With a number 22 national preseason ranking, and four of six starters returning from last year, the sky is the limit for this year's women's tennis team.

The Illini are coming off of a very successful season, in which they advanced to the 32nd round in the NCAA tournament.

During the spring season, the Illini finished the regular season in second place in the Big Ten. This year the Illini begin the season with one of the highest preseason rankings in recent history.

"These girls understand what they have to do," Illinois head coach Sujay Lama said. "We have set some goals early on, and we are determined to get there. There is a lot of talent, and there is no limit as to how far they can go."

The Illini will be welcoming back their numbers one and two singles players from last year in seniors Jennifer McGaffigan and Tiffany Eklov. This summer, McGaffigan won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's National Summer Championship held at Indiana University. It is the second time McGaffigan has won this tournament.

"This circuit has helped my game a lot," McGaffigan said. "I started playing it before my freshman year (in 2000) and it's been a great way to prepare for the upcoming season."

Along with McGaffigan and Eklov, the Illini return Eva Choe, Brianna Knue, Leila Cehajic and Jessica Barki, all of whom saw action last year.

"This is probably the best team we have had here," Eklov said. "We are hoping for another successful season, and we think everyone is ready."

With such a great amount of talent, Lama feels that no position is set, and the competition in practice has been making his players push each other to get better so far this season.

"Nothing, as far as positions go, is set yet," Lama said. "We have a three-horse race for the number one spot, and I view this as possibly the best thing that could happen for this team. It keeps the girls on top of things at all times."

During the fall season in NCAA, tennis teams compete in tournaments rather than in individual matches, like they do in the spring. This fall the Illini have a full schedule ahead of them with two tournaments in Michigan, two in California, one in Texas and one in Urbana.

"The fall just gives us some time to work on our strokes and get our conditioning down," McGaffigan said. "We get to see some teams that we wouldn't normally see during the spring season."

The Illini will be seeing an added bonus this year with assistant coach JoAnne Russell. Russell just returned from playing in the US Open, where she placed third in the Senior Women's Doubles Tournament. Russell feels that her experience in New York will be able to help the team perform better.

"It's always good to play in at least one tournament a year," Russell said. "It gives you a chance to see if what you are telling the girls really works. I hope to take some of what happened this past week and bring that aspect to my coaching."

The Illini kick off the fall season this weekend at Western Michigan University when they take part in the Bronco Invitational.