The delay of the season has ended for the ASU women’s tennis team.

The No. 25 Sun Devils (3-1) will compete for the first time since Jan. 31 on Saturday.

“It’s time to get playing,” ASU coach Sheila McInerney said.

ASU was originally scheduled to face No. 2 California on Feb. 6, but a weather cancellation left the Sun Devils without a dual for almost three weeks.

The break leaves ASU with four more duals in February, nine in March and three in April.

“That’s what it’s supposed to be,” McInerney said. “As the weather gets nicer, you’re supposed to be playing tennis. At this point, the kids would rather be playing matches than practicing.”

The stretch totals 16 duals, 10 in Tempe, over a month-and-a-half before the Pac-10 Championships start April 22.

The stretch begins with the Saint Mary’s Gaels (5-1) on Saturday.

The Gaels’ only loss of the season came against Cal, and they defeated then-No. 29 Fresno State on Feb. 4.

“They’re strong, they’re deep, they’re good and they’re going to come in with confidence,” McInerney said. “We knew they were good, that’s why we scheduled them.”

All of Saint Marys’ victories have come by scoring at least five of the seven points.

Following the Saint Mary’s match, the Sun Devils have three strong opponents before Pac-10 play begins at Washington State March 5.

All three of those teams are ranked in the top 25, including the makeup dual against Cal on Feb. 22.

“After Saint Mary’s, Cal, Fresno [State] and Texas — believe me, we’ll know where we are,” McInerney said. “We just need to play right now.”

Although the prolonged break came just as the season was getting underway, it gave ASU a chance to heal.

A completely healthy team will be available for the first time all season with the return of junior Ashlee Brown, sophomore Michelle Brycki and freshman Nicole Smith.

“The three weeks helped us, because we had three kids that really needed to heal,” McInerney said. “You never really want three weeks off in the middle of the season, but for us it was a godsend.”

Reach the reporter at nathan.meacham@asu.edu