SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Santa Clara women's tennis team in on the road to the northwest this weekend for a Saturday match at Gonzaga at 11 a.m., followed by a Sunday match at Portland also at 11 a.m.

"These final two regular season matches are going to have a big impact on our seeding for the conference tournament," said head coach Ben Cabell.

Santa Clara is 7-9 overall and 3-4 in the West Coast Conference. The team split last weekend's matches, falling to Saint Mary's on Friday and defeating Pacific on Sunday.  Both of these matches came down to the final point, with Zeina El Tawil clinching the match for the Broncos against the Tigers. 

The Bulldogs have been ranked in the top 75 nationwide this year on and off by ITA Tennis, but have recently fallen out of the rankings. Though 11-7 overall and boasting an 8-1 home record, Gonzaga is 2-5 in conference play with its wins coming against Loyola Marymount and Pacific, both of whom Santa Clara has beaten.  The team is currently on a streak of four losses dating back to March 28 and coming against WCC opponents Saint Mary's, Portland, BYU and San Diego.

The Pilots are ranked No. 61 in the nation by ITA Tennis as of April 14.  The team has a 6-2 conference record, putting it near the top of the WCC standings, and is 14-5 overall and undefeated in six home matches.  Its conference losses have come to BYU and Pepperdine, while it has wins over the ranked San Francisco Dons and Saint Mary's Gaels.  The team features the No. 102 singles player Lucia Butkovska who plays at position 1 and has put together a 16-2 individual record.

"Both teams have been having a pretty good year," Cabell said.  "Playing indoors [which the team will be doing in both matches] is a tough transition, but we know what we have to do and we're excited to make it happen."

Two wins this weekend would put the Broncos at 6-9 and 5-4 in the WCC, and would help set them up for the rapidly approaching WCC Championships in San Diego that takes place from April 21-25. 

Check back to SantaClaraBroncos.com for more news and updates.

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Go Broncos!