The UA swimming and diving teams look to pick up where they left off two weeks ago in their second dual meet of the season this weekend.

After a men's and women's sweep of Wisconsin in the season debut, the Wildcats will test themselves against three teams from California.

Both teams play host to USC this afternoon. The two teams then face different opponents tomorrow as the fifth-ranked UA women square off against the No. 9 UCLA Bruins, while the seventh-ranked men battle the California All-Stars.

After an impressive opening meet two weeks ago, the Wildcats will attempt to ride the momentum into this weekend's meet against tougher opponents.

The Trojans and Wildcats are evenly matched in both the men's and women's teams - the USC men and women are ranked fourth and sixth, respectively.

The UA team will be well-rested after a weekend off. Players and coaches agreed that the training the team faced prior to the start of the season was rigorous, but effective. The time off will leave the Wildcats in perfect shape for their first true test of the season.

UA head coach Frank Busch said before the season started that both of his teams could contend for the NCAA National Championship this year and he would be disappointed with any finish outside of the top five.

Although it is early in the season, this weekend will give the men and women a chance to see how they fare against top-tier teams. The UA team got support from all its members two weeks ago against Wisconsin and hopes for the same kind of well-rounded effort this weekend.

A major role in the women's victory was senior swimmer Sarah Tolar. Tolar said she understands that the competition gets tougher this weekend but that the team is up to the challenge.

"When we swim against teams that we will face at the national championships (at the end of the season) everybody is going to step it up," she said.

Senior backstroke swimmer Beth Botsford said the team is aware of what kind of test this weekend will be.

"Our main competition is within the Pac-10," Botsford said. "That's not to say that those are the only teams out there, but teams like USC are (great opponents)."

The Cats begin their weekend series against that main competition at 2 p.m. at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center.