Wildcats square off against Washington schools

With its home season coming to a close, the Arizona women's tennis team looks to gain position for the upcoming postseason tournament this weekend when it plays host to Washington and No. 37 Washington State.

The Wildcats (8-8) are ranked No. 34 in the country, despite being only 1-7 in Pacific 10 Conference play.

The Wildcats are in the midst of a two-match losing streak, but sophomore Debbie Larocque says the team is confident after coming off a tough loss to Southern California in which three of the six matches went to a third and decisive set.

"The score was not apparent of how close the match was against USC," Larocque said. "We all played hard and we were in the match, but we came up short. It was a tough loss, but it gave us confidence that we can play with anyone."

Arizona is led by freshman Maja Mlakar, who is ranked No. 20 in the nation.

Mlakar also teams up with Larocque to form the No. 13 doubles team.

Mlakar said that it is important that UA come out and try to win the doubles point in order to jump on its opponents early.

"Debbie and I showed everyone early in the season that we can beat anyone in doubles," Mlakar said. "We have all improved, and we are all confident that we can win the doubles point. If we can do that, it gives us a lot of confidence going into our singles matches."

With Arizona looking to climb the rankings and fight for position in the NCAA postseason tournament, two wins in conference against the Washington schools will help its cause.

"We are beginning to come together as a team," Mlakar said. "We showed that last weekend against UCLA and USC. We can't overlook the Washington schools. We realize the upcoming matches are hard, but we are all confident that we can beat both of them."

First serve is set for today at 1:30 p.m. at the Lanelle Robson Tennis Center.