Second-year Hawai`i Hilo tennis coach Tina McDermott is almost positive that her 2017 team should be improved over her first Vulcan team, which finished 6-11 in 2016.

Four players from last year's starting ladder are back, along with the addition of three transfers and two freshmen. That's the good news.

The challenging news is that the 2017 schedule is much, much more difficult than any Vulcan schedule in recent memory. Last season, 15 matches were on the original slate. This year, there are 24.

"That is somewhat by design," McDermott explained. "I wanted a schedule that would push them to improve, and I believe that this schedule accomplishes that."

The season opens this week with five matches in six days in Kailua Kona, at the Holua Tennis Center. The Vulcans will open with perennial power BYU-Hawaii on Wednesday (Feb. 15). That homestand in Kona will wrap up with a Feb. 20 match against defending NCAA Division II national champion Hawaii Pacific, currently ranked No. 1 in the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings.

Also on the slate this spring are matches against No. 14 Azusa Pacific, No. 22 Point Loma and No. 32 Holy Names. They will play BYU-Hawaii, who is ranked No. 26, four separate times.

Four returnees return to bring valued experience to the 2017 squad.

Gregory Zukeran played mostly at No. 2 last year and earned Third Team All-PacWest singles honors. He also earned the Sportsmanship Award at the Pacific West Conference Championships. As a freshman, he was 11-5 in singles, winning seven of his final nine matches. Stefan Coney, who was a Third Team All-PWC doubles selection, played mostly at No. 3 last year in singles last year as a sophomore. He was 7-9 on court three and also played at No. 1 doubles.

Ryuta Ogawa played at No. 4 last year as a freshman, compiling a solid 6-9 mark. Daniel Tada is the other returnee with starting experience with a 6-8 singles mark at the No. 5 slot. Tada is the only senior in the group and is the team captain.

"This is a solid group, with good experience in both singles and doubles.  They all bring a different skill set to the table," McDermott confirmed.

Adding to that mix are three transfers with impressive credentials.

Junior Bruno Figlia is 6-foot-5 and from Brazil. He played two seasons at Irvine Valley College where he was a two-time California state champion. He won the junior college division of the prestigious Ojai Valley tournament in doubles.

Spain native Alex Fillat Perez comes to Hilo from Division II East Central University in Oklahoma, which dropped its tennis program after the 2016 season. He was a two-time first-team all-conference pick and was the GAC Freshman of the Year in 2015. Vaclav Slezak comes to the Big Island from Division I Troy University, where he was 7-6 in doubles last year. He is a native of the Czech Republic.

A pair of freshmen complete the roster—Braxton Chong and Dillon Lam. Chong played at Mid Pacific Institute in Honolulu and Lam is from Milpitas, Calif. "Braxton and Dillon came to campus as good players and are now working hard to transition to college tennis."

McDermott is anxious to see how all the pieces work when they get their first tests in Kona this week.

"I'm excited to start the season," she added.  "This is a team that works hard on and off the court and they are prepared to compete."