WATERLOO - First comes a shopping trip to collect beverages, snacks and supplies.

For Waterloo Columbus, collecting trophies and medals is usually the next step during its annual trip to the girls' state tennis tournament.

"We always go to Target or Wal-Mart right away when we get there," said Columbus junior Lauren Friedman. "That's one of the little traditions that (Coach Dave) Will has been doing for years, and we follow it."

Columbus will be seeking its fifth straight Class 1A team championship at this year's meet.

The twist this year is that the Sailors are doing it without a senior on the team.

"We didn't realize until the season that there weren't going to be any seniors," said junior Michelle Schupbach. "But a lot of us have been through this before. It's not like we don't have any leadership."

Friedman and Schupbach, the reigning state doubles champions, are the only juniors on the squad, and they have stepped into the leadership role.

"Michelle is the one you can always hear," sophomore Mary McCoy said. "But it's always something positive - nothing negative ever comes out of her mouth."

Just because this year's squad is heavy on underclassmen doesn't mean that 38 straight years of state tournament appearances haven't made an impression.

"If you're going to play for Columbus, you've got to know the effort that it takes and that you'll be expected to focus throughout the year," said sophomore Katie Garrett.

The Sailors' focus didn't slip once this year as they went a perfect 12-0 in dual meets while losing just five individual matches.

"This year we're trying to emphasize smash-mouth doubles," Will said. "We haven't had to play doubles the past couple of years (in the state team finals), so we're trying to be very aggressive in our doubles play."

The team's history of success tends to make the Sailors a target at state, but Will attempts to keep his troops focused on the match at hand rather than who or where they're playing.

"There's no rankings in high school tennis," Will said. "We just kind of show up and play. We'll go any place and play anybody any time."

With 13 state team titles during Will's 35 years as the Sailors' coach, something must be working.

"Most of our players are smart players who know how to play the game," Will said. "We tell them the only point that counts is the last point of the match - there's no time clock in tennis."

Columbus' quest for its fourth straight title begins with a 9 a.m. match Saturday against Red Oak at the Luther College courts in Decorah.

Meanwhile, state singles and doubles play gets under way Thursday, and continues Friday.

While host Decorah didn't qualify for the state team championship, the Vikings will be well-represented in Class 1A singles and doubles. Decorah's Laura Reutlinger and Siri Hedstrom are the No. 4 seeds in doubles, while teammates Erica Munkel and Karisa Shindelar are unseeded.

Columbus is represented in doubles by top-seeded Schupbach and Friedman, as well as Garrett and Jessica Klieman.

In singles, the area participants will be Ellie Tallakson of NU High, Logan Thompson and Jenny Dallenbach of Decorah, and Emily Swartz of South Hardin.

Contact Brian Pals at sportsdoor@wcfcourier.com