When the University of Washington women’s tennis team hit the road this weekend to face Arizona and Arizona State, they were hopeful, confident and ready to compete. However, they returned home depleted and frustrated after two tough losses, one coming in a match coach Jill Hultquist called “the Super Bowl Sunday of women’s tennis.”

“It was one of the most unfair matches I’ve ever seen,” she said in reference to Saturday’s match against Arizona. “The referees were terrible. It was just one bad decision after another.”

The match started off on the wrong foot when the Huskies, who had been waiting for the clarification of a rule from a Pac-10 official, were late on court and were penalized one game in each of their doubles matches. Unnerved, they dropped every doubles match 8-3. Despite wins from Joyce Ardies and Melinda Wong at No. 3 and No. 5 singles, the Huskies were unable to overcome this initial roadblock and were defeated 5-2.

“It was really frustrating for the team, especially since that was a winnable match,” Hultquist said. “We can’t blame it on the decisions of the referees, but they certainly didn’t make it any easier. The girls fought hard. It was a real shame.”

The previous day’s match against No. 24 Arizona State was equally frustrating, although for different reasons. The Huskies, who had been hoping that some of their struggles with illness and injury were over, had those hopes dashed when junior Mathilde Cor woke up on Friday too ill to play. Between illness, injury and eligibility issues, only four out of the eight scholarship players on the Huskies’ roster are available for play.

“It’s hard to play in the Pac-10 without enough players,” Hultquist said. “We’re not playing with a full deck.”

Without Cor, the Huskies were blanked 7-0, with their only victory coming from Wong and Tara Simpson at No. 2 doubles.

“I feel bad for the girls — we’ve just had a string of bad luck,” Hultquist said. “All we can do is keep hoping.”

The Huskies are on the road again this weekend, with matches against Purdue and Illinois on Saturday and Sunday.

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