The wind tried, as did the opponents, but nothing could knock the Arizona women's tennis team off its five-game winning streak.
The No. 39 Wildcats showed they are gearing up for Pacific 10 Conference play Saturday, sweeping the No. 51 University of San Diego.
Seniors Maja Mlakar and Dianne Hollands had the day's toughest doubles match, defeating USD's Jennifer Brown and Lauren Kazarian 8-5.
"Maja and Dianne played great to close the door," said UA assistant coach Brian Ramirez. "That's what we expect from one of the best doubles teams in the country."
Senior Kelly Perry and junior Stephanie Balzert defeated the Toreros' Lauren Perl and Emma Murphy 8-3, while freshman Camilia Todorova and sophomore Jessie Rochefort took care of USD's Tara Livesay and Brittany Reitz, 8-4.
In singles play, the Wildcats seemed to have everything in order, earning leads on every court.
Perry and Todarova defeated their opponents to give the Wildcats their second and third points. Todorova defeated USD's Helene Lindstrand, 6-3, 6-3, while Perry defeated Kazarian, 7-5, 6-2.
The team victory came a little laterwhen Mlakar, who struggled early on, took care of USD's Perl 7-6 (7-1), 6-2.
Jakowlew finished the sweep off for Arizona in dramatic fashion.
After battling in the first set 7-6 (7-3), Jakowlew lost the second set, 4-6, to USD's Reitz. With the overall match already decided the two played in a super tiebreaker, which Jackowlew won 10-4.
"The girls played much better today," Ramirez said. "All of our girls are capable of being great."
"Today the girls dug deep enough to get the winning points," said UA head coach Vicky Maes. "This helps their trust with each other and their confidence. I had a sit-down with them yesterday (Friday) after the match and they responded. I'm very happy with their performance."
The No. 39 Wildcats needed all the heart they could muster Friday to defeat Loyola Marymount, 4-3.
The Wildcats got off to a quick start with Mlakar and Hollands defeating LMU's Carla Arguelles and Patrycia Hubl, 8-4. Perry and Balzert defeated the Lions' Serena Fermin and Tamara Tanner, daughter of former tennis great Roscoe Tanner, 8-2.
Rochefort and Todorova lost to LMU's Erin Ivey and Kimi Kaloi, 5-8.
"Their No. 3 looked stronger than their No. 2," Maes said. "Our No. 3 looked sluggish. They need to do more to take the pressure off No. 2."
Gusty winds weren't much of a factor in the day's doubles matches, though they made their presence known during the singles matches.
"The wind is a little bit of an equalizer," Maes said. "I'm not making excuses for our team, but the wind does change the way a ball drops."
The Lions took advantage of the Wildcats' timid play and jumped on them early in singles competition.
LMU's Arguelles took the first set from Mlakar 3-6, but the senior rebounded to win the next two sets 6-3, 6-2.
"When Maja turns it on, she's unbeatable," said Maes.
On the second court, Hollands easily took care of LMU's Tanner, 6-2, 6-1. Hollands, who started the match a little sluggish, woke up quickly to defeat her opponent.
"The wind is so frustrating," said Hollands. "It's not consistent, but it wasn't too bad. At 2-2, I started being more aggressive. I said to myself, 'Just hit it,' you can't be too relaxed in the wind.'"
On court three, Balzert found herself in a dogfight with Fermin. Balzert lost the first set 6-7 (5-7), then won the second set 6-1, before losing the third set 1-6.
Jakowlew was also in a tough battle, defeating LMU's Kaloi 7-5 in the first set, before losing back-to-back sets, 2-6, 2-6.
Todorova, playing on court six, gave the Lions' Ivey all she could handle before dropping the match 6-2, 3-6, 5-7.
On court four, Perry showed her senior leadership, defeating LMU's Hubl 6-3, 6-0 to give the Wildcats the victory.