Demorest, GA - Head Tennis Coach Shane Wood knew that new faces would be needed for his Lady Lion tennis program in 2015 after losing perhaps one of his most successful senior classes in recent memory last season.  Departing seniors KATIE SAILORS and ASHLEY FANNON left big shoes to fill with an astounding 29 singles wins in 2014, but Coach Wood is excited about the new possibilities in 2015 as well with potential abound in this year's incoming class.

"It's been a lot of fun so far, we've got a good group of girls with a lot of new faces in the group, just two returners," said Wood of the new mixture at Burgen Tennis Courts. "They're not just practicing though, they're trying to learn how we do things at Piedmont, and how college matches will actually go since all but a handful of those on the roster have actually played in one yet."

With youth all over the 2015 roster, Coach Wood spoke more about the nuances his coaching staff is trying to get across to the younger players.  Some parts of the game may be especially key with Fannon and Sailors also combining to be PC's most effective doubles team in 2014 with 12 victories.

Wood pointed to that piece of the game when discussing his new class as well:  "We spend a lot of time the first year teaching our new kids the double game, the strategy and working with a partner. All of that is very different from singles where it's just you and the ball and your opponent.

"We've had good play from all of our freshmen, and I'm excited about a few who have stood out in CHRISTIAN WADE and DURDEN SMITH, both have shown that they can play singles and doubles," Wood continued remarking about a few of his newcomers. "Those guys are both very good at the net, transitioning to the net, and have a working knowledge of the doubles strategy.  It's helped our young team adapt to the doubles portion of the game for sure."

Wade comes to Piedmont from Powder Springs, Georgia after a standout career at McEachern serving as a team captain in her final season while Smith is from just down the highway in Flowery Branch, Georgia where she earned a Player of the Year nod in doubles action while playing with the Falcons in 2012. 

The two will help solidify a lineup that does return two of its most successful and experienced underclassmen from a year ago as sophomore AMANDA BLACKWELL and junior NICOLE PARRISH both will roam the courts at Burgen once again.  Blackwell was a 10-win player in singles action in 2014 while Parrish brings back 11 as the two spent most of their time #2 and #4 singles spots, but it's the experience of the two that Coach Wood is pointing to more than just their wins on the court as a big part of their upcoming contributions to the program. 

"When we lost Katie (Sailors) and Ashley (Fannon) to graduation, we had to have folks step up and assume those leadership roles. Nicole and Amanda have done a great job of spearheading that, getting the freshmen together for team bonding experiences, but they've also been very good in practice with a great work ethic and leading the charge in that area as well."

Neither Blackwell or Parrish will be graduating this spring which only strengthens the pair's contributions to the Lady Lion tennis program as well as Wood referenced saying, "It is a nice thing to think about having them for another year as well so we can groom some other leaders, but also have them in place for this season and the next."

Despite his team's potential in 2015, Coach Wood knows the road will have a few obstacles right off the bat as Piedmont opens with #21 Sewanee on the road in Tennessee this Friday.  However, the long-time Piedmont Coach is looking forward to getting on the court against the Tigers: "I love to jump into a big match right away, and give our kids a good look at a great team right away.  Sewanee is just a few years removed from a top 5 national finish, and perennial top-25, hopefully this will prepare them for the rigors of the USA South schedule as we get into it a few weeks later.

"This year, I know what we've seen on the court in practice, but when we start keeping score against another school, I want to see how they react. No doubt, it's an exciting time around our program right now."

It all starts Friday, February 13 for the Lady Lion tennis program as they travel to face the Tigers of Sewanee with first serve set for 4:00 pm.  PC will then turn around quickly to face Centre College the following morning with that match also in Tennessee.

Fans are encouraged to stay tuned to PiedmontLions.com for all schedule results, interviews, and information. For more information on the Piedmont women's tennis program, follow Piedmont on Twitter (@PiedmontLions), like the Lady Lions on Facebook (facebook.com/PiedmontCollegeLions), or sign up for the Lions' Roar text-messaging score & news alerts through the "All-Access" pulldown menu on the main page at PiedmontLions.com.