After some rough losses at No. 5 UCLA and No. 9 Southern California, the No. 47 Arizona men's tennis team (7-8, 0-2 Pacific 10 Conference) faces No. 36 California (7-8, 1-1) today and No. 16 Stanford (9-7, 1-1) tomorrow at Robson Tennis Center.
The Wildcats meet the Golden Bears at 1:30 p.m. and the Cardinal at 1 p.m.
Arizona head coach Bill Wright said he is glad to be back at home, where the Wildcats have scarcely played this spring.
"It sure beats being away," Wright said. "We had a tough time back in California."
No. 47 junior Roger Matalonga pulled a muscle in his back in pre-game warmups at USC. He finished the doubles match and played part of a singles match before retiring because of the pain.
"I've been resting a lot all week," Matalonga said. "I'll be ready."
The Wildcats are going to need Matalonga, who is half of the No. 15 doubles team in the country with senior Colin O'Grady.
California comes to Tucson with the No. 11 doubles team of Connor Niland and Patrick Briaud. Stanford brings the No. 3 doubles team of K.C. Corkery and Sam Warburg.
Wright said he is looking for some fire from his team this weekend.
"We need to be ready," Wright said. "We need to come out eager and play solid. These are two winnable matches."
Arizona has been an up-and-down team this year, looking like a top-15 squad at times and then turning around and looking like a high school team.
"We're still looking for some consistency, but injuries are hurting us more than anything else," Wright said.
"It's been a difficult year," said senior Paul Warkentin. "Everyone's starting to realize it's getting near the end and we have a good chance to help out the program.
"We have two storied programs coming in, and we have a great opportunity to give ourselves a boost," he said. "We're pretty excited."
Junior Daniel Andrus is still working his way back from a stress fracture in his foot.
"It definitely feels better," Andrus said. "Not 100 percent yet, but it's good enough for me to be effective."
Cal is coming off a 4-3 loss to No. 13 Washington. Stanford is coming off a 4-3 loss to No. 2 Illinois.