The University of Washington women's tennis team starts Pac-10 play this weekend with back-to-back road matches against Arizona and Arizona State. Both teams are high in the International Tennis Association's latest rankings, with Arizona at No. 24 and Arizona State at No. 48. The Huskies, who are 0-4, are looking for their first win of the season, and their first Pac-10 win in two seasons after going 0-8 in the conference last year.

"In my opinion, the Pac-10 conference is the strongest in the nation," said coach Jill Hultquist. "This year it will be even tougher — a lot of teams have had really good recruiting years."

While the women have yet to win a match, they remain confident in their ability to compete with ranked teams. With one team member after another falling ill or succumbing to injury, the UW hasn't had a chance to demonstrate what it's capable of with a full roster.

"I know we have a strong team, and the girls agree with me," Hultquist said. "We're still in good spirits. It's just a matter of getting everyone out on the court."

The team is already looking forward to the return of junior Mathilde Cor from a bout of mononucleosis, which kept her on the bench in the past few matches. Cor, who played No. 1 singles in the Huskies' first two matches, will have an immediate impact on a lineup that has troubles with depth.

Newer players have stepped up in past matches and have demonstrated that they are capable of making valuable contributions to the team. Freshman Lauren Summers, who hadn't expected to see much playing time, had an especially close match at No. 6 singles against No. 22 Michigan University, dropping the first set 6-1, then battling back in the second set before falling 6-1, 7-5.

"I surprised myself on Sunday. I had a close match with a good team," Summers said. "It showed me that I'm not that far behind these girls, and that I can beat them."

The UW faces Arizona State at 12:30 p.m. on Friday and Arizona at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Reach reporter Risa Pavia at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.