Just one more backhand down the line, or just one more crisp cross-court forehand might have done it for Western Michigan University's women's tennis team last season. 

It was that close for the Broncos to make the four-team Mid-American Conference postseason tournament. 

With a veteran lineup returning, and three newcomers, Western Michigan is looking to make the field this season. The spring season opens on Sunday at home against Ferris State at 11 a.m. The MAC season doesn't start until March 18 when the Broncos travel to defending tournament champion Ball State, a team in which the Broncos lost dual matches to, but both were close. 

''We lost a bunch of 4-3 matches and hopefully the experience for the group will aid them this year,'' head coach Ryan Tomlinson said. ''In MAC women's tennis, there is a lot of parity and anyone can win our conference in any given year so hopefully they gained experience from last season and we can turn those 4-3 losses into wins this year.'' 

The Broncos started off the last year's MAC schedule with two tough 5-2 losses in its first three matches, caught some momentum, but then dropped three 4-3 matches at the end of the season. The league women's tennis tournament is tough to make as only the top four of the eight teams qualify. 

Senior captain Lindsey Zieglar will start the new season where she left off last year, at No. 1 singles. She was 15-8 overall with 22 of the 23 matches played at No. 1. She was an All-MAC first team selection last season. 

''I don't know if I've coached a more fierce competitor who hates to lose,'' Tomlinson said. ''She's making strides to be a little more forgiving of herself when she is on the court. 

''We have eight perfectionists. It's a unique group and they work hard and I think Lindsey's competitiveness far outweighs anything else for her.'' 

Zieglar is looking for a turnaround from last season. 

''We have some new players and they will help keep the good energy going this season,'' the senior said.  

With just eight players on the team this season, Zieglar will see lots of action in both singles and doubles. Last season, in doubles, she had several different partners, but wound up with a sterling 17-4 record. She competed with Kaitlyn Rogosch, Maya Perkucin, Hamilton and graduated senior Kristina Tiraspolsky. 

''I still like singles better, but I've been working on doubles a lot since my freshman year,'' she said. ''In doubles you have to be more comfortable at the net, so if you aren't comfortable there, it can be kind of a shocker.'' 

Tomlinson feels he has a lot of interchangeable parts on the team. Last season, Rogosch a graduate student, played both fourth and fifth and singles while Rizzolo, a senior, and Perkucin, a junior, saw action at fourth, fifth and sixth singles. 

Junior Valeriya Monko will be able to play just about anywhere, too. The transfer this season from Division II Augustana University had a 17-6 record at No. 1 singles and was 19-4 in doubles last year. She was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Player of the Year.  

Incoming freshman Audrey Smitek achieved a No. 4 ranking in Ohio and is ranked 130th in the nation. Another incoming freshman, Ariane Souligny, is ranked No. 2 in Quebec and is ranked in the top 20 in Canada. 

''All eight of our players can play on any given day and I wouldn't lose sleep if any one of them is in the lineup,'' Tomlinson said. 

Hamilton is hoping for a start to the spring season like she had last year. Playing most of the season at No. 3 singles, she had a close loss against a tough player from the University of Michigan in one of the first matches before reeling off nine straight victories. 

''The girl from Michigan wound up ranked in the top 120 in the nation, so I was glad to make it as close as I did,'' Hamilton said. ''After we got into conference, we had all those close matches, but it made us work harder over the summer and into the fall to prepare us for this season. 

''I put in a lot of hours on the court, in the gym working on my footwork and also mental training, doing whatever I can to make myself a better tennis player, a better athlete. I'm feeling very good about this team going into the spring.'' 

Hamilton had an 18-6 record in singles and a 15-8 record in doubles, having five different partners. 

''There are different positives about both singles and doubles,'' Hamilton said about which she liked the best. ''Tennis is a very individual sport, especially in juniors where 80 percent of the time you play singles, especially coming from Canada where we don't have high school tennis like you have in the United States. 

''It's been really nice to play on a team where you have people encouraging you and you can also encourage them. You just always have a good support group, which never really happened to me before.'' 

That support, and a few more winning forehands, could just be the key this season.