PHILADELPHIA (1/29/04) -- It had been exactly 30 years since Saint Joseph's had seen a men's tennis season as impressive as the 2002-03 campaign. The Hawks tied a school record with 15 wins and posted a best-ever showing at the Atlantic 10 Championships with a fifth place finish. The squad concluded the season by winning 12 of 13 matches and saw junior Francisco Velazquez become the only SJU netter to earn all-conference recognition twice. But if SJU has anything to say about it, last year was just a springboard to future success. Armed with six returning starters and a schedule that ranks among the best in the conference, Hawk Hall of Famer Al Laveson is preparing the team for an Atlantic 10 Championship. No longer will SJU be just another match on the schedule. St. Joe's has upgraded the spring slate to include contests with tennis powers Columbia, Penn, Princeton, Army and Notre Dame. As a reward for qualifying for the ECAC Championships in the fall, the Hawks faced off with nationally ranked Brown, Colgate and Boston College. Regional rivals that had traditionally shutout the Hawks for years are no longer on the slate in an effort to take the program to the national level. "I felt like last year we wanted to prove as a team that we could beat the teams that annually gave us some trouble - teams that not only beat us, but blanked us," Laveson said. "We took those teams and blanked them." After fall visits to the Princeton Invitational, the ECAC Championships, the ITA Regional Individual Championships, and the Penn Classic, Saint Joseph's will be well seasoned for the spring opener at the Army Invitational in late January. Velazquez, the only Hawk to earn All-Atlantic 10 honors in back-to-back seasons, hopes to return from an injury plagued fall season to make an impact on the national scene this spring. The Aruba native strung together a 19-12 record last season at singles and teamed with classmate Van Homer Pangilinan to go 17-7 in doubles. This summer, Velazquez traveled to Morocco and earned points in the ATP doubles rankings. Velazquez needs just seven wins to tie Frank Barnett's all-time record for wins (46) on Hawk Hill. Pangilinan is another three-year contributor that is fourth on the career wins list. Strong technically, the Jersey Shore product won a couple big matches for SJU last year, including the deciding victory against George Washington at the A-10 Championships. Comprising the remainder of the starting lineup is a strong quartet of sophomores that had little trouble adjusting to the college ranks last season. Jimmy Holland, ranked in the top 150 players in the country, set a new school record for wins in a season with 23 in 2002-03. A powerful southpaw, the Coatesville, Pa. native has begun to follow-up his big serve with a net game and is one of the region's top young talents. He teamed with classmate A.J. Garabedian this summer to earn two doubles wins over Purdue and Michigan at the ITA Summer Classic. The duo went 13-8 last season from the number one and two doubles positions. Chris Spencer had an impressive rookie campaign (14-10) at mostly third singles. The heart and soul of the team, Antonio Aniello went 21-7 during his rookie season. The definition of a team player, Aniello played three singles spots in 2002-03. Garabedian, a second-generation Hawk tennis player (his father Alan played in the early 70s), is looking to make a name for himself on the Finnesey Courts. The Hatboro, Pa. product went 17-5 last season and if he gets a few technical issues ironed out, could be one of the better players around. With the transfer of Greg Chang (16-8 in 2002-03), a handful of players will be fighting for playing time in his absence. Seniors Bobby Cappelli, Mike Goldschmidt and Gary Wnek are veterans that will vie for time in the lineup this season. Cappelli saw action in five singles matches last year, but worked hard in the offseason to prepare for his final season. Goldschmidt is another team guy that is a real persistant player. Wnek is a hard-nosed player from Moorestown, N.J. and sophomore Jeff Olson is another big-serving lefty that went 5-5 last year. Another sophomore, newcomer Ravi Pujara is an accomplished doubles player from Orwigsburg, Pa. A state champion in doubles at Blue Mountain High School, Pujara could help the Hawks in his rookie campaign. Last season was a year to remember on Finnesey Courts, but SJU is no longer settling for being above average. The Hawks have their sights on becoming regional and national contenders. If this year's team can continue to improve, Saint Joseph's will soon be mentioned in the same breath as the Prinecton's, Virginia Tech's and Harvard's in the Mid-Atlantic region.