Tulane University’s tennis team consists of only eight freshmen. No sophomores, juniors or seniors — just eight freshmen.

Four years ago, Tulane was ranked No. 15 in the nation with three ITA-ranked singles players and two ITA-ranked doubles pairs. It finished the 2005 season by winning its third consecutive Conference USA title and making its second consecutive trip to the NCAA round of 16.

In August of that year, Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, causing massive destruction to the university, and because of post-storm budget cuts, eight of Tulane’s 16 sports, including tennis, were suspended.

This is the Green Wave’s first tennis season since the suspension, and, after assembling a spring record of 10-10, it is traveling to Lawrence today to compete against the Jayhawks at 2 p.m. at First Serve Tennis, 5200 Clinton Parkway. With a new coach Terri Sisk, Tulane’s squad of freshmen — ranked among the top 25 national signing classes of 2008 by TennisRecruiting.net — is working to return to eminence.

“They are a rebuilding team because of Hurricane Katrina,” KU coach Amy Hall-Holt said. “I know they have had a few good wins this year. They beat UTEP 4-3, and we went 4-3 with UTEP at the beginning of the season, so we have got to be out there willing to play and ready to fight.”

Erin Wilbert, Lafayette, La., freshman, said she thinks Sisk encountered a lot of obstacles because players were probably reluctant to play for a school that was “starting from scratch”. She said even thought they are all freshmen, it seems like Tulane has come up with a good group of girls.

“I think they’ve been doing really well. I’m sure they’re going to come out fighting, so we need to be ready. I’m sure that they’re struggling, but they’ve obviously overcome that to have a good season so far,” Wilbert said.

Wilbert said that she and her family were lucky when Hurricane Katrina hit and lucky again the following month when Hurricane Rita struck the U.S. Gulf Coast. Katrina hit to the east of Lafayette, and Rita hit to the west, so she and her family avoided any damage to their home. A lot of Hurricane Katrina evacuees traveled to Lafayette, which “made traffic a nightmare” and caused her school to become crowded.

“I’m not complaining because I met one of my best friends through the whole thing. Now every Mardi Gras, I go to visit her and spend Mardi Gras there with her and some friends. This year was my first Mardi Gras in like four years that I haven’t been to New Orleans to celebrate,” Wilbert said.

When she was in high school, Wilbert considered playing for Tulane, which is about two hours east of Lafayette. She accrued a record of 83-2 in four years, and was undefeated her senior year, helping her team win the state championship in 2008. Her juniors doubles partner, who was considering playing for the Green Wave, introduced Wilbert to Tulane’s head coach. However, Wilbert’s mom, Karen, encouraged her to play out-of-state.

“She thought I’d have a better chance of seeing what else is out there, instead of staying close to home,” Wilbert said. “If I had stayed closer to home, I would have been more inclined to come home every weekend and get my mom to do my laundry.”

Karen Wilbert, traveling from Lafayette, will be courtside today to watch her daughter attempt to win her team-leading 14th singles match of the season and then again next weekend when Kansas contests No. 31 Texas and No. 33 Texas A&M.

Wilbert said that defeating Tulane today would confirm what she already knows.

“I really would like to win just because I left Louisiana to come here, so it would really make me feel more confident. I already feel really good about my decision coming to Kansas, but that would just reaffirm it even more,” Wilbert said.

She said she does, however, wish that “KU celebrated Mardi Gras as hardcore as us Louisianans do, so we could get an extra week off of school!”

— — Edited by Sam Speer