The No. 49 Arizona men's tennis team is taking its newfound confidence to the Northwest this weekend.
Arizona faces No. 12 Washington (15-4, 4-1 Pacific 10 Conference) today and Oregon (7-13, 0-5) tomorrow.
Arizona (8-9, 1-3) is coming off arguably its most successful weekend of the season.
The Wildcats defeated No. 36 California 5-2 and fell to No. 16 Stanford 4-3.
"I'm very happy with the way everyone played," said Arizona head coach Bill Wright. "The freshmen were especially great."
Claudio Christen has come up huge in doubles play for the Wildcats, along with partner Bruno Alcala.
Jason Labrosse, who has played the sixth spot in singles play consistently throughout the spring, has also impressed coaches.
"They haven't played like freshmen," said assistant coach Tad Berkowitz.
Berkowitz said he and Wright have emphasized
keeping a positive attitude, and that it seems to be transferring on to the court.
"The guys are focused and they're positive," Berkowitz said. "They got us a huge
Pac-10 win, and every win is a big win."
Berkowitz said Sunday that the team's strong showing this past weekend should help them make the NCAA Tournament.
Berkowitz said his team was a "bubble team" before the weekend, and that the big win against Cal should get them a berth.
"It's just like basketball's (tournament)," Berkowitz said. "Except we have a final 16, not a final four."
For now the Wildcats are focused on coming home with two more Pac-10 wins.
"We need to come out strong against the Huskies," Wright said. "We have to be solid and get that doubles point."
The Wildcats swept Cal 3-0 in doubles last weekend and beat Stanford 2-1.