The cast of characters is vastly different, but the goal is the same for the Jefferson City girls tennis team.
The Lady Jays are coming off the third of three straight trips to the Final Four, with Jefferson City placing fourth each time. The top four singles players, who were all key cogs in those trips, graduated.
But as another season dawns as Jefferson City will play today and Saturday at the Southwest Missouri Invitational in Springfield, head coach Henry Thompson said the team is seeking a fourth straight appearance.
"You can't replace that experience - that group that we had last year had unbelievable four-year run, made it to three Final Fours, won three district titles," he said. "However, our younger kids on those teams that saw that success now want to be a part of that, and now it's their turn to step in and assume those roles."
It's not like the cupboard is completely bare.
"We've got four of our top eight back, and all four of them were at the Final Four last year, so they got a taste of it. Not all of them played in it, but they got a taste of it and hopefully that drives them."
To that end, the returning players put in a lot of work in the leadup to this season.
"Individually, the girls had a really good summer of playing in tournaments and working on their games," Thompson said. "Collectively, our top kids coming back this year got more done in the offseason than last year's group did, which should give them confidence and gives me confidence."
A varsity spot has been tough to come by the past few years.
"Some kids on our team last year (who were outside the top six) would have been in the top six on a lot of other teams around the state," Thompson said. "Now they have their chance. They have been waiting for this moment and I think they're going to embrace it."
The No. 1 singles spot will be held down by Athira Nambiar, who captured the district singles title last year by beating teammate Erica Dunn, who will play at No. 2 this year.
"I feel like that day catapulted Athira's confidence to a whole new level and she carried that through the rest of the season," Thompson said. "She wasn't expected to win that tournament, she wasn't even seeded.
"Athira is a great leader, a hard worker, she should have a great year for us."
Dunn moves up after playing No. 6 singles last year.
"In the state quarterfinal (dual) match, her win clinched our Final Four berth," Thompson said. "That kind of made her say, "Hey, I can be a big part of this team, not only this year, but in the future.' That was a pretty big deal for her and she worked her tail off in the offseason between tournaments and lessons. Her game is at a whole different level."
The No. 3 spot belongs to Esther Ruboneka.
"She's really competitive, really quick, and one of the two best athletes we've got," Thompson said.
No. 4 is Susan Meyer, whose experience is at odds with the fact she's the team's only freshman.
"She's been playing tennis her whole life," Thompson said. "She's very, very solid. She has some of the best tennis skills you'll see, she's just got to get her match experience in a high-school setting."
At No. 5 is Bailey Patrick.
"She played a ton of tournaments over the summer, I don't even remember how many," Thompson said. "It seemed like every weekend she was going off to a tournament, and all that match experience is going to be invaluable for her."
No. 6 is Haley Watson, who finished fifth at last spring's state track meet in the Class 5 300-meter hurdles.
"She's probably the best athlete we have," Thompson said. "There's not a ball she can't get to, she has a very quick set of wheels on her."
Also pushing for varsity time are Ali Lewis and Erica Overfelt.
Figuring out the doubles teams is a process that could still take a few weeks.
"It's totally different from last year, I knew who had played together before and it was almost too easy," Thompson said. "This year we've tried so many different things ... just trying to find out who works well together, whose strengths compliment other peoples' weaknesses."