The Washington women's tennis put up a fight against some of the top-ranked teams in the nation, but was ultimately swept by both Cal and Stanford over the weekend. The back-to-back defeats leave the Huskies (3-16, 0-6 Pac-10) with only two more chances to obtain their first Pac-10 win in two consecutive seasons.

"The Pac-10 is always one of the strongest conferences in the nation — in fact, I would say it's the strongest," coach Jill Hultquist said. "This year it's even tougher."

Stanford and California are two of the best examples of the Pac-10's high caliber. Cal is No. 5 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's latest rankings, and Stanford has been riding a long winning streak to their No. 1 ranking.

While the UW showed some life in both matches, the dominance and depth of the California teams was just too much for the injury-laden Husky women.

Freshman Aleksandra Malovic has finally been able to straighten out the eligibility questions that have kept her out of the lineup all season. Malovic provided the Huskies with some options in roster organization, a luxury Hultquist has not previously had at her disposal. Nearly every Husky player has been bothered by some illness or injury this season.

"There are a lot of nagging injuries," Hultquist said. "These kind of injuries aren't going to heal without time, and it's a long season without much time for rest."

The same players who had been battling through adversity all season hung in there against tough opponents during the weekend's matches. Junior co-captain Tara Simpson had two three-set matches, including one against the No. 76 singles player in the nation, Stanford's Whitney Deason.

Junior Allison Rainey also refused to be intimidated by the opposition. After falling 6-4, 6-0 at No. 6 singles to Cal's Claire Ilcinkas, Rainey came out strong the next day against Stanford's Lejla Hodzic. Rainey took the first set 7-5, then barely lost the next 5-7. Since the match had already been decided in favor of the Cardinal, Rainey and Hodzic played a super tiebreak in lieu of a third set, which Rainey lost by a mere two points, 10-8.

The only other bright spot of the weekend came during the doubles point against the Bears, where Washington's No. 1 team of Mathilde Cor and Joyce Ardies lost a dogfight 8-7 against a team that included the No. 2 singles player in the nation, Susie Babos.

The women will take the next two weeks off to recover from what has been a long and grueling few months before finishing out their season with matches against Washington State and Oregon.

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