The women’s tennis team is in enemy territory, they have maneuvered around the many obstacles and find themselves within striking distance of in-state rivals, the University of Washington Huskies.

“It will be war,” Sophomore Donika Bashota said. “Both teams will step up.”

Bashota has extended her tally of single-season wins to 36. Last year against the Huskies, Bashota lost to senior Julija Lukac, 6-4, 6-4 as a freshman. One year later the Cougars are still licking their wounds.

“UW is our rival and we are always pumped to play them,” Bashota said. “It is really important to win.”

The Huskies and Cougars have had similar results against Pac-12 competition.

Despite similar outcomes between the two schools, the playing ability is less important in a rivalry match. This is due to the huge stakes that don’t appear in other Pac-12 game.

Freshman Aneta Miksovska has been another pivotal member of the women’s tennis team. Miksovska has totaled 29 singles victories this year as a freshman. She is currently two wins behind Bashota’s mark from last year. Miksovska echoed Bashota’s sentiment.

Miksovska said, “In rivalry matches it does not matter where teams are. Both teams want to win.”

Head coach Lisa Hart is excited about what the day has in store for her team.

“It’s usually pretty exciting and there’s usually a lot of fans,” Hart said. “I think we have more experience in our lineup than they do so I think that hopefully will be the difference.”

The Cougars face the Huskies at 12:30 p.m. on Friday at the Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center.

Reporting by Alex Payton