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Men's, women's tennis teams fall in Calif.

After facing UCLA and Southern California, the UA men's and women's tennis teams are currently enjoying a two week break, viewed by both as an opportunity to refocus.

"It's good to get time off from tennis," sophomore Laresa Marino said.

The women's tennis team headed into spring break after dropping two straight to both Los Angeles schools.

On March 11, No. 9 UCLA posted a 6-3 win against No. 26 Arizona (7-7 overall, 1-7 in Pacific 10 Conference). Scoring the points, senior Vanessa Abel defeated Elizabeth Schmidt 6-4, 7-5 coupled with Marino's 6-0, 6-1 win.

In doubles play, Abel and freshman Siri Fomsgaard added the third point, winning 6-5 before their opponents retired.

On March 10, UA was defeated 6-2 by No. 12 USC.

After being swept in singles play, the Wildcats turned the tables, sweeping both of the doubles matches. Junior Michelle Gough and sophomore Lindsey Blau's 8-4 victory against Tiffany Brymer and Kara Waskentin, provided the first point of the match for the team.

Following the win Abel and Fomsgaard won their match in doubles with their own 8-6 win.

Getting through both nationally ranked opponents, the team is pleased with the performance.

"Everyone gave their best effort and that's all we can ask for," Marino said.

Along with the past spring break, the team will not have a match for the next two weeks, allowing them to focus inward and reset goals for the last stretch of the season.

"We'll be training hard for the next two weeks to just play well," Marino said. "(Head coach) Brad (Dancer) wants us to play well for the rest of the season."

Jumping 16 spots in the latest national poll, the men's team rolled into Tucson after a four-day break from a loss to UCLA. They then scored their most decisive win of the year, a 7-0 whipping of American.

Torching the Eagles, sophomore Caleb Marquardt led the romp, defeating Josh Proccaci, 6-2, 6-4.

The Wildcats continued their dominance in doubles play, winning both matches. The partners of senior Jean-Noel LaCoste and sophomore Michel Stopa and the duo of freshman Tom Lloyd and senior Alex Brown each posted an 8-1 victory.

On March 11, No. 39 Arizona (8-5, 1-4) had a tough 6-1 defeat to the No. 2 Bruins.

Marquardt's 6-2, 6-4 win against Lassie Ketola marked the only point of the match for UA..

On March 10, the Wildcats were ousted by No. 19 USC, 5-2.

In singles play, junior Alex Aybar had an impressive 6-2, 6-4 win against Patrick Gottesleben. The victory helps Aybar in his national rankings, key for the upcoming singles championships.

"It was a good win for him," assistant coach Brad Helmig said. "He needs to win (more of) these (types of matches) to get his ranking high enough to get to the NCAA Championships."

The two-week break will allow Arizona to prepare for the rest of the schedule. With the last seven out of eight matches being Pac-10 foes, Helmig is stressing the importance of practice during the break and new goals for the rest of the schedule.

"We will really focus on getting in shape, conditioning, individual strategy and match play," Helmig said.

"We have an opportunity for us to finish in the upper half (of the conference) and we to keep our ranking high enough (to reach) regionals."