The No. 4 Arizona swimming and diving teams hit the road for the first time this season as they begin the Houston Invitational today against Houston and Kansas.

The three-day tournament will be held at the Houston’s Recreation and Wellness Center Natorium.

Only the diving team will represent the women, while for the men swimmers, the results of this meet could be critical in the spring.

“”We’re gonna try to make all our NCAA time standards here,”” said UA head coach Frank Busch. “”We try to get as many (athletes) in as we can.””

A time standard is a race time a swimmer must meet to guarantee an invitation to May’s NCAA Championships.

The Wildcats participated in this meet last season, and with so many returnees, Busch hopes familiarity breeds success.

“”Ninety percent of our team has been to this meet and know the facility,”” he said. “”Its one of the fastest pools in the country, so our kids get excited for it.””

With three full days of swimming, this will be the teams’ longest meet of the season, as well.

“”You can race many times,”” Busch said. “”You can get tired, but our kids should be fine.””

The Wildcats enter as hot as a team could be. The men are 4-0 (1-0 Pacific 10 Conference), the women 3-0 (2-0), winning the vast majority of individual events. Senior Darian Townsend won five individual events last weekend for the men.

Busch said it should not be a problem continuing this success.

“”These are two of the most talented teams we’ve ever had,”” he said. “”They’re racing good, they’re racing confidently. They should continue to race well.””