The No. 40 Arizona women's tennis team faces No. 41 ASU tomorrow at the Robson Tennis Center in its final home match of the season.
In what has been a tough year for the Wildcats (5-12, 1-6 Pacific 10 Conference), a victory over ASU would help heal some of the wounds from the brutal Pac-10 schedule. All nine Pac-10 teams are ranked in the top 50, and five are in the top 10.
Beyond the issue of upending its rival - Arizona beat ASU earlier in the season for its lone conference win - the match is crucial because it would likely put Arizona in the regionals.
"It's a must-win for us," assistant coach Petar Danolic said.
ASU (6-13) brings in six freshmen and only one player in the ITA rankings, No. 88 Joslynn Burkett. The Sun Devils also feature the No. 55 doubles team of Cindy Sureephong and Wendy Pilecka, who will likely go up against the Wildcats' ninth-ranked doubles team of juniors Diane Hollands and Maja Mlakar.
"If we don't win on Saturday, then we don't go to regionals, most likely," Danolic said. "It's very important."
The lone senior on this year's team is Debbie Larocque, who has earned a career record of 74-66 in her four years.
"Debbie's played hard the whole season," Danolic said. "She competed hard at the number three position. She was the vocal leader of the team, so she will be greatly missed. She was a great girl to have around, and it's going be her last match. So hopefully she can close it out with a bang."
Larocque will lead the Wildcats against the Sun Devils, who they beat 5-2 Feb. 28.