Irvine Valley's men's tennis team has been making a name for itself for the past few seasons.
The Lasers have won three Orange Empire Conference titles in a row, finished as runner-up in the state in 2014 and won the program's first-ever state title last season.
But, the Laser women's tennis squad has also been making steps in the right direction.
Irvine Valley finished last season with a record of 10-6 overall. The team was 8-2 in the Orange Empire Conference to take second in the standings.
The postseason berth was the first time Irvine Valley had made the playoffs since 2010.
Coach Amber Vann expects to have another strong squad. She lost a number of players to graduation after 2015, including singles and doubles players Renee Walton, Ashley Athanas, Marissa Woolsey, Ruth Chou and Christie Yamasaki.
But Vann has brought in a top-notch recruiting class, headlined by University High's Sarah Mae Garcia and Trabuco Hills High's Samantha Paz.
"We aren't putting any expectations on the season," Vann said. "But I know our team is strong. Trying to strike a balance of attack and calmness on the court is one of the hardest things to achieve, but it is possible with this team. Each player is ready for competition to begin. We look forward to maybe stealing some of the thunder that the men's team has built over the past few years."
Garcia was a standout player at University in Irvine, starting all four years on varsity. The Trojans have been one of the top-ranked high school teams in Orange County for years and she was a mainstay in the lineup there. She helped Uni win three straight Pacific Coast League titles and finish up as runner-up in CIF three years in a row.
"Sarah Mae has really challenged herself to attack more, but her defensive skills should really set her apart," Vann said. "Sarah should be one of the strongest players we have had play for us in quite some time."
Paz, is the younger sister of Scott Paz, who helped IVC to a state title as a freshman last season.
"Sam plays like a lefty, just on the right side," Vann said. "She is quick and has a long reach, which makes it hard to pass her."
Vann is also expecting big things from freshmen Samantha Schwarz from Beckman High and Lou Baize from France and sophomores Karina Ryabokonova from Corona del Mar High and Sierra Mazzarini from Aliso Niguel High.
Baize is the younger sister of Valentin Baize, who was also part of Irvine Valley's state title team in 2015 and won a doubles state title with Max Rumeau.
"We are really excited for our new team to get started," Vann said. "Our four to six singles players are interchangeable and should bring a solid consistency.
"For us, it's very straight forward. We are preaching patience. We have some pretty talented players that have a lot of passion, so getting them to play with a balance of power and patience will help us in every match."
Irvine Valley opens its 2016 season on Tuesday afternoon with a scrimmage at San Diego Mesa at 12 p.m. IVC has its first home match on Thursday against El Camino at 2 p.m.
