LA JOLLA, Calif. - The No. 15 UC San Diego women's tennis team has five regular season matches remaining in 2010 but none is more important than Saturday's home contest against No. 19 Cal State Stanislaus.

Considering the Tritons and Warriors are ranked third and fourth respectively in the West Region and UCSD edged CSUS 5-4 in Turlock on Feb. 20, the anticipation of this weekend's match is creeping higher and higher. The top four teams in the region advance to the NCAA Division II postseason, which begins May 8, and the result of Saturday's contest between the Tritons and Warriors will certainly clear up the cloudy playoff picture.

Before challenging CSUS at 11 a.m. Saturday, UCSD will play a non-conference road match against Point Loma Nazarene on Thursday at 2 p.m. PLNU, the No. 3 team in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), is 15-3 overall this season. UCSD and PLNU met on April 15 of last year and the Tritons earned a 6-3 win.

The Warriors of CSUS have now won seven matches in a row and are on pace with the Tritons in the conference as the two squads have one loss each. In the last meeting between the teams on Feb. 20, UCSD rebounded from a 2-1 deficit in doubles to capture a narrow 5-4 road victory over the Warriors.

As the regular season nears its end, the Tritons recognize the achievements of the squad's two seniors - Anita Athavale and Pooja Desai. After transferring from UC Davis, Athavale has been a force for the Tritons. To this point, she has compiled records of 14-11 in singles and 24-9 in doubles. As a junior, Athavale was named to the All-CCAA Second Team and picked as the league's Newcomer of the Year. Desai has put together career records of 11-8 in singles and 1-5 in doubles. As a freshman, Desai earned All-CCAA First Team honors and was named the league's Newcomer of the Year.