Butler has everybody back as it tries to top a 6-5 season with a playoff campaign.

Knoch was unbeaten in section play a year ago, but graduated six seniors.

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic reached .500 in only its second season as a program and now has the WPIAL team playoffs in its sights.

Grove City's Emily Gordon was undefeated while rolling to a PIAA Class AA singles championship — and she's back for more.

Welcome to Butler County area girls tennis, 2017.

“Emily didn't even lose a set last year until the state final,” Grove City coach Jared Henshaw said. “She was that dominant.”

Gordon dropped a 6-2 decision to Bethlehem Catholic's Brenna Magliochetti in the first set of the state finals before rallying for a 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory. She will be a senior this season.

Gordon has verbally committed to a full scholarship at Mercyhurst University.

“Duquesne offered her full as well,” Henshaw said. “She is constantly working on her game. She's using tennis to further her education and that's a great thing.”

Here is a look at area teams as the season begins Monday.

Butler

Coach: Alisa Green, 19th year

Last Year: 6-5, missed playoffs

Key Players: No. 1 singles player Savanna Turner (4-6) is back for her senior season. Team MVP Sydney Hanratty, a junior (8-4) is back at No. 2 singles and sophomore Lexi Chappel may have an edge at No. 3.

Plenty of competition exists for playing time between junior Caroline Simms, the team's Positive Athlete of the Year award winner last year, seniors Jenna Kuntz, Jill Ford, Mercedes Belch, Andrea Malacaman and Ali Hinch, freshmen Peddi Isherwood and Reagan Sommariva.

Green says: “Those freshmen did well in tournaments in Western Pennsylvania and could affect our lineup this year. We have plenty of competition for our doubles spots, especially. We have a lot more depth and I think we can make a run at a playoff spot.”

CW North Catholic

Coach: Stephanie Crowley, third year

Last Year: .500 season

Key Players: Olivia Solverson, a junior, is back at No. 1 singles and senior Lilly Sacchini returns at No. 2. Battling at No. 3 are juniors Kaelyn Thimons and Katie Lynch.

Other notable players include seniors Emma Stumm and Kelly Krolicki, and sophomore Olivia Saal.

Crowley says: “We've got 18 girls on the team and those are our highest numbers yet. We're still in the middle of tryouts for positioning, but our goal is to reach the WPIAL team playoffs for the first time.”

Grove City

Coach: Jared Henshaw, seventh year

Last Year: Third place in Region 1, District 10

Key Players: Besides top player Gordon, the Golden Eagles return seniors Sydney Adams, Addie Reynolds and Jenny Baglia, juniors Logan Fuss and Lauren Wright. Senior Emma Lowers returns to tennis after a year of playing volleyball.

Other potential players in the mix include senior Blair Steele, juniors Georgia Coulter and Abby Foley, sophomores Naomi Conger and Anna Packard, freshmen Mary Coulter and Emma Franken.

Henshaw says: “I feel comfortable with our top 11 players, whch is nice. We should be able to fill out the singles lineup and come up with two good sets of doubles. We have 23 girls on the team, a big squad with everybody pushing each other.”

Knoch

Coach: Nancy Conlon, fifth year

Last Year: section champions, unbeaten in section play

Key Players: Among the top singles players for the Knights are juniors Alex Jaksec and Emma West, and sophomore Libby Conlon. Other players looking for time are freshmen Laura Greb and Brooke Bauer, and seniors Emily and Christine Ciganik.

Conlon says: “Those two freshmen are outstanding players and will challenge for top single spots. This team should have a lot of depth and might wind up being a little stronger than last year despite our graduation losses.”

Mars

Coach: Mark Varlotta, 17th year

Last year: Finished third in section, made team playoffs

Key Players: Amelia Haley, a junior, takes over at No. 1 singles. Also vying for time are sophomores Brooke Dean and Karlie Holleran, juniors Maddie and Lauren Lussier and freshman Emily Ivory.

Varlotta says: “We lost last year's No. 1 singles player (Erica Wojcikiewich), an elite player who is taking more private instruction. We're still in the process of evaluating players and figuring out how our lineup is going to fall into place.”

Seneca Valley

Coach: Eric Grove, ninth year

Last year: 8-9

Key players: The Raiders' top two singles players return in senior Allison Brazer and junior Sabrina Dunlap. Four girls — juniors Sneha Padamati, Haley Davinsizer and Emily Grove, senior Lindsey VanHoose — are battling for the third singles spot.

Rachel Elms, a senior, will see time at doubles.

Grove says: “We've got 13 players on varsity. It's a smaller team than what we're used to, but I'm excited about our possibilities. Our section should be very competitive. North Allegheny, Pine-Richland and Hampton are all very good. We're hoping to slide into that fourth spot.”