Arizona junior Juliette Mavroleon and sophomore Danielle Steinberg will compete against some of the nation’s top women’s tennis players in the qualifying round of the

Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American Championships, which begins today in Pacific Palisades, Calif., at the Riviera Tennis Club.

UA assistant coach Brian Ramirez acknowledged the significance of this tournament compared to the other events the team competes in during the fall season.

“”If there is an importance level attached to (the tournament), it’s pretty high, and that’s because these are all the top girls in the country,”” he said.

Mavroleon, who holds the No. 62 ranking in the nation, will play Arkansas’ Ela Kaluder in the first round today. With a victory, she will move on to the second round to face Oregon’s Dominika Dieskova.

No. 29 Steinberg, who is playing in her first tournament of the year, will have a bye for the first round and will play the winner of the match between California’s Cristina Visico and Brook Burk of Notre Dame in the second match today.

“”It’s a huge opportunity to play really good players from all over the country, not just (the) Pac-10,”” Steinberg said.

From a coach’s point of view, Ramirez said he wants the players to experience playing in competitive events.

“”It’s great because not only are they getting to play some matches early in the year, but they’re getting to play matches at a pretty high level,”” he said.

In terms of what this event means to the players themselves, Ramirez said that it is a good chance for them to establish themselves and to come back to Arizona with a solid national ranking.

“”If you are going to play well, this is the time to do it,”” he said.