The Arizona men’s tennis team will compete in the Pacific 10 Conference Individual Tennis Championships in Ojai, Calif., today through Sunday.

Although the entire Arizona squad won’t be competing for a conference championship in the tournament, the Wildcats’ ultimate fate will be determined by how they play as individuals.

Freshman Jay Goldman and senior Claudio Christen are the No. 54 ranked doubles pair in the nation, but because Goldman didn’t recover from his back injury in time for the competition, No. 96 Christen will be matched up with senior Bruno Alcala for the doubles portion of the tournament, which starts tomorrow.

“”I guess I need a solid four weeks off to fully recover and reevaluate where I’m at,”” said Goldman, who did not travel with the team. “”I wish I could finish the season out, but I wish my teammates well. I don’t know what to do with all this extra time.””

Last weekend against ASU, freshman Andres Carrasco badly injured his ankle and is now on crutches, so he won’t be competing in the tournament. Despite the rash of injuries, the No. 59 Wildcats still look to make their presence felt.

“”It’s been a long, tough year. Just because we’re probably not going to go to NCAAs, the season’s not over,”” said assistant coach Tom Lloyd. “”For the seniors, it’s their last hurrah. We have four seniors who have been there, done that … so we have quite a bit of experience. It’s tough not to get excited about the tournament.

“”If someone isn’t excited then they probably shouldn’t be here to begin with,”” Lloyd added. “”But that’s not the case for us.””

In addition to Christen and Alcala, sophomores Ravid Hazi and Pat Metham, junior Peter Zimmer and senior Nathan Cochrane will be in action today for singles play.

2 athletes to represent women’s team

The Arizona women’s tennis squad will also have some representatives at the Pacific 10 Conference Individual Championships this week.

Sophomores Danielle Steinberg and Ariane Masschelein will take their swings at the competition in singles play this morning as Masschelein hits the court at 8 and Steinberg’s match is set to begin at 11:30.

If each woman can pull out a victory in their morning matches, another foe awaits them for a second match later in the day. If Steinberg advances, she will face Stanford freshman Hilary Barte, who is currently ranked No. 3 in the country.

“”It’s a tough tournament,”” Steinberg said. “”You play two matches in one day and everyone in the Pac-10 (is) really good.””

The pair of Wildcats only had one practice session prior to the tournament, but Steinberg said that was more of a help than a hindrance because they could focus more than they would have if the entire team was working out with them.

– Kara Bauman contributed reporting