With the Arizona women's swimming and diving team finishing sixth at the NCAA Championships last week in Ann Arbor, Mich., the Wildcat men are hoping to make a splash of their own.

The men's NCAA Championships start today and will be held at the Jamail Texas Swim Center on the campus of the University of Texas, at Austin. Competition concludes Saturday.

The Wildcats finished the season with a 3-5 overall dual meet record, but placed second in the Pacific 10 Conference Championships. That marked the highest Pac-10 finish ever for Arizona.

Currently ranked 10th in the nation by the College Swim Coaches Association, the Wildcats - who finished eighth in the nation last year - are sending nine swimmers and two divers to compete in 12 different individual events, including five relays.

A key part of Arizona's success at the Pac-10 Championships was the diving of Brian Spears and Andre Sabbah. Spears, a senior, won all three diving events at the Pac-10s this year and was named conference diver of the year for the second time in his career.

Sabbah has been a consistent performer throughout the year and broke school records this season on both springboards, with a score of 535.05 on the one-meter and 537.68 on the three-meter.

Four UA swimmers will be making their first trip to the NCAAs, but the Wildcats will be counting on the experience of its seniors to bring back the coveted crown.

Senior Jason Hodder leads the way, competing in the 100- and 200-meter breast stroke. This marks his third appearance at the NCAA Championships. The Tucson native won the consolation final in the 200 last year and won this year's Pac-10 crown in the same race.

The Wildcats have finished in the top 10 in five of the last six years.