Last year, the Washington women’s tennis team enjoyed one of its best seasons in recent memory, upsetting USC in the NCAA tournament and advancing all the way to the Sweet 16.

So, as the ladies travel to Palo Alto, Calif., this weekend for the ITA Northwest Regional Championships, head coach Jill Hultquist aims to remind her players that there’s always another step to climb on the ladder to success.

“We had a successful season last year, and I think some of the girls think we’re good,” Hultquist said. “And we are, but we need to get better. I think we have to work harder to get to prove that one, [last season] wasn’t a bluff, and two, we’re 27th in the country. We still have a lot to do.”

With the exceptions of sophomore Ashley Anderson and senior Laruen Summers, the entire squad will be traveling to Stanford to try to qualify for the ITA National Indoor Championships. The singles and doubles champions will earn an automatic bid to the championship.

Because of her performance at the ITA All-American Championships, No. 16 junior Venise Chan has already earned her spot in the Indoors and thus will not be competing in the singles bracket this weekend.

But a number of Huskies will be aiming to perform well this weekend, including No. 9-seeded Denise Dy. The sophomore will look to find success in singles and doubles, where she is paired with senior and fellow co-captain Joyce Ardies. The duo earned the draw’s No. 3-overall seed.

Hultquist noted that this tournament features some of the nation’s best, and thus it is a perfect opportunity for her players to earn some valuable match experience.

“Our region is pretty tough, which is good because our girls will get some good matches,” she said. “It’s a tough event, but there are lots of good matches.”

The men will be heading to ITA Northwest Regional Championships as well. They will be competing just down the road from the women in Berkeley, Calif. This is the first full tournament of the year for the men, and head coach Matt Anger knows how valuable it is.

“I look at [the tournament] as very important,” Anger said. “It’s one of the bigger events of the fall, and it’s a perfect opportunity for me to see our guys in match situation, playing against other people and seeing where they are in competition.”

No. 32 singles star, junior Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, is the third seed in the singles draw and earned a first-round bye. The native of India is excited for the season and is optimistic that it will be more successful than last year.

“Since freshman year, everyone is just stepping it up, and it just keeps happening,” the All-Pac-10 player said. “I think it’s going to be a better year than last year, as far as our results are concerned. We’ve just got to keep working hard.”

Reach reporter Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.