The Peters Township girls' tennis team returns a player who has the potential to be this season's WPIAL Class AAA singles champion, a player who was one-half of the PIAA Class AAA championship doubles team last season.

It's a good thing, too, because most of the rest of the Indians are very young.

Junior Julie Stroyne plays first singles for a Peters team that began its season -- along with the rest of the WPIAL -- this week. Stroyne is ranked 14th in the USTA's Middle States region among female players 18-and-under. The region covers Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and parts of West Virginia.

But the next four players down the Indians' lineup are freshmen or sophomores and only two seniors are on the team. Still, Peters is expecting to remain on its lofty perch near the top of the WPIAL.

The Indians won their section title last season and advanced to at least the WPIAL quarterfinals for the third season in a row last year.

If they are to do so again this fall, Stroyne will be a big reason why. Last season, she was a WPIAL singles semifinalist.

"Her forehand is her biggest weapon. She has a really, really good forehand," Indians coach Brandt Bowman said. "In the past year she's really improved. Her first serve has started to be a weapon for her and she's getting free points off it.

"She still has that forehand and now a big first serve. And besides that, she's a great athlete and she plays a lot of tournaments, so her mental game is right there, too.

"Put all that together, and you're going to get a pretty good player."

Stroyne, who had two sisters on the team with her last season, teamed with Emily Palko to win the PIAA doubles championship. In the final of that tournament, Palko and Stroyne avenged a loss that occurred in the WPIAL championship match to a team from North Allegheny.

But Palko has graduated, as did one of the Indians' second doubles players from last season. Yet what remains is a team of players who have grown up playing together, many at the Peters Township Tennis Center.

Freshman Caroline Nixon, younger sister to former Peters male standouts Andrew and Chris Nixon, steps immediately into the second singles spot. Sophomore Laura Stroyne moves from first doubles to third singles.

Sophomore Emily Madalena and freshman Eleni Coleman began the season at first doubles. Madalena played second doubles last season. This season, seniors Mackenzie Kennedy and Heidi Eltschlager will fill that role.

Also on the verge of earning a spot in the lineup are junior Emily Estep, sophomores Carlee Schneider and Alyssa Trier and freshman Erica Gretz.

"I think there's been some competition among those girls for doubles, but I would have to say right now our lineup is pretty set," Bowman said.

Peters once again will be the favorite to win Section 5-AAA, but Bethel Park, for one, figures to present a challenge.

"I always tell the girls the No. 1 goal is to win the section [title]," Bowman said. "If you win your section, you're guaranteed a home match in the playoffs."

But while how the Indians fare in section play will determine how their season might end, you might be able to determine how well the Indians will do in section play by how they fare in non-section matches.

The Indians were to play Fox Chapel yesterday and also have early-season matches scheduled against Mt. Lebanon, Pine-Richland, Upper St. Clair and District 10 power Mercyhurst Prep.

"We have a pretty tough schedule this year," Bowman said. "I try to schedule good teams to find out how good we are, because sometimes it's hard to tell. I think we're still strong. The freshmen coming in are good, tournament players.

"I'm optimistic and think we'll do well. But ask me the same question in a couple weeks, and I'll have a better idea. It's hard to tell now."