FLOYDS KNOBS — Floyd Central boys’ tennis coach Rick Miller knows a thing or two about guiding a team to the IHSAA State Finals.

During his Hall of Fame coaching career, Miller has coached the Highlanders to six state finals appearances with the most recent coming in 2006.

He thinks this year’s team has the potential to earn the program’s seventh state berth and continue its successful tradition.

“There is no reason this team can go to the Final Four,” Miller said. “We have five starters back and a lot of depth. We have one of the deepest teams in the state.”

Three seniors and two juniors are among the Highlanders’ returning starters.

One member of the returning quintet who has had some postseason success is Drew Hussung. Last season, the senior teamed up with former Floyd Central player Jarret Oldham to earn the runner-up spot in the IHSAA individual doubles state finals.

The other two returning senior starters are Justin Batliner and Alex Martin. Batliner played at No. 1 singles during the state tournament last year, while Martin competed at No. 3 singles.

The two returning junior starters are Andrew Nguyen and Jack Stoner. Nguyen played at No. 2 singles during the 2012 state tourney and Stoner was a part of the Highlanders’ No. 2 doubles tandem.

Five other upperclassmen are expected to get their chances in the starting lineup. They are seniors Lucas Corley and Codie Endris and juniors Harrison Davis, Austin Ivey and Ryan Plunkett.

Overall, Miller has 20 players in the varsity program, which includes five sophomores and five freshmen. He plans on rotating his starting lineup a lot during the course of the season, so he can discover the right combination for the 2012 version of the Highlanders.

“We might have one guy playing No. 1 singles one day and then No. 1 doubles the next day,” he said. “Those juniors and seniors have paid their dues, and they are ready to produce.”

Floyd Central nearly earned its seventh state finals trip last season, as it suffered a 3-2 loss to Jasper in the Jasper Semistate.

Miller says his returning players are not using the semistate setback as motivation, but he thinks his veterans learned that they need to be more consistent and they need to peak at the end of the season.

“I don’t think they are focused on one match. They’re smart and they know [the season] is a marathon,” Miller said. “It’s like playing golf — you’ve got to be consistent. We’ve got to play our best tennis at the end of the year. We’ve got to relax, have fun and go out and execute.”

Like in past years, Floyd Central’s schedule will be challenging. The Highlanders will play in some formidable tournaments at Indianapolis North Central, Zionsville and Homestead. They also will play some perennial state powers in Indianapolis Cathedral, Brebeuf Jesuit, Center Grove and Jasper.

Miller also expects the Hoosier Hills Conference Tournament to be very competitive this year. Floyd Central will start the conference tourney on Monday, Sept. 17 at archrival Jeffersonville. The Highlanders will have only one home match during the regular season, which will be their season opener against rival New Albany on Tuesday. He was pretty blunt how tough his team’s slate is.

“I’ll put it this way — our chances of us going undefeated are pretty slim with this schedule,” he said. “I think we have one of the toughest schedules around. I think this team is going to thrive on it. But it will be a challenge for this group because we don’t have any [hard hitters]. Either these guys are going to excel with this schedule or they are going to go down a notch.”

Even though the Highlanders’ schedule will be difficult, Miller thinks it will prepare his players to make a deep run in the postseason.

“I’d rather be 10-10 and go to the Final Four than just go 20-0 for the season,” Miller said. “We want to be playing well at the end of the year.”