last year at No. 4 doubles.
Tony Scherer and Elizabeth Kolden will play No. 2 doubles, while at No. 3 doubles, Samantha Stone and Jessica Robinson team up.
The No. 4 doubles team will be comprised of Kate Tyrakowski and Kristan Stelmasiak.
"We have 25 girls out, which is great," Rubino said. "We have a lot of untested kids. We have some pretty good depth. There will be a lot of kids challenging for spots, especially in our doubles."
As a team, Dowagiac went 5-3-1 last season. The Chieftains won three invitational tournaments, including its own, and finished second at the Niles Invitational.
Dowagiac won its first-ever, outright regional championship last October. The Chieftains shared the championship with Brandywine and Buchanan in 2004.
Dowagiac finished 19th at the state finals.
Rubino is excited about moving over to the Wolverine Conference even though he doesn't know much about the teams in that league.
"I know Allegan is always ranked in the top 10 and they have won numerous league championships," he said. "I also heard that Gull Lake is supposed to be pretty good. We have played teams like South Haven, Vicksburg and Three Rivers, so I think we will be able to compete."
Following Monday's season opener against Lakeshore, Dowagiac will host its annual Chieftain Invitational on Wednesday.
The Chieftains will host Buchanan, Constantine and Three Rivers. Play is scheduled to begin at Dowagiac Middle School at 9 a.m.