ERIC M. JUKELEVICS/Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona senior Steven Capriati reaches for a backhand earlier this season at the Robson Tennis Center. The Wildcats look to improve their postseason chances tomorrow on the road against Washington.

After losing eight of its last nine matches, the UA men's tennis team travels to Washington and Oregon this weekend with its postseason in jeopardy.

UA's vision of making the NCAA tournament is still in reach, but they need to get back on track this weekend as they travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on the No. 34 Huskies and No. 62 Ducks.

"We have not had a great season so far," sophomore Whi Kim said. "We have seven or so matches left in the season, and we know if we can win some of those that we have a chance to make the postseason. We have a sense of urgency and we just have to find a way to get a victory. That urgency keeps us motivated."

The Wildcats (7-8 overall, 0-5 Pacific 10 Conference) have not lost confidence in themselves, and assistant coach Bob Helmig said he is pleased with the effort that his team has shown, even though it has had only one victory in its last nine matches.

"Our guys are hungry and eager to win," Helmig said. "They have been playing hard, but they just have come up a bit short. This is the toughest time of the year to win and we know that if we can just get a win or two that we can build up some momentum."

The Pac-10 is the hardest conference in the country for tennis, which has made winning even harder for the Wildcats.

"The Pac-10 is by far the toughest conference," Kim said. "There are so many teams in the top 10. It is like playing in the (Atlantic Coast Conference) for basketball and having to play Duke and Maryland every night."

Kim said that Arizona realizes that a few wins will improve its national ranking greatly.

"Even though we have lost a lot, we are still ranked," Kim said. "That is because the Pac-10 is so tough. We have three or four teams in our conference that have won national championships and winning is hard. If we can get two wins this weekend we will be back on track."

Helmig said that the team is ready to take the court and try to put together enough firepower to come home with two victories.

"We need a great match from everyone against Washington and Oregon," Helmig said. "Playing on the road in this conference is tough, but the toughest teams make the postseason."

Senior Brian Jackson said that the team is focused and prepared to lay it on the line and try to keep its postseason hopes alive this weekend.

"We know that time is winding down," Jackson said. "We know we can still make the postseason, but we know we need to win this weekend. If we give it our all and play up to our level I am confident we can do that."

Arizona's push towards the postseason begins tomorrow against the Huskies.