When UA sophomore tennis player Betsy Miringoff was recently recognized by being ranked 54th in the national rankings, it was of little concern. The team was all that was on her mind.

"Our team has an extremely tough month ahead of us, we all realize that, and we know that we have a strong chance to do well," Miringoff said.

The Wildcats are now ranked third in the nation, with four team members ranked in the top 100 and two doubles teams ranked in the top 30 according to the March 19 ITA/Rolex collegiate rankings.

Led by All-American Vicky Maes, who moved up to the No. 1 spot and was awarded Tucson's College Sportswoman of the Year last week, the Wildcats (15-2 overall, 5-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference) take on No. 23 Arizona State today in Tempe at 1:30 p.m.

Likely to match up against Maes will be Reka Cseresnyes, ASU's No. 1 and nationally-ranked at No. 26.

"Arizona State won't be an easy match. It is always a battle," head coach Becky Bell said. "They're a much better team than their ranking shows. We have a lot of respect for them."

Having a nine-day layoff from competition € the Wildcats defeated No. 46 Washington State 9-0 on March 17 € UA has focused on getting the team healthy and realizing they are now the ones that everyone wants to upset.

"It is definitely a change, but we haven't added any extra pressure on ourselves," Miringoff said.

Arizona State always poses a threat against the Wildcats because more is at stake than just the match.

"No matter how good or bad ASU is, it is always a tough match," Miringoff said. "We want to beat them, and we want to beat them badly. They are our archrivals, and we don't underestimate them."

Also moving up in the new rankings were Stephanie Sammaritano, who is now at No. 48, and Karen Goldstein at No. 99. UA's ranked doubles partners are Maes and Khristen Pietrucha at No. 15 and Sammaritano and Goldstein at No. 27.

In Tempe, Maes will be going for her 18th-straight dual match singles victory, and has an overall record of 38-5. Freshman Monique Allegre is also undefeated in singles with an 8-0 record.

Next on the schedule is No. 39 UNLV on April 9, then Pac-10 foes No. 22 California and No. 2 Stanford on April 12 and 13, respectively. All three matches will be played at Arizona's Robson Tennis Center.