OMAHA, Neb. – The College of Saint Mary tennis team opens the spring portion of the 2023-2024 season Monday.

The Flames will travel to Red Oak, Iowa, to face Iowa Central Community College in a neutral site contest. The match begins at 4 p.m. at Montgomery County Family YMCA.

CSM is looking to improve on last season's 5-9 record. Graduated from last year's team include Kaia Chiasson and Jaclyn Negrete, who were mainstays in the Flames starting lineup.

But the Flames bring back plenty of talent – most especially Renee Acena. Acena has had a dominating career at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles for CSM. Acena and Carolyna Truong both represented the Flames at the ITA Central West Regional this fall. Acena went deep into the singles tournament before being eliminated in the quarterfinals.

"Renee will return as our No. 1 singles player this season as a senior," CSM Coach Mike Johnson said. "It's been great watching Renee grow as a leader on the team and increase her adaptability on the court."

Johnson said he's also excited to be bringing back Truong, Miranda Swanson, Blake McDowall and Darece Van Auken again this season and adding Iyannah Pardiwalla and Pamela Martinez to the lineup.

"We are looking forward to the impact Iyannah and Pamela will add to the team. Iyannah will be starting in the No. 2-3 singles position, as well as No. 1-2 doubles," Johnson said. "Pam will help out the team at the No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles spot. Iyannah is a talented player who will help the team at the top half of the lineup and Pamela's skills and confidence keep improving at each practice."

Johnson said the Flames' weakness right now is just match experience.

"We need to get into these nonconference matches and play more practice sets," he said. "We have 11+ team events coming up in the next several months. Some things I'm already seeing in practice is our on-court tennis IQ has really improved and my ability to coach the team's on-court strategy has also improved. Their shot selection awareness has also increased."

Johnson said the squad has goals for both on the court and off the court this spring.

"I want to see the team sneak into the GPAC team event at the end of the season," he said. "The other teams are going to be tough this year, but this is a great goal for us. Beyond that goal, I want to see the team get out into the community more and help shape tennis for young women in the community. We have plans to run several events this spring including helping with the Omaha Central High School tennis team and May Tennis Month event.

"I'm excited to coach the team in our first spring match this Monday."