Somehow a friend persuaded me to go watch women's tennis on Saturday. I figured it couldn't hurt, so I brought a book, my visor and a note pad so I could at least get a little homework done. But as I sat next to the main court, my book remained unopened.

I had never watched tennis live before, so I was somewhat interested to start.

There were three line judges out there, two of whom were the players.

Yes, the players call in and out on themselves. Coaches wandered from match to match, but for the most part, each player was her own coach, water boy and motivator.

As the match wore on, I found myself clapping and focused on every grunt and swing of the racket.

I didn't realize it at the time, but I was watching one of the best UA performances of the year.

Maja Mlakar - ranked 18th individually in the country - was taking on ASU's stud, No. 15 Adria Angel, on the main court.

Though the junior from ASU led the majority of the match, Mlakar held on.

As their matches concluded, Mlakar's teammates rushed over to watch as Mlakar's match went to tiebreakers each set.

Led by an enthusiastic Debbie Larocque fresh off her upset of No. 24 Dora Krstulovic, the remaining Wildcat fans began stomping their feet and chanting after every point.

The unofficial team mascot - a dog named "Duke" - even got into the action, barking when Larocque and the rest of the team had excited it enough and told it to "speak."

Everything swung on the singles match between Mlakar and Engel.

ASU swept through the doubles, but Arizona led singles play. Simply put, if Mlakar won, Arizona won the match. If she lost, so did Arizona. A lot of pressure for a freshman from Slovenia.

In a gutsy performance to say the least, Mlakar came back from a 4-1 deficit in the second set and fought off at least three match points to win 7-6.

Mlakar then took control in the decisive third set and beat Angel in tie breaks again to give Arizona the win.

The team rushed the court. So did Duke.

A crowd that started at probably no more than 40 or 50 was down to about 15, excluding players, by the time the marathon match between Mlakar and Angel concluded.

The Sun Devils walked off the court stunned. It was the first time since 1998 the Wildcats had beaten them.

I stuck around to watch as the jubilant Wildcats skipped into the locker room. Even an exhausted Mlakar had enough energy to hop around and smile. She deserved it. They all did.

Larocque celebrated by bouncing around and nibbling on a piece of chocolate cake that was supplied in the locker room.

Duke was quick to lap up any crumbs that fell from Larocque's hand.

Larocque's face said it all. Her blue eyes sparkled, and her face seemed permanently stuck in an ear-to-ear smile. Every inch of her 5-foot-2 frame bubbled with exhilaration.

Duke and a few fans waited around to watch as the wide-eyed team left the locker room victorious. In a conference that is nothing short of brutal, the Wildcats pulled out the upset, improving their record to 11-10 and 4-4 in the Pacific 10 Conference - the first time since 1997 Arizona has finished with a conference record at or above .500.

After taking a pounding from the likes of Stanford and UCLA, the freshman- and sophomore-laden team had gotten one back.

One of the lowest-profile teams on campus walked away with arguably one of the biggest victories for the school this year.

Not many people were there to see it, but I can honestly say it was an afternoon very well spent, and I am glad I was there. Not just because I got to see ASU feel the anguish of defeat but because I got to see the looks on the players' faces as they walked off triumphant. It was something that would make every Wildcat proud and definitely turned out to be one of my favorite UA sport experiences.