Only a freshman, Spencer Caravaggio isn't going to be intimidated by what she sees from the competition at the WPIAL Class AA girls' tennis singles tournament tomorrow.

That's because although Quaker Valley's Caravaggio hasn't played against players two or three years older than her very often, she has seen plenty of high-level competition over the years at USTA tournaments across the state and into other parts of the Mid-Atlantic.

Caravaggio is the No. 1-ranked player in the USTA's Middle States region that covers Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and parts of West Virginia.

"She'll probably have her hands full at the WPIAL tournament battling some of the high USTA-ranked players in the area who are juniors and seniors and have been at this a little longer than her, but she has the talent. It's likely, I think, that she will advance to the [PIAA] tournament," Quakers coach Jeff Sebastian said, referring to the PIAA tournament, to which the top three finishers of the WPIAL tournament will advance.

The WPIAL Class AA singles tournament's first three rounds will be at North Allegheny tomorrow, and Norwin will be the site of the championship and third-place matches Friday.

"Spencer is a really experienced tournament player," Sebastian said. "She's just a 14-year-old kid, so she hasn't gotten the greatest power of her game yet, but that will come for her. She's very quick and very smart with great court awareness."

Caravaggio has been a welcome addition to what already was a talented Quaker Valley team. The Quakers returned four starters from last season's WPIAL semifinalist team and two of the three newcomers are freshmen who are among the team's top three players.

Caravaggio plays first singles and freshman Samantha Richman plays third singles. She is the third Richman sister to play for Quaker Valley. Sarah and Noella Richman teamed up to qualify for the PIAA doubles tournament in 2006 and 2007, taking fourth place in the PIAA in '06.

Sarah Richman, who also was a PIAA doubles quarterfinalist as a freshman in 2004 along with Molly Findley, is a sophomore playing on the Brandeis University women's tennis team.

Noella was a WPIAL singles quarterfinalist last season, and plays second singles for the Quakers this season. She is finally approaching being back to 100 percent after missing the first two weeks of the season with a knee injury.

"It really is fun to be a leader and be a captain and a senior and a big sister on the team," Noella said.

"She's started for me all four years, and she's been one of the winningest girls in Quaker Valley girls tennis history," said Sebastian, who's in his fifth season as coach. "I bet she will have more than 100 wins by the end of this season.

"She's the heart and soul of our team. She's the emotional leader of our team and sets a great example for everyone."

Sebastian has similar expectations for Samantha Richman.

"I'm expecting her to carry on the winning Richman tradition," he said.

The Richmans and Caravaggio are leading the way for a Quaker Valley team that was 6-1 overall and 5-1 in Section 6-AA play heading into the week. The Quakers had what was for them a "down year" last season -- taking fourth place in the WPIAL -- after winning four WPIAL championships in a row from 2004-07. They were the PIAA runners-up in 2006 and '07.

"It's really fun to be part of a team," Caravaggio said. "Everyone's really close, and it's nice having all the older girls around."

Experienced juniors Brittany Jurcak and Hannah Baumwell are playing first doubles for the Quakers, and senior Caroline Gensheiner returns to the second doubles spot this season, pairing with junior Mica Rollock.

Sophomores Susie Kraus and Kelsey Spalding and senior Lauren Lillback also filter into the lineup as needed for a team that's greatest competition for the WPIAL championship might just be right in its own town. Sewickley Academy is the only team to defeat the Quakers this season, 3-2, last Wednesday.

"We definitely want to see what we can do against SA now that I'm back in the regular lineup," Noella said. "We also really want to make it to states and make it all the way through to the title. Our goal is to get back to Hershey and compete for a PIAA championship."