Kokomo — The Howard County girls tennis scene saw a power shift last spring. Eastern claimed its first sectional championship — and ended Kokomo’s nine-year reign.

The Comets, with six of their seven players back, are ready to protect their spot at the head of the table in 2010.

“We’re just trying to build on what we did last year,” Eastern coach Pat Rice said. “The girls definitely worked hard in the offseason. They’ve set some really high goals for this year, but we think they’re obtainable. We’re excited and ready to get started.”

Kokomo, meanwhile, hopes to regain sectional bragging rights.

“We’ve got a great group of girls,” Kokomo coach Rob Leavitt said. “Our numbers are really high. [A turnout of 37.] Obviously, we went through a rebuilding step last year. We’re going to be improved, we just have a ways to go.”

The following are capsule looks at the five Howard County teams in alphabetical order. Northwestern opens its season today while the other teams begin play following spring break.

Eastern

The Comets are led by junior Carly Miles, who is entering her third season as their No. 1 singles player. She owns a 37-2 career record following a pair of undefeated regular seasons.

“We’re so fortunate to have Carly in our lineup. Pretty much every night out, we know we have a point and that makes my job a lot easier,” Rice said.

Miles played basketball in the winter, earning all-Mid-Indiana Conference honors, but Rice had no worries about her transition to tennis.

“She just puts so much work in in the offseason and she works so hard. Even though she plays basketball in the winter, she is still playing tennis when she gets a chance. Everything she gets, she deserves,” he said.

The Comets return junior Vanessa Dove to the No. 2 singles position. Last season, she posted a 14-6 record highlighted by some key sectional wins.

“Sometimes Vanessa gets overshadowed a little bit because she’s playing behind Carly, but we rely on her heavily to get us a point,” Rice said. “If the match comes down to Vanessa, I’m pretty confident we’re going to win that point because she’s just such a great competitor when she’s out on the court.”

Sophomore Charissa Richards has the inside track on the open No. 3 singles position.

Rice returns both of his doubles teams, but he’s not certain if he will keep the teams intact. He might use one of the four players at No. 3 singles or he might mix the combinations. Juniors Jamie Burkholder and Emily Seagrave played together at No. 1 doubles in 2009 and juniors Jessica Bogue and Katie McKinney formed the No. 2 team.

Others in the mix for possible playing time are seniors Kayla Lamb and Courtney Wisher and junior Allison Bowman. Rice described Bowman as a tennis rookie who is making nice strides.

“This is easily the deepest team we’ve ever had at Eastern,” Rice said. “It’s a tough problem, but it’s also a great problem to have.”

Eastern opens against Lewis Cass in an MIC match on April 13. It’s an important match — Cass and Eastern have finished 1-2 in the league the last two seasons.

“Lewis Cass kind of has our number,” Rice said. “We’re eager to play them.”

Kokomo

The Wildkats slumped to a 4-10 record and lost their grip on the sectional title last season, but Leavitt is confident better days are ahead.

“Night in and night out, all I ask the girls to do is get better,” he said. “We’re not the best team in the state, but I do think we can be a lot more competitive than we were last year. We had a few freshmen in the lineup last year and those freshmen are now sophomores, so we’re looking for [improvement].”

Kokomo has a pair of solid doubles teams to lead the way. Seniors Abby Hemmeger and Ashley Lobeck played No. 1 last season, but are being pushed for the top spot by sophomores Madi Waltemath and Kassie Hellman.

“I’m kind of counting on [the doubles teams] to be solid contributors night in and night out,” Leavitt said. “They have some pressure on them. We’ll need to pick up their two points almost every night and try to find that third point.”

Senior Emily Oldaker is moving up to No. 1 singles after playing at No. 2 last season. Freshman Morgan Mohr has moved into the No. 2 spot.

“Emily has put in her dues,” Leavitt said. “This is my fourth year so [the senior class] is my first class to go all the way through. She has grown leaps and bounds. She knows she has a battle ahead of her, but she’s ready for it.

“Morgan didn’t go to Kokomo schools last year. She was a pleasant surprise the first day of practice,” Leavitt added.

Sophomore Ali Wray is the frontrunner for the No. 3 singles spot. Leavitt is also considering foreign-exchange student Fiona Gerber.

Kokomo opens against Twin Lakes on April 15.

Northwestern

The Tigers have been hard at work in preparation for their opener today at Tipton.

“The girls have a great work ethic,” NW coach Lori Miller said. “They’ve been working hard on individual skills and we’re trying to improve the mental part of the game as well as the physical part — trying to get them to develop a game plan, a strategy on how to read the other players.

“We’re anxious to play against [another] team, just to see where we stand,” she added. “We’re thankful for the good weather. Usually we don’t get a match in before spring break so it will be nice to be able to play [today].”

Sophomore Gabriella Snyder and junior Abby Cline will fill the Tigers’ top two singles positions. Snyder saw time at No. 2 and No. 1 last season while Cline is moving up from No. 3.

Freshman Molly Sewell rounds out the singles lineup.

Miller has Emily Hoeksema, the Tigers’ lone senior, and junior Tara Rodriguez at No. 1 doubles and juniors Autumn Bousum and Christy Bousum at No. 2 doubles.

“The Bousum sisters practiced in the offseason for singles positions. We’re hoping with time, they will get used to the doubles strategy,” Miller said.

The Tigers’ roster also includes junior Courtney Ca’they, sophomores Erin Hesler, Jillian Hungate, Bailey Martin, Kadi Miller and Emily Wallace and freshmen Lauren Anderson, Libby Hansen and Claire Pepka.

Taylor

Senior Allison Lipchik, junior Amy Lipchik and foreign-exchange student Isodora Bethlem give Taylor the makings of a solid singles lineup.

“It all starts with Allison and Amy Lipchik,” veteran coach Dave Wise said. “Ally has two years of playing No. 1 singles under her belt and then last year, Amy played No. 1 singles. Together, they have quite a bit of experience.”

Wise added that the Brazilian Bethlem is “going to be competitive.”

Juniors Courtney Schroeder and Rebecca Maak will start the season at No. 1 doubles. They played together at No. 2 doubles last season.

“They’re looking good,” Wise said. “That should give us a pretty solid 1 doubles team. But I’ve told them there’s a huge difference between 2 doubles and 1 doubles.”

Wise is considering junior Vicky Saul and sophomores Taylor Fruth and Alexis Fort for his No. 2 doubles spot.

Wise likes his mix of players.

“I think it’s probably one of our best returning groups,” he said. “We’re looking forward to being competitive [in the MIC]. I know Eastern is going to be really good and Western and Northwestern usually field decent teams and Peru too. It’s just a tough conference. But I think this is going to be a nice year for us and we have some good younger players who will be coming back for the year after that.”

Taylor opens against Guerin Catholic on April 13.

Western

The Panthers will field the youngest team in the county. Their projected singles lineup shows freshman Allison Lindley at No. 1, junior Megan Hiss at No. 2 and sophomore Molly McCann at No. 3. And their No. 1 doubles team features sophomores Mary James and Nicole Rogers.

“It’s a pretty young team, but they’re great girls and they really have a great work ethic. I definitely have high hopes for them this season,” coach Kay Lazar said.

Hiss and the James-Rogers team are battle-tested players. James and Rogers went 10-2 at No. 2 doubles and earned all-MIC honors.

Lazar is considering several players for the No. 2 doubles position including senior Mallory Wills, juniors Hannah Christopher and Lacey Roe and freshman Natalie Warrum. Lazar said Wills is a tennis newcomer who is showing good progress, and added Christopher and Roe played together on a JV doubles team last season.

Western (7-8 last season) opens against Frankfort on April 13.