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Women's tennis entertains nation's best

Even though the Arizona women's tennis team is in the midst of a two-match losing streak and is hosting the two best teams in the nation tomorrow and Saturday, the attitude hasn't changed for the Wildcats.

"We're just looking to get better, the losses are just a bump in the road," assistant coach Brad Epley said.

Tomorrow, the Wildcats (6-3 overall, 1-3 in Pacific 10 Conference) play No. 2 California (6-2, 3-2), which has suffered its only losses of the season to Stanford.

Amy Jensen, ranked ninth in the country, leads the Golden Bears with 16 victories on season, and junior No. 37 Anita Kurimat follows with 16. Closing out the national rankings for the Golden Bears is senior Claire Curran, who cracked the polls this week at No. 90 last week.

Cal's doubles line-up is just as threatening, as two of its doubles teams are ranked in the top four. The top-ranked duo of Jensen and Curran defeated the Wildcats' No. 15 team of sophomore Lindsay Blau and junior Michelle Gough last fall to capture the Indoor Championships.

"California has the best doubles lineup in the country," Epley said. "They're good all across the board."

On Saturday, Arizona hosts the Cardinal (13-0, 4-0), who is currently riding a 31-match winning streak that dates back to last year when Stanford defeated UA 7-2 in Palo Alto, Calif. The Stanford line-up consists of five nationally ranked players.

Probably the most notable member of the Cardinal team is freshman Laura Granville (28-2), who is ranked second in the country. While the singles matches will be difficult, Arizona might be able to gain back some ground.

"Stanford doesn't have a weakness, but in doubles we could scrape up a point," Epley said.

Blau and Gough defeated the No. 7 duo of Granville and sophomore Keriko Tokuda last year in the semifinals of the Indoor Championships.

Tomorrow's match against the Golden Bears begins at 1:30 p.m. and Saturday's UA-Stanford contest starts at noon. Both are at the Robson Tennis Center.