The end of the season is fast approaching, and there is nothing the Arizona men's tennis team would like more than feast on some Sun Devils.
The No. 23 Wildcats (11-8, 4-7 Pacific 10 Conference) visit No. 34 Arizona State (8-11, 1-5) tomorrow in their final regular-season match.
Arizona defeated ASU 6-1 in its last meeting and looks to sweep the Devils for the first time since 1994. The Wildcats lead the all-time series 52-34.
"It's very important for us," said assistant coach Tad Berkowitz. "We're trying to go into the postseason with confidence."
While ASU has struggled this season, losing seven in a row at one point in the year and four straight during another stretch, the Devils defeated California 6-1 in their last match.
"We had a good win against them at home last month," Berkowitz said. "They're going to come out ready to play. We're playing not only our archrivals, but we're also playing for a good seeding in the NCAA Tournament."
Coming into the match, junior Paul Warkentin has won seven straight matches on court six. Another win for Warkentin would give him the longest winning streak of any Wildcat this season.
"It's been going unnoticed down there at (court) six," said Berkowitz. "He's just been constantly winning matches for us. We've been taking it for granted, but he's been doing a great job. He's turned it around after struggling early in the year. He has a little more confidence going, and we're starting to recognize it and realize he's been doing a great job."
On the injury front, senior captain Tom Lloyd is still nursing a groin injury and will be a game-time decision, Berkowitz said.
"He's banged up," Berkowitz said. "It's been nagging him all year. He's done a great job of fighting through it. I'm sure he's going to try to play if he can."
The Wildcats' top doubles team, sophomore Roger Matalonga and junior Colin O'Grady is the No. 48 team in the country. The duo is 15-7 and 5-6 in the Pac-10. It and the rest of the deep Arizona team will be chasing a fifth Pac-10 win and jockeying for positioning in the NCAA championships.
"We want to finish out the Pac-10 schedule with another win," Berkowitz said.