Part of being the nation's top collegiate softball team means knowing who's who and when to start worrying about the next date on the schedule.
For the No. 1 Wildcats, that decision comes every Monday.
"As far as any team we're going after, we don't really try to play the name game," said senior outfielder Allyson Von Liechtenstein. "We just kind of go after whoever it is and play 110 percent every game."
The Arizona softball team competes in Phoenix this weekend in the Kajikawa Classic, a three-day tournament on the ASU campus.
The tournament features 19 teams of varying national prestige; from Pacific 10 Conference rival California, to lesser-known Buffalo.
Arizona (5-0) insists it isn't picking any favorites among its five opponents: Tennessee-Chattanooga (0-2) and Sacramento State (3-2) today; South Carolina (5-1) and Cal-State Northridge (4-1) tomorrow; and Cal-State Fullerton (2-2) Sunday.
"We have to try to go in with the mindset ... like we're playing the toughest opponent, like we're playing UCLA and playing that championship game," said senior infielder Shelley Schultz.
"The only thing that's going to beat us is ourselves," she said.
Some of Arizona's foes this weekend may beg to differ.
Fullerton finished 18-34 in 2004, yet upset both No. 3 UCLA and No. 16 Georgia last weekend in Los Angeles. And though the Wildcats didn't face South Carolina last season, the Gamecocks are coming off an NCAA Tournament berth.
Bring 'em on, said Arizona head coach Mike Candrea.
"We're just trying to look for improvement more than anything right now," he says. "It doesn't matter who we're playing."
Candrea said most crucial to the team's success this weekend is continued production from the Wildcats' 3-4-5 hitters: sophomore shortstop Kristie Fox, Schultz and senior third baseman Jackie Coburn.
Fox and Coburn combined for 12 hits in 27 at-bats at the Pepsi Arizona Softball Classic in Tucson last weekend, while Schultz managed one hit in 14 attempts.
The shortstop Fox carried the trio, hitting .692 with two home runs and nine RBIs.
"It's a matter of getting at-bats," Candrea said. "I'm one that likes to stick with kids for a long time, because it's part of the game. Those three have proved to me through time that they're very capable of hitting in those spots. It's just a matter of giving them the opportunities. They'll do a good job."
A full return to health by junior outfielder Autumn Champion, who fought off a nagging knee injury to play in all five games in the Pepsi Classic, should help the cause. Candrea said more playing time will only boost her recovery.
"She needs it, obviously, for her to get beyond her injury and start feeling more comfortable," Candrea said. "The more she plays, the better she'll be."
The Wildcats battled surprisingly strong pitching en route to a sweep last weekend, Candrea said. Their opponents Friday are expected to continue the trend.
Tennessee-Chattanooga is expected to send out 2004 Southern Conference Player of the Year Lacey Swarthout, who finished 28-18 last season with a 1.78 ERA and 331 strikeouts in 61 appearances.
Sacramento State will likely field senior pitcher Brianne Ferguson. Ferguson (16-11, 1.58 ERA, .227 opponents' batting average in 2004) was a first-team Pacific Coast Softball Conference's selection last season.
Having escaped with one-run victories over Kansas and Northwestern this year, Arizona figures the key to future success lies upstairs, not in notoriety.
"We're pretty confident," Von Liechtenstein said. "We just have to work on our offense all week when we're doing batting practice and stuff. We're working hard all week. That's what we get ready for, is the weekend."
"To start out (against) that good of pitching and perform how we did, I think it's a good sign," Schultz said. "We still have some stuff to work on, but it (was) only the first weekend of the year. I'm excited for how well I see this lineup doing."