However, in every season since her first, Meyers and her Spartans have been able to earn an ITA ranking that seemed years away in 2013. This season, MSU cracked the preseason Top 75 for the first time since 2009. They are No. 68 in the most recent rankings.

In 2008, coach Simone Jardim took over a program that had hit hard times. MSU had not even amassed a winning record since 1993.

Jardim had to build her program from the ground up. During her first five seasons at MSU, the Spartans finished .500 or below, and won a total of four Big Ten meets. But in each of the past two seasons, MSU women's tennis has achieved success not seen since the early 1990s, with winning percentages in the .600s and a 5-6 conference record in both seasons.

A recent tournament in Miami helped the team prove its potential for the 2016 season. In Florida, the team played its first ranked opponent of the season in then-No. 41 Auburn University. Though they lost that meet, Jardim felt that the way the team competed was a good sign for the future.

"We were right there with them, we weren’t far from making it a close match," Jardim said. "A lot of third sets and a lot of opportunities."

The next day, the team finished their run in Miami with a win over Middle Tennessee State University.

For junior Athena Trouillot, a native of Miami, the tournament was special. She said that more than 30 of her relatives and friends came to both matches. Truillot was happy with the team's performance in her hometown, especially in the matchup against Auburn.

"They’re a really good team ... we were close to beating them," Trouillot said. "We played really good doubles, we came out really strong, and in singles we were close in many of the matches. For me, that was the most significant eye-opener, because they’re a really good team and we were right with them."

Last week, the Spartans were scheduled to face another ranked opponent, No. 41 DePaul University. However, the meet had to be postponed when the Spartans' team van was robbed of $7,000 worth of equipment and personal items while the team was out eating lunch before the match.

The team had this past weekend off, but after the break, they will have to get right back into the swing of the season. Two more ranked, non-conference opponents loom on the Spartans' schedule: No. 64 Wake Forest at 10 a.m.on Saturday in East Lansing and No. 22 Kentucky on Feb. 21 in Lexington. The team might also reschedule its DePaul meet.

The conference schedule, which begins on March 19, will be even tougher, as six of MSU's 11 Big Ten opponents are currently ranked. Meyers believes that non-conference tests will prepare the Spartans well for the conference meets.

"The Big Ten season is the main focus, and we want to peak during that season," Meyers said. "I think that playing these ranked teams from all across the country is a great experience."

Trouillot said that her goal for the season is to achieve a winning record in the Big Ten. Many Spartans, including Meyers and sophomore Lexi Baylis, have their goals set even higher. Meyers and Baylis believe this could be the first year MSU women's tennis finally breaks into the NCAA Women's Tennis Championships.

"I think this team has the potential to do it," Baylis said.