EMILY REID/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA senior Steven Capriati hits a backhand last weekend against Stanford at the Robson Tennis Center. Capriati will play his final home match today against Cal Poly.

Capriati plays final home match

Growing up in a family filled with great tennis players, Steven Capriati followed in his sister's footsteps and became a tennis player.

Capriati is the younger brother of Jennifer Capriati, the top-ranked women's tennis player in the world.

Coming out of Saddlebrook Academy in Florida, Capriati took his tennis talent to Conference USA as he accepted a scholarship to play for the University of Southern Florida.

After one year at USF, Capriati earned Conference USA first-team honors.

However, Conference USA is not considered a top tennis conference, and Capriati was looking for more of a challenge.

Instead of continuing to be among the best players in the conference, Capriati decided to transfer to Arizona to conclude his final two years of college eligibility, knowing that playing in the Pacific 10 Conference would be a great challenge.

"The Pac-10 is by far the strongest conference in the nation," Capriati said. "I have played against Conference USA and the SEC (Southeastern Conference), and they just don't compare. The top six teams in the Pac have strong players at every position."

Capriati made an impact immediately as he became UA's top player and led them to the postseason.

In his two years at Arizona, he became a fan favorite, but that's to come to an end.

This afternoon, the attention of Arizona tennis fans will be focused on center court in the Robson Tennis Center, as Capriati will play his final home match as a Wildcat.

Capriati and fellow seniors Brian Jackson and Bruno Arapovic will play their final matches in a UA uniform as Arizona concludes its regular season home schedule against Cal Poly.

Arizona (8-11 overall, 1-8 Pac-10) is currently on the outside looking in on the NCAA postseason tournament, and the Wildcats realize their final two matches are must-wins if they want to extend their season.

"Everyone has to come out on all cylinders," Capriati said. "If we don't do that, then we can kiss our season goodbye. The only thing that matters this weekend is that we have to find a way to come up with two wins. If we can do that, then I feel we will make the tournament."

The Pac-10 has not been friendly to UA, as it has managed only one win in conference compared to seven in non-conference play.

"Cal Poly is not on the level of UCLA or Stanford," Arizona head coach Bill Wright said. "They are still a good team, and we cannot overlook them. I am hoping that the match will be a tough one so it prepares us for ASU over the weekend."

With the season riding on the next two matches, Capriati will look to finish his career by putting the Wildcats on his shoulders and taking them to the postseason.

That can only occur if UA can find a way to defeat Cal Poly.

First serve is set for this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. in the Robson Tennis Center.