Sidelines

The meet begins at 1 p.m., with state bragging rights on the line.

Coming off a two week break from competition, the Wildcats are excited to swim against the Sun Devils.

"This weekend is special. It doesn't matter where we are, who's tired or who's not, it's ASU. We're going to try and do our best," UA head coach Frank Busch said.

"They always have a real solid program and they're always good against us."

The rivalry between the two schools remains as intense in swimming and diving as it does in other sports, which means there will be plenty of pride at stake.

"They should be pretty good and rested," sophomore Trina Jackson said. "But they never come close to beating us when it really matters."

Briefly

The big rivalry at this school is UA versus ASU, right? Nope. Not in rugby at least.

The Wildcats' big rival is the Aztecs from San Diego State.

"It is the hottest rivalry we have," Arizona head coach Dave Sitton said.

UA plays SDSU today and San Diego Sunday on the road.

The all-time series between the UA and SDSU is even at 18-18-1.

"We think that our two programs have been the most consistent over the last few years," Sitton said. "And that is why there is a lot riding on this game."

The SoCal Conference only sent one team to the playoffs last year and that team was the Wildcats, who were 7-0 in league play. SDSU missed out, despite holding a 6-1 record. Its only blemish was a 7-6 loss to the Wildcats.

So, in case you haven't figured it out yet, today's game might be the biggest of the season for both teams.

"We know for a fact they are very, very big," Sitton said.

By the Numbers

50:

The number of former Wildcat baseball players who played, or currently play, on a major league team.

Arizona's earliest major leaguers were Hank Leiber and Hal Warnock.

Leiber played for the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants during the '30s and '40s and Warnock batted for the St. Louis Browns from 1933-35.