The grueling Pacific 10 Conference season has come to a close, but the real test begins this weekend for the Arizona womenâs tennis team.

The Wildcats are set for the challenge, as their bags are packed and ready to go to Tempe to take on San Diego State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

This marks the first time since 1997 that the Wildcats will be a part of the postseason.

No. 19 UA (12-11 overall) is the favorite against No. 26 San Diego State (18-8), a member of the Mountain West Conference.

The other match set to take place is No. 10 Arizona State (13-7) against Southwest Missouri State (16-6).

If the two favorites win their matches, the Wildcats and Sun Devils will play each other for the second time in as many weeks.

UA pulled a dramatic 4-3 upset of its in-state rival to end the Pac-10 regular season in its last meeting.

However, sophomore Debbie Larocque said Arizona is only concerned about the Aztecs and they realize they canât afford to overlook them.

ãSan Diego State is a very good team,ä Larocque said. ãWe are excited to take the court and we believe that we have what it takes to make it to the next round of the NCAA Tournament.ä

The Wildcats are led by Larocque and freshman No. 19 Maja Mlakar, but they realize every match has equal importance and that Mlakar and Larocque canât carry the team by themselves.

After coming off a disappointing performance at last weekâs Pac-10 Championships, Mlakar said the team is ready to prove to the rest of the country that they are one of the nationâs premier tennis teams.

ãThis weekend will give us a chance to show everyone how good we can be,ä Mlakar said. ãWe will be able to prove that we are better than our ranking. We are all excited to get out there and play.ä

The winner of this region will move on to the NCAA Round of 16 Team Championships in Stanford, Calif., on May 16.

Mlakar earned an automatic bid into the singles bracket of the NCAA Championships, and Larocque was selected as an alternate. The No. 9 doubles team of Larocque and Mlakar received an automatic bid into the doubles bracket of the tournament.

With the woman Wildcats set to begin the postseason, the menâs team was unable to earn its second consecutive postseason bid. However, UA senior Steven Capriati was selected to compete in the individual portion of the NCAA Tournament. Capriati played the entire 2001-2002 season as Arizonaâs No. 1 player.