The Wildcat women's tennis team hasn't played in almost two weeks, but its layoff should serve the Wildcats well as they travel to face No. 25 Arizona State.
Arizona's matches at Southern California and UCLA were rained out last weekend. Now, they get to take on the Sun Devils, who only return three starters from last year.
"The team is ranked higher than us, but I think we match up well against them," said assistant coach Petar Danolic. "I think we have a good chance of beating a team ranked higher than us in this match."
Arizona State (2-2, 0-1) has beaten Indiana and Pacific, while losing to Pacific 10 Conference foes UCLA and Oregon. In last year's match, the Wildcats (3-2, 0-1 Pac-10) defeated the Sun Devils 4-3.
Last week's unexpected layoff from match play was a good thing, said Danolic.
"A little rest was something we needed," he said. "I think it affected everybody in a good way. We got two to three days to rest up a little bit, so I think it was for the better."
Junior Kelly Perry enters the match leading the team with a 5-0 record.
"Kelly's been playing great tennis," Danolic said. "Hopefully she can keep it up. She hasn't lost a match, and she's high on confidence. And hopefully she can keep it going as long as possible."
In doubles play, the team of Maja Mlakar and Diane Hollands moved up one spot in the rankings to No. 18, as it carries a record of 4-0.
The Wildcats dropped from No. 34 to No. 40 in the rankings this week, but hope to improve that mark tomorrow.