With a whopping 91 straight regular season wins and eight league trophies, Old Rochester Regional girls varsity tennis team is the one to beat.

“As I tell the girls, we have the bullseye on our back,” said Coach Bob Hohne.

Hohne began coaching the team in 2000 and has seen them through the streak.

“Last year’s team was exceptional,” said Hohne. “This team has been a bit of a surprise up to this point. We weren’t the pick to win the league after graduating people last year.”

The team lost four of seven starting positions last year. With such a change in the starting line up, Hohne said he told people, “We’ll be a different team in May than we were in March.”

As of Tuesday, April 24, the team is 4-0 in the league and 6-0 overall this season, but Hohne said, “We’re still a team in transition. We’re establishing what is the best team.”

The team’s strength thus far comes from the girl’s dedication, said their coach.

“This group here has had to work very, very hard at practice to raise their level,” said Hohne. “Their record right now is testimony to how hard they’ve worked.”

Hohne said a level of expectation from past teams’ success drives the girls to push the streak higher. “No one wants to be the individual or team who ends the streak.”

It goes without saying that the team of 16 young women, many of whom play other sports, is also fiercely competitive.

“It’s difficult to make the team and even more difficult to grab a starting spot on the team,” said Hohne. “A lot of sports have multiple members, but tennis is not like that. Everything is competition, and that’s how you win your spot. Nothing is given to anyone.”

Junior Abby Offringa certainly isn’t looking for any handouts. After playing third singles last year, she has stepped up as the team’s leader.

“There’s great diversity to her game,” said Hohne. “She’s very strong, the top competitor on our team. She doesn’t even want to lose a point.”

So where do the girls go from here?

“We’re taking it game by game,” he said. “We want to be ready for state tournament, but we have a long way to go before we reach that goal of defending our title.”