Members of the Tomah High School girls tennis don’t have a good sense of the program’s history against schools with the dreaded La Crosse prefix.

That’s a very good thing.

“You can never look at a match as if you’re going to lose,” senior Dana Lindley said.

It’s an approach that has given Tomah one of its best dual seasons since joining the Mississippi Valley Conference in 1989.

Tomah finished its MVC dual season with a 4-2 record and heads into today’s (Monday’s) MVC tournament looking to tighten its grip on third place in the seven-team league. Teams get one point for every singles and double match won during the dual season plus points earned at the conference meet, and this year’s MVC meet figures to be a wide-open affair. Not only is Tomah better, but Holmen and La Crosse Logan are boasting their best teams in many years

“Our goal is to keep our number-three standing,” Tomah coach Cathy Brookman said.

That would represent Tomah's best finish since 1996, when it was second in a six-team conference (La Crosse Aquinas joined the MVC in 1997).

Even if Tomah slips from third, this year’s team has already shattered monumental barriers. Heading into 2008, Tomah was 0-19 in MVC matches vs. Central and 0-11 vs. Aquinas. The first barrier was shattered Sept. 2, when Tomah beat Aquinas, 4-3. Nine days later, the Timberwolves posted a decisive 6-1 victory over 2007 champion Central.

The 0-30 record against Central and Aquinas was unknown to this year’s squad.

“You have to go in with a winning attitude,” said senior Kendra Bundy, who pairs with Abby Retzlaff at number-two doubles. “You can never go into a match thinking you can’t beat somebody.”

It’s an attitude that goes all the way back to the middle school program, which is turning out its first full roster of varsity players since it was established six years ago. Not only are the girls getting quality coaching from Brent Nicol, they’re facing La Crosse opponents for the first time in seventh and eighth grade instead of their freshman season.

“When these girls came out in middle school, they beat Aquinas, so this was no surprise to them,” Brookman said. “They didn’t have pre-conceived notions about La Crosse.”

Lindley, who plays number-one doubles with her sister, Kala, said the team isn’t awed by anybody this year.

“We’re a more experienced and more aggressive team,” Lindley said. “I just think we’ve improved in all aspects of our game.”

Senior Erin Larson, who plays number-three singles, said it’s important to focus on the opponent and not the name on the team uniform.

“I go into every match with the same attitude, no matter who I play,” Larson said. “I want to be smart about hitting the ball and not hit the ball all over the place.”

Lindley said she and her sister have some business to take care of at the MVC meet.

“There were two MVC matches we lost that were right there for us to win,” she said. “We’re going into it knowing there’s a great chance we can stick with these teams and these players.”

While Brookman has coached some breakthrough individuals -- Jenny Kolb as MVC singles champion in 2003 and Erin Welch’s trip to the 2005 state tournament -- this is the best top-to-bottom team she has coached since taking the job in 2001.

“A lot of these girls have put in a lot of time together,” Brookman said. “They’re used to being a team and being part of a winning team. Beating Central 6-1 -- that’s a pretty decisive outcome.”

There’s another incentive this season -- sending the Tomah High School courts out on a positive note. Next season, Tomah will play its matches at the new courts at LaGrange Elementary School.

“We’re the last ones who will play on these courts,” Larson said. “It’s like the last hurrah.”