It's not necessarily a bad rut, but the Butler girls tennis team would love to get out of it just the same.

The Golden Tornado have finished third in their section and qualified for the WPIALplayoffs in both of the past two seasons. They might be ticketed to finish third again.

"North Allegheny and Pine- Richland are so tough every year,"Butler coach Alisa Green said. "Usually a bunch of us are battling for third place in the section.

"Hopefully, we can break into the top two this year. This might be our year to go for it."

The Tornado return all three of their top singles players in Carolyn Shetter, Madison Kerr and Heather Santa, all juniors.

Shetter, 9-4 a year ago, played in a number of tournaments over the summer.

"She's worked hard on conditioning,"Green said. "We have a lot of good young talent in the program right now. Four freshmen have been doing well and will be in the mix.

Here is a look at area girls tennis teams this fall:

Butler

Coach:Alisa Green, seventh year

Last year:11-5, lost in first round of playoffs to Upper St. Clair

They're gone:Katherine Sylvia, Hanna Rocchi, Elisa Nesbitt, Melanie Sessa, Ashley Dills

They're back:Carolyn Shetter (junior) No. 1 singles, Madison Kerr (junior)No. 2 singles, Heather Santa (junior) No. 3 singles, Rachel Wilson (senior) and Rosel Nesbitt (junior) No. 1 doubles, Jaimie Daum (senior)No. 2 doubles

Incoming impact:Courtney Gallagher (freshman) will see action at doubles.

Green says:"We want to exceed what we did last year and get deeper into the playoffs."Grove City

Coach:Lisa Risch, first year

Last year:15-0

They're gone:Coach Shawn Sowers (105-45 in nine years), Caity Trent, Danielle Delligatti

They're back:Kelly McBryan (senior) No. 1 singles, Megan Kays (senior)No. 2 singles, Mary McLachlan (senior) and Kellee Falconbridge (senior) No. 1 doubles

Incoming impact:Hana Casalnova (junior)No. 3 singles, Casey Smith (senior) and Laura McAnallen (senior) No. 2 doubles

Risch says:"I'm excited about this team and the potential we have. McBryan is a very strong player. We'd like to go undefeated again and go even farther in the playoffs."Knoch

Coach:Melissa Venesky, second year

Last year:1-17

They're gone:Kristen Gagen, Jessica Protzman, Lauren Von Rhein, Bethany Soloski

They're back:Sarah Cypher (senior) No. 2 singles, Emily Sale (senior) No. 3 singles, No. 2 doubles Jenna Kanterman (junior) No. 1 singles, No. 1 doubles

Incoming impact:Katie Conlin (freshman) No. 1 singles, Abby Conlin (freshman) No. 2 doubles, No. 2 singles, Alyssa King (freshman) No, 3 singles, Brooke Ross (freshman) No. 3 singles, No. 2 doubles, Peggy Kanterman (No. 1 doubles)

Von Venesky says:"We have seven new freshmen and all kinds of competition for spots. I have a very versatile lineup with plenty of options. A lot of our girls are inexperienced in terms of high school tennis, but we should be able to build a strong team with what we have."Mars

Coach:Mark Varlotta, eighth year

Last year:6-12

They're gone:Katrina Erdahl, Sierra Sullivan (Ithaca), Anna Matias, Brooke Barnes

They're back:Holly Snail (senior) No. 1 doubles, Michelle Flynn (sophomore) No. 1 doubles, Caty Andrascik (junior) No. 1 singles

Incoming impact:Ellen Limback (sophomore) No. 2 singles, Madison Dubrock (sophomore)No. 3 singles, Chelsea Then (sophomore) No. 2 doubles, Jenna McConnell (senior), Brittany Bunner (freshman)

Varlotta says:"This is a young team without a lot of varsity experience. We'll be as competitive as we can, but we're in a section with North Allegheny, Pine-Richland, Hampton and Butler. ... All of those programs should be very good."Seneca Valley

Coach:Eric Grove, first year

Last year:2-18

They're gone:Not available

They're back:Stephanie Ryan (senior)No. 3 singles, Lauren Fetter (senior) No. 1 doubles, Caitlyn Delio (senior) No. 1 doubles, Jacque Maxson (senior) No. 2 doubles, Hannah Pecyna (senior) No. 2 doubles

Incoming impact:Lisa Gordon (sophomore)No. 1 singles, Chelsea Nelson (senior)No. 2 singles, Alexia Fronzaglio (senior)No. 1 doubles

Grove says:"We have 11 varsity players and nine are seniors. I've worked with the guys' team for eight years and I'm a more intense coach than these girls are used to. They're responding well and we're in the process of meeting each other's expectations."