No. 1 versus No. 2.

In most sports, the opportunity does not present itself often, but when it comes to college softball, it could happen twice a year. Yes, it is safe to say Arizona and UCLA know each other quite well.

When the two teams meet for a doubleheader tonight at 6 p.m. at Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium, they will renew the fiercest rivalry in the game.

Just don't tell that to the Wildcats.

"We're approaching this like we've approached every weekend," Arizona head coach Mike Candrea said. "We're going to go out and play at the level we expect us to."

No. 1-ranked UA (27-3) is fresh off their second-straight PONY/Louisville Tournament title, and the UCLA series marks the team's first in Pacific 10 Conference play. No. 2-ranked UCLA is 27-3 overall and 6-2 in the Pac-10 after losses to No. 10 California and ASU, and would like nothing more than to take back the No. 1 ranking that they held to start the season.

"The only ranking that matters is the last one after the championship game," UA assistant coach Stacey Hill.

"Probably the fans put more importance on that than the players," Candrea said. "We are just trying to stay consistent."

With that in mind, it should be said that the Bruins and the Wildcats have combined to win the last eight College World Series Championship games.

In 1991 and 1993, Arizona defeated UCLA in the title game. Last year, the Wildcats lost to the Bruins 4-2. Some would say it was due in part to UCLA's hired gun Tonya Harding. Harding enrolled at UCLA during the season after playing in Australia, pitched the Bruins to the national championship and left shortly after.

"You try not to think about it at all," Hill said. "Even with all the controversy, we were a better team. If we would have gotten a few key hits, it would've gone the other way."

Lost in the UCLA-UA matchup is the fact that No. 3 Washington (30-5 overall, 3-1 in the Pac-10) will be at Hillenbrand on Sunday.

The Wildcats defeated the Huskies 9-0 in the PONY championship game and 4-1 at Hillenbrand in the Arizona Classic on Feb. 24.

The two teams will play a doubleheader at 1 p.m.

If Arizona makes a strong showing this weekend, it will give them a big boost heading into the rest of the Pac-10 season.

"We try just to look at it as another four games," Hill said. "The players know so we don't need to emphasize it. The veterans have played in these games before."