The UA women's tennis team embarked on a six-match road trip three weeks ago with its sights set on making a statement in conference play.

But things did not go as planned for the Wildcats as they lost three of the first four matches, including three in a row by a score of 1-6 in each match.

With Arizona (5-4 overall, 1-3 Pacific 10 Conference) in the midst of three consecutive losses, the team bounced back and split its weekend matches against No. 10 Texas and No. 18 Texas A&M.

Entering its match with the Aggies, UA had accumulated only one singles match victory during its three-match slide.

That quickly changed as the Wildcats took six of 10 matches from the favored Aggies to pull a 5-2 upset.

"It was a huge win for us," UA head coach Vicky Maes said. "In my mind I felt our match against Texas A&M was a must-win to regain our confidence. The girls came out on fire, and I have never seen them play at such a competitive level."

Arizona's top two players, freshman Maja Mlakar and sophomore Debbie Larocque, ended their three-match drought with victories over Texas A&M.

"In all sports, it is about confidence," Maes said. "After winning one match, you usually go on a winning streak. Debbie and Maja are the leaders of our team, and everyone looks up to them. Every time they step on the court I know they can beat anyone."

After regaining early-season form, UA went into Texas looking to pull another upset, but fell just short.

The Longhorns and Wildcats battled to the very end, but UA fell to Texas 3-4.

In a normal match, the doubles matches occur first and are followed by the singles matches, but UT head coach Jeff Moore reversed the order due to bad weather conditions.

Based on the number of indoor courts available, Moore decided to play the singles matches first with the doubles to follow only if it would affect the outcome of the match.

Larocque and Mlakar each won their singles match against the Longhorns, but sophomore Perrine Pernin, Marie-Pier Pouliot, and freshman Dianne Hollands were unable to earn UA a victory.

In the sixth singles match, senior Daniela Torres needed a win to force the match to go to the deciding doubles point.

Torres' opponent Ziva Grasik was forced to retire due to injury and the match entered the doubles portion tied 3-3.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, they lost all three doubles matches, to falling to the Longhorns 3-4.

"This was a long match, and our team had to fight through a lot of ups and downs," Moore said to Texas' sports information director. "Our players feel great about back-to-back wins over such quality opponents like Arizona and UCLA this early in the season."

The Wildcats next take the court tomorrow in a triangular meet against Lyons College at 9 a.m. and Northern Arizona at 2 p.m. at the Lanelle Robson Tennis Center.