The Washington University men’s tennis team will begin the spring season ranked No. 1 in Division III and poised to make another title run.

The Bears have held onto the No. 1 ranking after winning the 2008 NCAA National Championship and following the title with strong play in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Small College Championships last October.

In October, junior John Watts, the No. 3-ranked singles player in D-III, lost in the semifinals while the No. 3 doubles team of seniors Charlie Cutler and Chris Hoeland won the tournament.

The 2007-08 season was a year of firsts for the men, who beat UAA powerhouse and rival Emory University twice last season, including in the NCAA championship match.

“With a team that’s returning every member from a championship team, you have expectations, but really it’s almost a relief. We accomplished our goal last year, so we don’t really have to stress about it this year,” Cutler, a co-captain, said.

The team, however, still lost to the Eagles in the UAA final and is seeking its first UAA title.

“It’s probably one of the first things I heard when I started here. It’s been consistent,” Head Coach Roger Follmer said of the Emory rivalry.

The men open play on Saturday at Drury University, which reached the semifinals of the Division II NCAA tournament last season.

“We’re just looking for a good start to the season. It’s going to be good competition, so we’ll just use this match to see where we are heading into nationals,” Hoeland, a co-captain, said.

“Outcome is not as important as getting some solid matches under our belts…It would be nice to beat them too,” Cutler said.

The team will use the Drury match to find all areas of necessary improvement before the National Indoor Championships, which start on Feb. 20.

“The following weekend will probably be the first taste these guys get. We didn’t win national indoors last season, but we’ll be the top seed at national indoor, so it will be the first look at how they handle at having the number one sign,” Follmer said.

“There’s only as much pressure as we put on ourselves. We always have high expectations. There’s no added pressure after having won, but we got third [at indoor nationals] last year, so we’re just looking to improve on that,” Hoeland said.

The team returns all 13 members from last season and has added three freshmen, making it arguably the deepest squad in Wash. U. history. In challenge matches this season, starters have fallen and are constantly tested by the rest of the team, which has raised the level of play of every athlete.

Citing past Wash. U. volleyball teams that had reserves capable of defeating its starters, Follmer is confident that the added competition of intra-team play has brought the Bears to the top of D-III tennis.

Equally impressive is the team’s ability to turn a tough loss into a positive, as evidenced by the Bears’ first win in school history against Emory last season following a loss to the University of California-Santa Cruz at last year’s indoor championships.

“We’re really just focused on improving. Last year, we were so disappointed that we lost to Santa Cruz in the semis since we really let the doubles get away from us. In doubles, we were up a break on every court, and then next thing you know, we were swept out 3-0…And so the next day, we went out there and swept doubles with Emory. So I think the first time we beat them in school history, we didn’t even think about playing them since we were disappointed that we let one go against the Banana Slugs.”

While the starters travel to the Indoor Championships on Feb. 20, the rest of the team will get the chance for some early playing time against McKendree University on Feb. 21.

“We can only play our best and let the chips fall where they may. We have to prepare, train a lot, play well and be working on things we need to, and after that, we just have to relax on the court and let our game take over,” Hoeland said on the team’s pursuit of its first UAA and second NCAA championship.

Last year, the Bears earned a No. 1 ranking and won the NCAA Division III Natinal Championship. All 13 members from the championship team will return for the 2009 season. (Doovey Han)