The No. 12 Vanderbilt women's tennis team began its 2009 season this weekend at the Michigan Invitational.

In a highly competitive field, the Ann Arbor-based tournament featured four top-25 squads: the Commodores, Duke University (No. 9), the host University of Michigan (No. 19) and the University of Tennessee (No. 24).

Heading into the spring season, prominent underclassmen will help lead the Commodores into team play. Three of the five are ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles play, including freshmen Jackie Wu (No. 21) and Chelsea Preeg (No. 80) and sophomore Keilly Ulery (No. 84).

Preeg looks to continue the momentum from her strong showing in the Southeastern Conference Fall Coaches Classic last November. In her final event of 2008, the Floridian notched a 3-0 record in singles play in Tuscaloosa, Ala. She finished the fall at 11-2.

Wu has attributed the success of the underclassmen to their extensive big-match experience before collegiate play.

"I think we've played a lot of tournaments, so we had a lot of experience coming in," said Wu. "We came really wanting to get better, so we've practiced really hard. I'm not saying that the other classes haven't, but I think we're very dedicated."

In addition to their young talent, the Commodores are led by several upperclassmen. Senior Courtney Ulery, ranked No. 105 in the ITA singles rankings, and juniors Catherine Newman, ranked No. 55, and Hannah Blatt will help to provide leadership to a relatively young squad.

"We're pretty young so we want to gain experience as we go and get better as a team," said Newman.

On the first day of action Saturday in the Wolverine state, the Commodores finished with a 3-2 mark in singles play. Blatt, Ulery (No. 84) and freshman Heather Steinbauer defeated their Michigan-opponents, while Wu and Preeg fell in two and three sets, respectively.

Doubles play, however, did not fare particularly well for Vanderbilt, as the women stood at 1-2 heading into Sunday's second round. Newman and Preeg emerged victorious over Katie Lee and Samantha Orlin of Tennessee. Yet the two other doubles teams both came up short against Blue Devil foes. Steinbauer/Wu lost to 20th-ranked Amanda Granson and Melissa Mang, and Blatt/Ulery (No. 84) to Ellah Nze and Jessi Robinson.

The Michigan Invitational wraps up play on Monday. Following a 12-day hiatus, the Commodores will resume play for the National Indoors Qualifying, at Vanderbilt's Currey Tennis Center, from Jan. 31 through Feb. 1. The squad will then travel to Madison, Wis., for the National Team Indoors from Feb. 13 to 16.

Vanderbilt returns to Nashville to face Yale University on Feb. 21, before the SEC schedule heats up in March.