The No. 25 Arizona men's tennis team will get more trouble than one would think it would from a 40th-ranked team when it hosts Washington today at 1:30 p.m. at the Robson Tennis Center.

Washington was not recognized as one of the more powerful teams when the Intercollegiate Tennis Association preseason rankings were released, but impressive wins over teams like Minnesota have proven that it is not to be overlooked.

"It's a huge test. They (the Huskies) are very good. They only lost to (No. 8) Southern Cal 4-3, and we got smashed by them (6-1)," said Tom Haugland, a junior at Arizona (6-3 overall, 0-2 in Pacific 10 Conference Southern Division play).

Washington, which plays in the Pac-10's Northern Division, is coming off a 7-0 sweep of Santa Clara, and has improved its record to 9-3 in dual-match play.

"This is our first test against a team that is not ranked in the top 10. Washington is the hardest team that we will play" that is not ranked in the top 10, Haugland said.

Washington's No. 1 singles player, Ornello Arlati, will most likely play UA's No. 1, Jan Anderson, who ended his three-game losing streak against UTEP.

"The team's goal is to not lose to teams that are not in the top 10. We have only lost to high-ranked teams and that is how it should be," Haugland said.

Arizona will also host St. Mary's (Calif.) College on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Robson Tennis Center.

€ Kevin Clerici

No. 10 Arizona hosts Washington

Glad to be back in sunny Tucson after spending all of last weekend in Madison, Wis., the 10th-ranked women's tennis team will host the University of Washington tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Robson Tennis Center.

Arizona is coming off a top-six finish at the USTA/ITA Women's National Indoor Tennis Team Championship and is in the middle of one of its best seasons ever.

The Wildcats (10-2 overall, 3-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference) is looking to put an end to the Huskies' seven-match winning streak. Arizona defeated Washington 8-1 last year and has won the last five meetings.

Washington (7-2) is led by Katherine Costain, who will likely match up against Vicky Maes. Maes is looking to continue her 12-0 dual-match winning streak. In Wisconsin, Arizona's No. 3 singles player, Betsy Miringoff, defeated Stanford's No. 3, Sandra DeSilva, who is ranked No. 9 in the nation.

€ Kevin Clerici

Baseball opens Six-Pac play at USC

After almost two months of tough nonconference play against teams like Cal State-Fullerton, Texas A&M and Minnesota, the Arizona baseball team is about to begin the difficult part of its schedule.

The Wildcats will face No. 4 Southern Cal today in the first of a three-game series at Dedeaux Field in Los Angeles.

The series is the beginning of Arizona's always difficult Pacific 10 Conference Southern Division schedule. The Six-Pac is considered to be the best conference in college baseball, with five of six teams in the top 25 € only Arizona is not ranked.

The No. 4-ranked Trojans (10-3) are coming off a brutal 17-4 loss to No. 1-ranked Cal State-Fullerton. The game was a rematch of the 1995 College World Series championship game, in which Fullerton beat USC 11-5.

Arizona is coming off of a two-game sweep of UC-Santa Barbara, and has won three of its last five games.

USC has a total of five returning All-Americans, including one of the nation's premier center fielders in Jacque Jones. Jones has a .475 batting average, with four home runs and 17 RBI.

Arizona has some offensive spark of its own with left fielder Jeff Gjerde. Gjerde has a .463 batting average with six home runs, and leads the team in all offensive categories.

The Wildcats will be facing Trojan ace Randy Flores (2-0, 3.77 ERA) tonight. Flores, a junior left-hander, has a career record of 26-4 and has been voted to the All-America team for two straight years. The starting pitcher for Arizona will be senior right-hander Matt Hendren (4-0 4.08 ERA).

€ Sam Spiller

Gymnastics to face Brigham Young

The eighth-ranked UA gymnastics team will try to take the rubber game against No. 7 Brigham Young tomorrow in Provo, Utah.

The Wildcats (12-2) lost to the Cougars (6-3) 193.8-191.525 on neutral ground earlier in the season, but beat them last weekend in McKale Center, 196.125-195.1.

The test for Arizona this week is to try to stay focused after having the best meet in school history last weekend against Oregon State and BYU.

"There is kind of a low, or valley, you have to deal with. When they came in on Monday, it was not what I would call an intense practice," said UA head coach Jim Gault. "But they improved as the week went on, so hopefully we can be ready by Saturday. We also have to make sure that we don't work them too hard because of their bumps and bruises from the last meet."

Those "bumps and bruises" might be more serious than they first appeared. Freshman sensation Maureen Kealey is trying to bounce back from a knee injury she sustained last weekend, while junior Tenli Poggemeyer injured her back in practice on Monday, and her status is also uncertain.

€ Arlie Rahn

UA track at Arizona State outdoor meet

The Arizona track and field teams return to the outdoor part of their 1996 schedule tomorrow when they compete in the Bill Sawyer Invitational at Arizona State in Tempe.

The Wildcats' only other outdoor meet this season was the Arizona All-Comers Meet Feb. 3.

Arizona will not be traveling with a full team this weekend, as it will rest those athletes who have automatically or provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships to be held March 8-9 in Indianapolis, Ind.

"This will be a good opportunity for those athletes who have not yet had the chance to compete," said UA head coach Dave Murray.

The Arizona men have won both indoor meets in which they have competed, including their third-straight team title at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships in Reno, Nev.

The Arizona women have also started off well, as they won the team title at the UA-ASU-Northern Arizona triangular meet Feb. 10, and finished third at the MPSF championships in Reno.

€ Jason Vrtis