Romeoville, Ill. - You would be hard-pressed to find a more talented and experienced women's tennis team than Lewis University.
 
After all, the Flyers have advanced to three consecutive Great Lakes Valley Conference finals – including a championship in 2012, two-straight NCAA Tournament berths, feature two NCAA All-Americans and have accumulated a record of 53-14 in the past three seasons alone.
 
"Every player on our team has been in big matches and experienced both the highs and lows that motivate us," Lewis head women's tennis coach Brett Bridel said.
 
Lewis seniors Zsofia Kranczicki (Eger, Hungary/Szilagyi Erzsebet Gimnazium es Kollegium) and Zsofia Lanstiak (Budapest, Hungary/Karinthy Frigyes Gimnazium) have served as the base for the turnaround of the Flyer program. They enter the spring campaign ranked No. 4 in the country in doubles play, while Lanstiak is 13^th individually and Kranczicki checks in at No. 41.
 
In three and a half seasons, Kranczicki and Lanstiak have combined for 180 total victories (both singles and doubles) and paired up together for 62 wins.
 
Lanstiak is a two-time GLVC Player of the Year and was named an All-American with Kranczicki following the 2013 campaign where they were ranked No. 5 in the nation as a doubles tandem. This past fall, the Hungarian duo placed third overall at the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships.
 
Kranczicki is a three-time All-GLVC selection and was named the GLVC Freshman of the Year in 2011.
 
"(Kranczicki and Lanstiak) have been the cornerstones of us building this program,"  Bridel said. "I couldn't be more proud of the way they have represented Lewis University, both academically and athletically."
 
Bridel will also return the services of sophomores Megan Nguyen (Germantown Hills, Ill./Metamora), Jill Wetmore (Ottawa, Ill./Ottawa) and senior Kendra Mills (Elmhurst, Ill./York). All three student-athletes played an instrumental role in Lewis' success last season.
 
"All three have valuable match experience and have been working hard to develop their games even more," Bridel said.
 
Lewis' lone newcomer is Ana Banic (Skradin, Croatia/Gimnazija Antuna Vrancica). 
 
"Ana is a very skilled player that we expect to produce some very good tennis for us," Bridel said.
 
Expectations are not limited to Banic, as Bridel believes that his squad is capable of great things in 2014.
 
"We got to play a lot of individual tennis matches this past fall and had very solid results," Bridel said. "Our team is striving for excellence, so we will focus and believe in the process to meet that expectation."
 
Lewis opens the spring campaign on Friday (Jan. 24), as they head to the Vaughn Athletic Center in Aurora to take on Division I Northern Illinois. First serve is set for 12 PM.