The No. 47 Arizona men’s tennis team doesn’t have a match this weekend, but it does face a major rival the following weekend. The Wildcats will battle No. 15 ASU at the Robson Tennis Center on Saturday, Mar. 22.

“”It’s a big rivalry, and it’s a good chance to beat a good team,”” said senior Bruno Alcala. “”But if we want to beat them we have to play our best throughout the whole match – not just in doubles and singles. We have to play straight through and harder than they do.””

Although the players have this important match to look forward to, they have a few days to regroup and give their bodies some rest.

“”I think it’s going to be really important for us to have this break because we are going to be able to get some rest, and that’s really important for big matches like ASU,”” said freshman Andres Carrasco. “”All the guys are leaving town for a few days, and my parents are coming (from Spain).””

Carrasco said seeing his mom and dad, who are flying into Tucson from Spain, will be the most valuable thing for him before he plays his match.

The team has a break until the morning of Mar. 18 when head coach Tad Berkowitz gets back into town from a cruise.

Even though the team will be back in town, many of its biggest supporters will be gone, which may have a negative impact on performance.

“”A lot of people are on Spring Break, so I don’t know how many are going to be at the match,”” Alcala said. “”But even if we don’t have the biggest crowd, we’re still going to have our friends and family out there, so that will definitely help us.””