When the Sun Devil swimming and diving team starts Pac-10 competition this weekend in Southern California, they will share the water with some of the nation's most formidable opponents.
The men's squad will see action against No. 2 USC today and Saturday, while the 19th ranked women face off against No. 9 UCLA today and No. 12 USC Sunday.
The women (2-0) enter the contest well rested after their Oct. 30 victory over Indiana with senior All-American Florencia Szigeti and surging freshman Caitlin Andrew looking to continue to lead the way.
So far against NCAA competition this season, the tandem has racked up seven individual first place finishes in addition to their three 400 medley wins. Though the two swimmers currently share the spotlight for the women, they are backed by a solid supporting cast.
Another young standout, freshman Sarah A. Fischer, continues her strong pace heading into this weekend's events, claiming at least one victory at each meet this year. And off the springboard senior Trisha Tumlinson provides stability as well as a history of success.
The women have managed to seamlessly glide through the early stages of this season largely unchallenged, but they will be putting their new ranking and their momentum on the line when they challenge their first two Pac-10 opponents.
UCLA has been nothing but dominant this season going 3-0 and beating their challengers by an average of more than 90 points. The Bruins, who are 13-8-1 all-time against the Sun Devils, will look to squad leader Kim Vandenberg to out-duel Szigeti and Andrew and steal crucial points from the visiting team.
USC will also be riding the performance of their workhorse, junior Kaitlin Sandeno who is sure not to disappoint. Sandeno enters the competition just days after being one of two Americans named October Athletes of the Month by the United States Olympic Committee for her four- time gold performance at the FINA Short Course World Championships.
USC's women also hold a 10-2 record against the Sun Devils in the two teams' last 12 meetings, but they enter the contest after being handed a 230-123 defeat by Texas Oct. 30.
The Sun Devil men's squad (0-2) sits reverse of their female counterparts, still searching for their first victory of the season and reeling from upsets by UNLV and Purdue.
Dropped from the rankings for the first time this season, the men will look to get back on track against the steam rolling USC Trojans.
Despite holding a record that seems to imply little resistance for USC, the Sun Devils field a roster that is much stronger than their win/loss column suggests.
ASU, which upset the Trojans last year 172.5-127.5, will also turn to a combination of NCAA veterans and freshmen newcomers.
Freshmen C.J. Nuess and Lucas Azevedo appear to be setting the pace while All-Americans Joona Puhakka and David Kolozar remain true to form.
Reach the reporter at jason.samuels@asu.edu.
