Sophomore Natasha Marks was defeated on Sunday in the finals match at the Matador Intercollegiate Invitational in Los Angeles, wrapping up the fall season for the Arizona women’s tennis team.

Joining Marks at the tournament was junior Jane Huh and sophomore Debora Castany. Together, the trio was able to play in one last tournament before the regular season begins in January.

“”We feel like the girls got in some more practice, and this tournament helps us learn what we really need to learn and polish up on before January,”” assistant coach Ryan Stotland said.

Marks, who is the pre-season 29th ranked singles player, won three straight matches at the tournament on her way to the finals at the invitational. On Sunday, she was matched up against Sofia Novak from the University of California-Santa Barbara, and was defeated 2-6, 6-0, 6-3.

“”No one likes to lose, but these matches expose what we really want to work on, and we can get a deeper understanding of what we want to fix,”” Stotland said.

Huh was able to win one of her four singles matches over the weekend, with the victory coming against Malorie dela Cruz from California State University-Fullerton 6-4, 6-4.

Castany finished the Invitational with an even 2-2 record by winning her match on Friday, and then winning a match on Saturday following a loss earlier in the day.

In doubles matches, Marks and Huh teamed up to post a 1-2 record at the Invitational, with an 8-1 win on Saturday against an Air Force duo.

The tournament marked the last event for the Wildcats this fall. Arizona will spend the rest of the semester preparing for the spring season.

“”We need to build up our confidence a little more before the season starts, and as always, we will use these matches as a building block for January,”” Stotland said.

The regular season is slated to begin on Jan. 22, 2010 with a match against the University of California-Davis in Tucson.