The Northwestern women’s tennis players will look to put the past behind them when they host Brigham Young and Utah this weekend at the Combe Tennis Center.

The No. 9 Wildcats (1-1) are coming off a disappointing upset at the hands of No. 49 William & Mary last weekend, when the Cats managed to win only two of their nine singles and doubles matches.

NU will attempt to get back in the win column against No. 35 Brigham Young (1-2) on Saturday, and against the Utes (1-0) on Sunday.

“BYU and Utah are very good teams,” NU coach Claire Pollard said. “BYU is the better of the two, but they both have a lot of returning players.”

The Cats defeated both Brigham Young and Utah in away matches last year by scores of 5-2 and 7-0, respectively. But this year, NU is a much younger team.

“We just have a lot of young players who are learning and are only going to learn by experience,” Pollard said. “We’re just not where we need to be right now.”

Although the team was disappointed by its performance last weekend, sophomore Ruth Barnes said her teammates are enthusiastic about the upcoming matches.

“The whole team is very eager to come out strong after last weekend,” said Barnes, who holds a 1-1 record in singles play. “As far as I’m concerned, we’re going to go in there very much mentally prepared.”

This weekend will also mark the ceremonial opening of the Combe Tennis Center – an event the Cats hope to use to their advantage. The extra support might be what NU needs to erase the memory of its 6-1 loss last weekend.

“It was obviously a rough loss to take,” Barnes said. “But we know that we’re better than that, and we will be better than that.”