The Stanford men’s tennis team refuses to let ugly memories from last year prevent it from reasserting itself as a dominant NCAA power this year. While last season was marred by injuries, inconsistent play and a brutal schedule, this year’s squad hopes to return to its winning ways.

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Junior Matt Bruch put himself in elite company last season after becoming the second Cardinal player to win both the Pac-10 singles and doubles championships. Bruch and his teammates hope to avoid injury after last year’s disappointing season.

“I expect Stanford tennis to get back to where we belong, which is at the top,” said junior Jeff Zeller. “Last season is over and done with.We know what we need to work on to be successful, so we aren’t going to dwell on the past.”

Injuries and a demanding Pac-10 schedule hurt the Cardinal last year.

“It is clearly evident in our results that injuries hurt us a lot last year,” junior Blake Muller said. “And although we may not have gotten the wins, we did gain a lot of experience. It also gave all the young guys the chance to see what it takes to play at the collegiate level and it showed them where we need to be.”

One of last year’s bright spots occurred in May, when then-sophomore Matt Bruch — who was hurt for much of the year — became only the third player in Stanford history to win consecutive Pac-10 singles titles.

Bruch also teamed with Muller to win the Pac-10 doubles title last year, making him one of only two players in Stanford history to win Pac-10 titles in both singles and doubles in the same season. Despite his success at the conference level, however, Bruch was forced to withdraw from the NCAA singles and doubles championships due to injury.

Kevin Kaiser, Paul Morrissey and Richard Wire — all sophomores — were consistent members of the six-man lineup and will return for the new season with a year’s worth of experience in dual match play.

Wire, who played both No. 1 and No. 2 singles at times last year, said he is eagerly anticipating building on his success from last year.

“I am looking forward to this season,” said Wire, who is from England. “Some matches have extra meaning for me, such as [this Friday’s] match where we are playing the University of Great Britain. I have friends on the team and I want to show them how great Stanford tennis is by beating them.”

A number of players competed in tournaments throughout the summer which they said gave them valuable experience.

“I wanted to get as much experience as I could,” Kaiser said. “Tournaments don’t always help you hit the ball better, but they do help you learn how to compete and win. And that’s what I want to do this year — get wins for the team.”

Now that its members are healthy, men’s tennis looks to get back to the NCAA tournament for the 29th time after missing the postseason last year.

As Zeller put it, “Stanford belongs in the NCAA tournament.”