It is a weekend of firsts for the UW men’s and women’s tennis teams. The women’s tennis team will face its first opponent of the year, Portland, tomorrow, while the men’s team will take on Portland today and play its first ranked team, San Francisco, Sunday.

The matches will be tough, but sophomore Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan said the Huskies are set.

“We’ve been working well as a team and we are pretty set for the coming weekend,” Nedunchezhiyan said. “We’re ready to take them on.”

In last year’s match against Portland, the men won in a lopsided victory, but the Pilots can’t be taken lightly. After finishing 12-9 in the tough West Coast Conference, they are returning four of their top five singles players.

“They’re a good team and they have a good coach,” Nedunchezhiyan said. “I’m sure it will be a good match.”

With the return of senior Tommy Tu, No. 21 in the Western Region, San Francisco earned its first ITA ranking in more than 30 years, making it a tough opponent for the No. 34 ranked Huskies.

“It’s always tough when you play against a ranked team,” Nedunchezhiyan said.

With one of the toughest schedules in the league, the Huskies will need to take advantage of weekends like this one. Next weekend, No. 1 Ohio State will visit the Huskies at home.

“I try not to think about it, but it’s hard,” Nedunchezhiyan said. “They are the best team right now in the country. They are coming to our house and so that’s a big advantage for us, I think. If we all keep working and stay on the things we need to, we should be fine and have a great match against them when they come.”

The UW women’s team will face a tough schedule this year as well, playing at least 15 matches on the road. They start that schedule tomorrow against Portland at home.

The Pilots, who finished 12-10 last year, will also be playing their first match of the season when they take on the Huskies.

The women start off the season with a No. 37 ranking and look to improve, with a goal of reaching the top 30.

Sophomore Venise Chan and freshman Denise Dy have also earned individual rankings this year. Chan, who was ranked as high as No. 28 individually in the fall, enters the season ranked No. 81 while Dy enters at No. 112.

Reach reporter Zach Ruby at sports@dailyuw.com.