LARAMIE – The program-changing seniors practiced for the final time in the friendly confines of the Wyoming Tennis Complex eight days ago.

Sophie Zehender provided a prophetic answer when asked about the challenge ahead for the Cowgirls at the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas.

"As soon as we get there, we know it's war time," Zehender said.

Before beginning the postseason, UW left for Fort Collins a week ago to finish the regular season at rival Colorado State. Zehender set the tone for a 4-2 victory over the Rams with a 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Zara Lennon in the No. 1 singles match.

Now the third-seeded Cowgirls (16-9, 7-3) will have to win another Border War over No. 6 CSU in the quarterfinals at 3 p.m. today at the Darling Tennis Center.

"We're going to focus on every single point, we're going to battle and whatever happens happens," UW head coach Dean Clower said of the rivalry redux.

The Cowgirls – led by Zehender and senior classmates Noesjka Brink, Nikol Dobrilova and Lucia Malinak – won the program's first MW regular-season championship a year ago but were upset by San Jose State in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.

It was the first time the group had experienced that level of postseason pressure.

"I guess we kind of were like, we're No. 1 right now so people expect something from us," Brink said. "It was just cool that we won (the regular-season title). All we will remember is that trophy we got for Wyoming and just playing for Wyoming was the biggest thing. We lost in the tournament, but we also did some great things."

The Cowgirls, who earned a bye after winning five of their final six matches down the stretch, watched from the stands as the Rams routed Air Force 4-0 on Wednesday.

"Just the way they won, and in that fashion, made a statement it's what we're capable of," CSU coach Mai-Ly Tran said. "We got the jitters out. It's quick momentum into the next match."

UW had to play all of the other top seeds on the road this season – losing to No. 1 New Mexico (4-3), No. 2 San Diego State (4-0) and No. 5 Nevada (4-3) and defeating No. 4 UNLV (4-3).

There has already been one upset in the bracket with No. 10 Utah State beating No.  7 Fresno State to advance to face the Aztecs in the other quarterfinal on UW's half of the bracket.

Brink and Zehender were both named to the all-MW singles team on Tuesday. They are a combined 15-4 in conference matches this season.

Zehender and Violetta Borodina were also selected to the all-conference double team after posting an 18-4 record in duals and setting the program record for total wins in a season with 26.

UW, which appeared in the NIT for the first time in 2023, is three wins away from earning the MW's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.

But winning back-to-back Border Wars in a six-day span won't be easy.

"Of course, we thought we had a good chance of winning the tournament last year. We learned from it, and I think we'll handle that situation differently this time," Zehender said. "All of the teams are very competitive this year. Almost all the same, honestly. There are no teams that are bad, all the teams are great, and every match is going to be a fight."

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