By all accounts, it was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Titan women's tennis team. After all, Detroit ended the 2008-09 season with a school record 15 victories and the team's first-ever appearance in the Horizon League Championship match. UDM lost four seniors from that squad, including its top three individuals in the starting line-up, and even its head coach.

“One of the main things I wanted to do was be flexible,” said first year head coach Sam Poole. “Some things that we did in the beginning of the year worked, while other things didn't, so I was flexible in the beginning and we just grew as a team.”

The dual season started out as if was going to be one of those long years as the Titans lost seven straight and nine of its first 10 matches. Detroit then started the conference season by dropping the doubles point at Wright State, but something happened as the singles matches were underway. The rebuilding turned to a finished project as the red, white and blue rallied to win five of the six singles matches and take the affair against the Raiders, 5-2. That day sparked the Titans to win 7-of-9 down the stretch and end the season third in the Horizon League with a 6-2 mark.

“I really believe that we just were sick of losing and not competing at our best and after those doubles matches, everything just clicked for us,” added Poole.

During that streak, Detroit swept its opponents three times and won another match by a 6-1 score all en route to a 10-12 overall season. The HL Championships then saw a repeat as the Titans made it back to the title match with a 4-0 win over Green Bay in the first round and a 4-1 triumph over the second-seeded Cleveland State Vikings in the semi-finals. The finals saw Detroit give it their all against a UIC squad that would eventually win its 14th-straight championship.

“We worked hard out there and never gave up and that is what I wanted to see from them,” said Poole. “They are a really good program and it was a great achievement for us to be in that match. Nonetheless, we went in looking to win and we didn't back down.”

Detroit got to that point with a total team effort as four Titans posted double digit victories in singles and all seven members of the roster had more than 15 total wins. Two newcomers made an immediate impact that helped UDM rise back to the top of the conference in HL Newcomer of the Year and first team All-Horizon League selection Carolina Salas Espinosa (Monterrey, Mexico/Preparatoria No. 7) and second team All-HL honoree Amanda Cornwell (Waterford, MI/Kettering).

Espinosa, a freshman who also earned team MVP honors, was 15-13 on the year and 6-2 in conference play at the No. 1 position. Eight of her total wins were at No. 1 with another four at No. 2 during the dual campaign.

Cornwell led the Titans on the year with 17 singles wins and was a near perfect 7-1 in league play. The sophomore, who tied for first on the squad with 31 total victories, saw time mostly at the No. 2 and 3 slot, but did her best work at No. 3 where she went 9-2 overall and 4-0 in the conference.

The two newcomers and All-HL performers also combined to play together at top doubles posting another 13 victories.

“I told the team that we needed everybody together if we were going to be successful and we got that,” commented Poole. “The seven ladies worked together and when they weren't playing, they were cheering on their teammates and helping in any way they could. That is the best thing about the University and the team is that we are a close knit family and from the top down, we are together and all of that helped us turn our season around.”

The middle of the line-up saw three returning players from the 2008-09 HL runner-up team and that trio helped stabilize the Titans' unit. Senior Svetlana Flankova (Riga, Latvia/Riga Secondary 21) was tied for second on the team with 16 singles wins as well as for first with 31 total victories. Flankova ended her career with the most doubles victories in school history (69) as well as third in singles wins with 68.

Junior and 2010 Coach's Award winner Erin Weldon (Kalamazoo, MI/Mattawan) was another Titan with 16 singles wins and 31 total victories and was 6-2 in league play, while sophomore Sophie Sjoberg-Sundstrom (Gothenburg, Sweden/Katrinelunds Gymnasiet) fought through injuries to end the year with 11 singles wins, including a 4-0 mark at No. 3. Sjoberg-Sundstrom also teamed with Flankova for 13 doubles wins and a perfect 9-0 tally at No. 2 doubles and 6-0 ledger in the Horizon League.

Two other newcomers also contributed to the program's success in freshmen Victoria Baca (Quito, Ecuador/El Sauce) and Melanie Capuano (Grosse Pointe Farms, MI/Grosse Pointe South). Baca was 9-6 in singles and 3-1 in league play, while adding another seven doubles wins. The team's Scholar-Athlete, Capuano recorded 17 total wins on the season and was 6-6 at the No. 6 position.

“We were a young team and what made us so successful was that everyone on the roster produced,” said Poole. “Everyone played and everyone contributed when they were in the line-up and at every place in the line-up.”

The Titans women's team has reached new heights in the last two years and while collegiate rosters are always undergoing changes, Detroit knows that after the turnaround it had this season, the bar will always be set high for the future.