POULSBO — In the midst of a claustrophobic beginning last year, Head Coach Trish Olson saw hope for the Vikings’ tennis team.

While the young team practiced indoors because of the coldest, wettest, windiest spring North Kitsap has seen in years, Olson noticed something: despite of the frustration, none of the players quit.

Players noticed too.

“I remember a week where we were indoors the whole week — and then it snowed,” said Abby Tillotson, who is a senior this year. “Everyone came to practice… no one got discouraged when we saw the rain.”

“It showed we had a good team and that we’re devoted to the sport,” said Jolene Cari, another senior.

This year, the Vikings are hoping to build on that devotion.

The team returns Tillotson and Cari, who advanced to district competition last year as a doubles pair, and also has a roster brimming with young players.

Cari and Tillotson are the Vikings’ only seniors.

“This is a fantastic group,” said Olson, who coached the team last year, their first as a girls-only team. “We have 24 kids and nine of them are freshman. And they’re keepers. We’re getting more and more athletic every year.”

Olson said several efforts have led to the team’s growth, including more emphasis on racket sports at the junior highs, a tennis camp that was held this summer, and the fun spirit at practice.

“We have fun,” Olson said. “They love it.”

The team will have a 16-match season that begins March 17 with a home match against Shelton. This year, the Vikings will host eight schools, none of them from the Narrows League, on May 3 for the Viking Invitational.

Tillotson and Cari said they enjoy being surrounded by young talent. The duo has also noticed the young players working on their games before practice and being competitive during it.

“I was intimidated by the older girls,” said Cari. “But they’re not afraid.”

The pair hopes to improve on last year’s showing, when they advanced past league to district competition at the University of Puget Sound but were eliminated after the first round.

“Last year was frustrating, the way it ended,” said Cari.

Olson thinks that Tillotson, Cari and the other returning players will be able to be successful with the way they’ve worked.

“There’s been a marked improvement among the returners,” she said. “They’ve been playing tennis and taking lessons.”

After hosting Shelton at 3:30 p.m. March 17, the team will visit Wilson High School on March 19 before hosting Port Angeles (March 21) and South Kitsap (March 24).

As for the seasons beyond this one, they look good too: the junior varsity is composed entirely of freshman from Poulsbo and Kingston Junior High.