If first impressions mean anything, the UA men's and women's swimming and diving teams are in for an impressive season.

The Wildcats - recovering from the losses of graduating seniors including an Olympian - opened their respective seasons Friday with a win over Wisconsin.

The men's team, led by senior All-American diver Omar Ojeda and freshman swimmer Aram Kevorkian, narrowly edged out the Badgers, while UA senior Sarah Tolar and junior Beth Botsford anchored the women's team en route to its 163-119 win.

Ojeda had an impressive first meet, shattering his own school record for points in a 3-meter diving meet. His score of 465.65 eclipsed his old record by nearly 50 points.

"Every time I go out there, I don't care what (my opponents) are doing," Ojeda said of his record-setting performance. "I just do my job, compete with myself and do my best. I think this is a great start, and I hope I can do better during the season."

Kevorkian, meanwhile, made an immediate impact in his first race as a Wildcat, taking home first-place honors in the 1,000 and 500m freestyle in stunning fashion, opening up leads as large as one pool length over the second-place finisher.

The women showed tremendous versatility to start off the season, as they dominated the 100 and 200m backstroke and freestyle. Botsford won both backstroke events, while Tolar picked up first-place honors in both freestyle races.

Kevorkian said it was exciting to be on the UA team and he was ready to get the season started.

"Before the meet, there was a team meeting in the locker room and we all got

fired up," he said. "I just wanted to come out here and show other teams that

we're here and we're not going to back down. We have an awesome team.

"We have the best coaches in the country. We're solid in every event, and I'm glad I can help any way I can," Kevorkian added.

Tolar, who won the 200m freestyle event at the NCAA National

Championships last year, said she thinks this team is capable of going far this season.

"This is the best team I've been on since I've been here," she said. "After this meet, everyone is really tired, because we've been training so hard, but it's refreshing to see how fast everyone was swimming."

The UA team was happy to start off the season after a long off-season of practicing. Beth Botsford said she was particularly excited to get back to dual-meet competition.

"It's fun to get the excitement of a meet going," she said. "It's fun to cheer for your teammates. Once the season kicks off, it really brings the team together. From here on out, it just gets better."