The seniors on the Jefferson City girls tennis team have led the Lady Jays to an unprecedented feat in program history - three straight Final Four appearances.
Now, those seniors would like to put the ultimate cap on their careers with a state title.
But it's a daunting task, as two of the three teams joining the Lady Jays at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield already own wins against Jefferson City this season.
But before today's two matches, the Lady Jays took a little time earlier in the week to reflect on their accomplishment.
"First off, it's very exciting to get down there," Jefferson City coach Henry Thompson said. "As I told our team, only four teams out of almost 100 in the state are left playing and we're lucky enough to be one of them.
"Second, one thing I make sure our girls understand is don't take this for granted. There's a ton of kids that never get a chance to do this."
Paige Smith, one of those seniors, said making three straight trips is very special.
"It might be a little bit sad, knowing it's our last time, but it's really exciting," she said. "We hope to get a couple wins in Springfield."
Fellow senior Kelly Raithel said there's no contest in the discussion of whether she's more nervous or excited.
"It's an opportunity that you don't get very often," she said. "For me personally, I'm more excited. But I feel like our freshman might be more stressed since it's her first time."
The rest of the squad making the trip south today includes seniors Eden Hoogveld and Kirsten Schmidt, junior Athira Nambiar and freshman Erica Dunn.
The Lady Jays bring a record of 20-5 into the event.
"Since Day 1, we've had a target on our backs and every single day, we've risen to that challenge," Thompson said. "Our seniors have given us great leadership and they've really increased the level of their play as we've gone through the season and started the postseason.
"They have this look in their eyes when they go on the court that you know it's going to be a good day for us. That experience and leadership has invaluable for our younger kids who are a part of our varsity squad."
Thompson added there was a feeling of relief when the Lady Jays secured their return trip with a pair of wins last Saturday, but quickly added they feel like they belong at this stage.
"While we're obviously very excited that we're going back, there's also not much satisfaction in just being a part of it anymore," he said. "We want to get down there and hopefully win two matches and push the teams that are there and make a lot of noise."
After a pair of fourth-place finishes, these Lady Jays are still looking for their first dual-match win at the Final Four. They will open today against St. Joseph's Academy (17-3) in a 9 a.m. semifinal.
"We've played St. Joe's before and we lost to them 7-2," Thompson said. "But we had a lot of matches that were close and we feel like we've improved since then. I know they've likely improved since then, but we really feel like we can give them a good match."
Smith and Hoogveld got singles victories in that match to account for Jefferson City's points.
"We have four seniors and it's our last chance to hopefully get a win," Smith said. "We play St. Joe's Academy first and we have to get everybody pumped up."
The other semifinal matches up Notre Dame de Sion (12-2) against Rock Bridge (24-0).
"Rock Bridge and de Sion are good teams, they played earlier in the year and Rock Bridge won 6-3," Thompson said. "Rock Bridge is 24-0, so they're obviously the favorites going into it, the team to beat."
The Lady Jays have not played de Sion this year, but have lost to Rock Bridge twice, falling 9-0 and 8-1.
"If we're fortunate enough to get to that championship match, the two times we played against Rock Bridge, if you look at the overall score, it might not appear very close," Thompson said. "But if you delve down into the individual results, we were right there in a lot of matches. We really feel like Rock Bridge is the standard in the state and the gap between where we are and where they are isn't as large as it once was."
The championship and third-place matches are set for 1 p.m. today. Raithel said she thinks the Lady Jays are ready for today's challenges.
"I think it's going to take a lot of teamwork, a lot of lifting each other up and not giving up," she said. "If we work hard, it will come to us."