For the second week in a row, the Arizona women’s tennis team fell in consecutive matches to teams ranked in the top 10.

The Wildcats (8-12, 2-4 Pacific 10 Conference) lost to No. 7 USC (16-2, 5-0) Friday and No. 10 UCLA (13-6, 4-1) Saturday at Robson Tennis Center, both by a score of 5-2.

Highlighting Arizona’s performance were sophomore Danielle Steinberg and junior Juliette Mavroleon. They both went 2-0 in singles and paired to go 1-1 at the No. 1 doubles spot.

All four of their singles wins came against ranked players, as the biggest upsets came against USC. Steinberg, currently ranked No. 91, defeated No. 10 Lindsey Nelson, and Mavroleon knocked off No. 12 Sarah Fansler. Both matches were decided in straight sets.

“”I believed in myself a little bit more than I have been,”” Mavroleon said. “”Especially after getting the win (against Fansler), it just made me believe that I wasn’t going to lose (to UCLA).””

Other than the four points Steinberg and Mavroleon picked up, the Wildcats were kept silent. The absences of senior Kasia Jakowlew and sophomore Tina Razloznik in the lineup did not help. Jakowlew sat both days due to a sore right shoulder. Razloznik did not play against UCLA and was forced to retire in her No. 6 singles match against USC after aggravating a nerve injury in her neck and shoulder.

UA assistant Brian Ramirez said the injuries “”hurt the team to a certain extent.””

“”Not having Kasia or Tina in the lineup hurts, but that kind of stuff happens to everybody,”” he said. “”It’s just part of team competition.””

Going in, Arizona knew coming away with a team win would be a difficult task, especially after not winning a match when the schools met earlier in the year in Los Angeles. Despite the losses, however, Mavroleon said she saw a difference in the way the team played.

“”There was a different demeanor about us,”” she said. “”We’re a lot feistier and grinding out matches more. We were just fighting harder.””