Psst, Arizona: Watch out for the teams in the other lanes this weekend.
The UA swim and dive teams take on their fiercest competition of the season Friday and Saturday at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center when Pacific 10 Conference rivals, Stanford and California, come to Tucson with separate top-10 rankings.
"I am expecting fast swimming," said head coach Frank Busch. "Stanford and Cal always come prepared."
The meet, which Busch said could be the team's toughest of the year, begins Friday at 2 p.m. and continues Saturday at 1 p.m.
"The team has trained this week the same as any week," he said. "We are just going to try and stay on target."
On the men's side, the No. 4 Golden Bears (6-0) will be up first for the No. 5 Wildcats, while two undefeated squads, No. 7 Cal and No. 4 Arizona, match up on the women's end.
"The swimming against Cal is going to be a lot tougher, but we're ready for them," said freshman Lacey Nymeyer.
The Wildcats face Stanford Saturday, whose top-ranked men's team boasts an impressive line against their Tucson counterparts. The Cardinal have not lost to Arizona since the 1999-2000 season.
The No. 8 Stanford women's team, meanwhile, defeated Arizona in their prior meet last January.
"Every team has top swimmers," said senior Emily Mason. "We have a lot of depth on our team and we are always scoring points. There is no question that these meets this weekend are going to be intense. These are strong teams."
Busch said the double-trouble brought by both opponents leaves Arizona with a simple strategy for the weekend.
"We are just going to do our best and try not to drown," Busch said.