Like the daffodils poking their heads up in the valley, Sumner High’s girls tennis team will be full of fresh faces, but they are not new to the sport or the Spartan program.

“We had a lot of depth last year,” coach Chris Heacox said.

The Spartans were hit by graduation and, Heacox said, a number of girls did not return to the team for a variety of reasons. But that’s OK, he said, because there’s a talented group of returning letter winners and bevy of junior varsity players ready to move into those vacated slots.

Senior Emily Gonsalez, a first-team, all-league pick who served as an alternate to last season’s state tournament as part of a doubles team, is the top returner. Whether she teams up with another partner or flies solo is still to be decided.

Senior Brittany Skirm and junior Taylor Henken, both doubles players who earned letters last season, also return to the Spartan court.

The Spartans were a force to be reckoned with in the South Puget Sound League 3A in 2009, finishing second with an 11-3 record. The league remains the same this spring, but the Spartans kick it off with a nonleague outing at home with Yelm Monday. Match time is 3:30 p.m. Through a scheduling quirk, the Spartans’ first half of the season will be played at Sumner High with most of the second half of the season on the road.