SPOKANE, Wash. - A dozen years in the making, the time may have come for the Whitworth women's tennis team to claim a conference title. The Pirates, who finished 17-5 and second in the NWC in 2008, are aiming for their first NWC title since 1997.

But to do so, Whitworth will have to overcome Linfield. The Wildcats have won seven straight conference titles and 99 straight matches against NWC opponents. Whitworth and Linfield played three times last season. Twice, including the NWC tournament title match, the Wildcats won by only a 5-4 margin.

Whitworth head coach Jo Wagstaff believes this may be the team that gets over the top.

"We are extremely deep. I don't know that we've ever been more solid through the top eight spots," said Wagstaff, in her 25th year leading the Pirates.

The Pirates have a strong mix of veterans and new players to fill out the line up.

Rachel Burns (So., Longview, Wash.) leads the returning group. She was named First Team All-NWC last spring while playing as the Pirates #1 singles player and posting an 11-9 singles record. Linh Aven (Sr., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) was 15-7 last season, mostly at #3 singles, while Katie Staudinger (So., Yakima, Wash.) went 21-1, mostly at #4, to earn Second Team All-NWC honors. Justine Hays (Sr., Yakima, Wash.) had a stellar 18-3 record playing primarily at #5.

Alli Marshall (Fr., Salem, Ore.), Maya Towne (Fr., Tucson, Ariz.) and Erica Bosman (Fr., Lynden, Wash.) are three newcomers who have won enough challenge matches to earn starting spots. Wagstaff is still sorting out the order. Janel Talbot (Fr., Pasco, Wash.) gives Wagstaff an eighth singles player capable of starting in any match.

The doubles teams are still in flux. Wagstaff will experiment with several pairings throughout the first half of the season until she finds the right combinations.

"We'll see who clicks together through the first half of the schedule," she said.

Whitworth kicks off the 2008 season in earnest this weekend with three matches. The Pirates host Montana St. - Billings on Thursday. On Saturday Whitworth will head to Lewiston, Idaho for a neutral site match against College of Idaho before taking on host Lewis-Clark State.