NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz women's tennis team enters the 2011-12 season as the defending State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) champions, with their sights set on a repeat and another trip to the NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championships.

After leading the program to its fourth-ever SUNYAC conference title with a 16-5 overall (3-0 SUNYAC East) record, and the Hawks' first-ever victory at the NCAA Championships, 14th-year head coach Rob Bruley, coming off his fourth SUNYAC Coach of the Year honor, plans to keep the winning tradition alive this year and improve upon last season's spectacular outcome.

“We have a very, very experienced team, and I'm very excited about the coming season,” said Bruley. “Our ultimate goal, one that we don't even talk about, is to win the conference championship again. Coming in second isn't good enough for us anymore.”

The Hawks return all but two members of last year's championship squad, giving the team high hopes for the upcoming season. They also added some potential future stars to the roster.

Seniors Juliette Brandon (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) and Ingrid Maryansky (Forest Hills, N.Y./Forest Hills) return after not being able to play much or at all last season. Brandon, a lefty, will be playing fifth singles. Maryansky was named team MVP for the 2009-10 season after going 19-2 in No. 5 singles, but was unable to compete last season due to injury. She will make her comeback as the No. 6 singles player.

Junior Montana Wilson (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) has the responsibility of facing off with the top player that each opponent possesses, as she takes over the No. 1 singles slot. Wilson went 14-8 in singles last season, including a 3-0 record in conference play, earning her a Second-Team All-SUNYAC honor. She was a First-Team All-SUNYAC honoree in her freshman year.

“We've been grooming [Wilson] for two years for this position,” said Bruley. “It's not a shock that she's playing one. She knew that coming in as a freshman that she'd have to bide her time.”

Kayla DiPaulo (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) makes the jump from No. 4 to No. 2 singles in her junior year for New Paltz. She strung together a fantastic 24-4 singles record last season, and was undefeated in conference matches. She was recognized for her efforts with a First-Team All-SUNYAC honor.

After taking the SUNYAC No. 6 singles crown last season, sophomore Paige Munroe (Ann Arbor, Mich./Ann Arbor Pioneer) will take on higher competition at the No. 3 singles position. The three-time Michigan state high school champion also earned First-Team All-SUNYAC honors last season after putting together a 20-3 singles mark.

Junior Alli Esposito (Bellmore, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) joined Wilson on the All-SUNYAC Second-Team last season. She tallied up a 15-8 singles record, and went 18-6 in doubles with Munroe. She will be moving up to the fourth singles flight this season.

Sharyce Willand (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) returns for her second season in the blue and orange. In limited action last season, Willand went 3-1 in singles play and won her only doubles match.

Coach Bruley brought in a very accomplished group to add to this year's roster. Devin Tracy (Great River, N.Y./East Islip) was a five-year varsity player at East Islip High School, where she earned All-League, All-County and team MVP honors throughout her high school career. She was also a five-time New York scholar. Abbott Brant (Shoreham, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) was a six-year varsity starter at Shoreham-Wading River High School. She and Jessica Schmidt (Commack, N.Y./Commack) both also carry All-League honors with them into their first year at New Paltz. Tracy will be partnering with DiPaulo at No. 2 doubles, and Schmidt is projected to play third doubles with Brandon.

“I see a lot of potential in these girls,” said Bruley of his freshmen. “It takes a while to settle into this, and they kind of hit the ground running.”

New Paltz's fall schedule consists completely of opponents from last year's fall schedule, against whom the Hawks went a combined 7-2.

“The fall schedule is set up to get us ready for the SUNYACs,” said Bruley. “We have to take care of our conference business in the fall, and then we play some high quality teams, which is how we get better and how we get noticed.”

The Hawks' season kicks off against SUNY Oswego at home on Sept. 3, followed by three consecutive SUNYAC matchups from Sept. 9-11 with East Division opponents SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Cortland and SUNY Plattsburgh. They then take to the road for two contests against SUNY Geneseo and The College at Brockport.

New Paltz begins its non-conference schedule with a home match against Western Connecticut State University, whom the Hawks shut out 9-0 last season. They then close out their fall schedule on the road, first with an away matchup with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), who pulled together a solid record of 13-4 in the 2010-11 season, but fell to New Paltz by a score of 9-0.

They follow the contest with RPI with a trip over the Mid-Hudson Bridge to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., for a triangular with Vassar College and New York University (NYU). While NYU finished 1-8 last season, Vassar comes into the new season ranked 22nd overall in NCAA Division III women's tennis. This will be their final match before the SUNYAC Championships from Oct. 7-9, which will be held in Syracuse, N.Y.

“I know how much work the girls have put in over the course of the summer,” said Bruley. “The girls are a credit to the program and a credit to the college. Everybody wants to beat them. I'm excited to go out there and challenge recognized teams and see where we fall, and it won't be through lack of effort.”