Last year, the Old Rochester girls tennis team didn’t win the South Coast Conference championship for the first time in 10 years.

This year, the Lady Bulldogs are ready to take another swing at the title.

In 2014, the team welcomed 12 new players after several seniors graduated. The girls joined six returning players, including senior Julia Nojeim.

“It was great to get so many new girls on the team,” said Nojeim, who also interns for Sippican Week. “We got to know each others playing style and it was really good.”

Nojeim plays in the first position in singles matches and joined the team as a freshman. She hopes to graduate with another SCC championship.

“We’d love to get that going again,” she said.

The team started the season strong and won its match against Dighton-Rehoboth, another conference title contender. The Bulldogs swept the match 5-0 on March 31.

“D-R was one of the teams that was supposed to be a hard match and we beat them pretty well,” said junior Amy Bichajian.

Coach Bob Hohne said the new players spent 2014 honing their skills and are ready to take the court with a season of competition behind them.

“This year, we’re a bit more experienced. Last year, we were dependent upon a number of freshman to fill varsity roles,” Hohne said. “Now they’re sophomores and that level of experience is always needed in tennis.”

On April 2, the team continued its winning ways and defeated Bourne 5-0 at home.

The team will face Apponequet in an away match Thursday, April 9 weather permitting.