HOUSTON — The North Texas tennis team heads to the River Oaks Country Club Invite for its final fall tournament of the year.

For Mean Green junior Minying Liang, this weekend’s three-day invite is another opportunity for her to continue to make waves as the spring season quickly approaches.

Last season Liang primarily played in the No. 4/5 spot in the lineup but has made a strong case for a top three position after a successful fall. Liang has wins this season over individuals from No. 16 Texas A&M and No. 39 Kansas.

Liang is using this weekend’s tournament to further rebound from injury and secure her spot in the top of the lineup.

“Besides winning, I also want to work on playing my own game at the court,” Liang said. “I’m coming back from injury and there’s part of my game I need to improve.”

Liang has benefited from a much-improved Mean Green depth. The team added talented freshmen Sille Tranberg and Nidhi Surapaneni who have pushed the upperclassmen. Liang has said she believes the added depth has improved competition, which has made the overall team better as no one wants to lose their position in the lineup.

Associate head coach Jeff Hammond echoed those statements.

“Our goal is to show growth from the start of the fall in all areas — fundamentally, tactically, physically and mentally,” Hammond said. “We have great competition here and look forward to competing at a high level.”

This weekend will be the first time Tranberg will play since she joined the team late this summer.

The No. 7 ranked Danish women’s tennis player has been anxious to get on the court, especially as she’s watched Surapaneni thrive early in her career.

Though she hasn’t played yet, the Mean Green coaches believe the level of competition she faces in practice has prepared her well and she will also compete for a top spot in the spring lineup.

As for Liang, solidifying her spot in the lineup could help the Mean Green start the spring well. Having consistency from the start will be important for North Texas since they play a very tough early-season schedule, which includes a conference match against Louisiana Tech on Jan. 27.

The Mean Green begin this weekend’s invite at noon.

Stay tune to meangreensports.com and follow the program’s Facebook and Twitter page for updates.