RYAN CLAY/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA freshman Maja Mlakar serves during her singles victory over Arizona State's Adria Angel, which clinched the 4-3 Arizona upset over the No. 9 Sun Devils.

When No. 9 Arizona State came to Tucson this weekend, it marked the last chance for the 25th-ranked Wildcat women's tennis team to make a statement to the nation before the postseason arrives.

That is exactly what the team did, as it came together and pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the program's history by defeating the Sun Devils, 4-3.

The win was Arizona's first against its in-state rival since 1998.

"It was an incredible win for us," sophomore Debbie Larocque said. "We all fought very hard, and it felt so good to beat them. This win gives us a lot of confidence ending the season."

The match didn't start off well for the Wildcats, as ASU swept the three doubles matches to take the early 0-1 lead.

Going into the singles portion of the match, UA had to win four of the six matches to earn the victory, which it knew would be an uphill battle against the heavily favored Sun Devils.

Arizona's No. 2 player, Larocque, came out and set the tone by defeating Dora Krstulovic, who is ranked 24th in the nation 6-1, 6-4.

The Wildcats went on to split their matches at the Nos. 3-6 positions with the Sun Devils.

With the team score tied 3-3, the only match left to be completed was on center court.

UA freshman Maja Mlakar, ranked 18th, was in a dogfight with No. 15 Adria Angel.

Mlakar dropped the first set in a tiebreaker, and Angel jumped on her early in the second set to take a 0-3 lead.

Mlakar battled back to 4-4 in the second set, but the battle was just beginning.

With the entire team watching by this time, Mlakar knew the outcome of her match would be the deciding factor.

Mlakar forced another tiebreaker, and she fought off five match points to take the second set 7-6 (14-12).

"It was a really tough match," Mlakar said. "I found out the score and I knew what I had to do. I continued to fight, and I didn't want to lose. I knew how important it was to try to find a way to win."

With the match tied one set apiece, each player continued to play hard, and the third and deciding set came down once again to a tiebreaker.

With the match riding on the third set-tiebreaker, Mlakar prevailed and give UA a 4-3 victory over the heavily favored Sun Devils.

"Maja fought so hard in her match," Larocque said. "The way that she battled off five match points and came back was great. It was just a great way to end our season."

The win gives Arizona an 11-12 record on the season with a 4-4 record in the Pac-10, which is the first time since 1997 that the Wildcats have finished at or above .500 in conference.

"This match just shows that we deserve to be ranked a lot higher than we are," Mlakar said. "It was an awesome win for us and I can't explain it. It was the perfect way to end the regular season."

The Wildcats don't have much time to enjoy the victory as they travel to Ojai, Calif., this weekend to compete in the Pac-10 Championships.