The Norfolk State women's tennis team opens the 2010 season on Sunday at Old Dominion at noon. 

The women's program will have a new look this season with the hiring of head coach Matthew Halfpenny and assistant coach Torrie Browning. Halfpenny replaced long-time coach Nathaniel Warren who retired after last season. 
 
Halfpenny and Browning return four players from last season's 4-6 team and welcome three new players to this year's squad. Senior Brittany Foster (Norfolk, Va.), juniors Jennifer Astbury (Chesapeake, Va.) and Chenge Tsapayi (Harare, Zimbabwe) and sophomore Naeemah Brooks (Galloway, N.J.) are back after competing for the Spartans in 2009. 

Astbury leads the returnees after going 5-4 overall in singles competition last year.
Tsapayi competed well in her first year with the program after transferring from West Alabama and teamed with Astbury to post the best doubles record on the team (6-3).
 
Foster and Brooks both were solid contributors in 2009 and will be looked up this season to provide leadership and experience for the new players. 
 
Joining this year's team are sophomore Ashley Foster (Norfolk, Va./Granby HS) and freshmen Silvia Silvia Panush (Sofia, Bulgaria/Levski Sports HS) and Rebecca Graff (Bastad, Sweden) , each of whom will see critical playing time within the singles and doubles lineups. Panush and Graff will add depth to the team and will be able to benefit from their experience as a result of their involvement in junior tennis. 

The Spartans will have some work to do this year to replace the top-of-the-lineup production of departed players Stepanka Velebova and Lerissa Morris. But the coaches are confident that the players will make strides in the right direction because of the success of the off-season training and each player's enthusiasm to do well this season. 

“There is a lot of potential in all of our players,” Halfpenny said. “As coaches, our goal is to bring out the best in each player while taking their games to new levels. We hope to build on their skills, but more importantly their belief in themselves and the program.”