In coach Mark Jeffery's third year as coach, the Ragin' Cajuns tennis team is close to turning the corner and reaching the level that he expects.

"We expect to be one of the upper echelon Sun Belt teams competing for the league championship," Jeffery said. "Our schedule being much stronger this season - playing nine ranked teams out of 20 opponents - will help prepare us for our challenge."

Jeffery said one of his goals is to have achieved a ranking by the end of the season. To accomplish this goal, he'll rely heavily on his senior leaders.

"Piotr Banas is our senior and was ranked Top 40 nationally individually coming off a quarterfinal finish at the regional tournament," Jeffery said. "He's really led us on the court and we really look for him to lead us off the court."

Jeffery said he is hoping the momentum gained from the success this fall will carry over into the spring. He has already seen a steady improvement in the team's work ethic and a mature attitude.

"I would say that this is a very hard working team," Jeffery said. "I found out that they are willing, individually, to work hard for the teams' benefit in the long run.

"Each individual has taken the responsibility to not only get their tennis game to a higher level, but also their physical conditioning."

That hard work will hopefully result in a conference title and a Top 60 finish this season.

But there is more to college athletics than winning on the court. This Ragin' Cajuns tennis team is also having success in the classroom.

"Academic-wise, we are striving for our team GPA to be over 3.0 at season's end," Jeffery said. "We're at a 2.9 right now, but we've never been over 3.0. We're getting closer."

Under Jeffery's watch the program has turned around dramatically.

"When I first arrived it was September 2007 and the guys had been without a full-time coach the previous year...so things were pretty unstable," Jeffery said. "That year the team went 7-12 and to be honest we could have easily gone 1-18. We pulled some rabbits out of the hat just to get to that point.

"So for us to go 16-7 last year, and this year be even better with our goals that we've stated for this year, is a huge accomplishment," he added. "As you can see we've come a long, long way. We are now at the point that after this year, our program will be one that attracts interest on a national and world-wide scale."

The Ragin' Cajuns open the 2010 season on Friday, Jan. 22 against national power Baylor. Two weeks later the Cajuns meet SEC-member Arkansas in Fayetteville on Friday, Feb. 5.

The following week the Cajuns make their Cajun Courts debut, starting with a five-game home stand that runs Feb. 11 through Feb. 19.

In all, Louisiana will host eight home matches in the spring, beginning with Grambling State on Feb. 11 at Cajun Courts.

The Cajuns will face LSU on Feb. 25 in Baton Rouge and participate in the HEB Invitational in Corpus Christi, Texas (March 5-6) and the Sun Belt Shootout in Troy, Ala., April 2-4.

The 2010 Sun Belt Conference Tournament will be held April 22-25 in New Orleans.

UL SI