UA tangles with Lobos

By Craig Sanders

Arizona Daily Wildcat

The fourth-ranked Arizona women's tennis team will try to return to form today as it plays in the final home match of the season against 39th-ranked New Mexico.

The Wildcats (16-5 overall, 5-4 in the Pacific 10 Conference Southern Division) are hoping to rebound from two devastating defeats in California over the weekend. They lost 6-0 to 10th-ranked Cal and 7-2 to seventh-ranked Stanford.

"It will be nice to be back home again," Coach Becky Bell said. "It's a good chance to play in front of our fans one last time and to come back from those losses. We can't overlook New Mexico though. We need to get tough and be ready to play."

The Wildcats moved up to fourth in the nation in the latest rankings, but those do not take into account Arizona's most recent defeats. Vicky Maes, the Wildcats' No. 1 player, moved up to 12th and No. 2 Eva Maria Schurhoff moved up to 17th in the latest Rolex Collegiate Rankings. The Wildcats have won six straight home matches, including a 5-4 win over second-ranked Texas April 8.

Arizona's No. 6 player, Betsy Miringoff, is expected to play in today's match. She missed the weekend trip with an illness.

The Wildcats' losses over the weekend eliminated any chance for a Pac-10 title. Stanford has clinched at least a tie for the title and only Cal and UCLA can still catch them.

The Lobos come in with a 12-7 record and have won three straight matches. They are led by junior Angela Skrbic, who owns a 21-10 singles mark this year.

Arizona will play New Mexico at 2 p.m. at the Robson Tennis Center.

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