The Arizona men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams wrapped up the fall season ranked number No. 3 and No. 4 in the nation, respectively. The men are 3-1, while the women sit at 5-0, both coming off a successful performance at the Texas Invitational last week.

“”The teams had a great fall,”” said UA head coach Frank Busch. “”They did a great job. We qualified everyone we wanted to at the Texas Invitational. That was a great meet.””

Winter break is days away for the university, but for the Wildcat swimmers and divers, it will be anything but a break.

The women host No. 25 Washington, Ohio State, and No. 16 Texas on Jan. 4 at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center, while the men host Washington and No. 24 Southern Methodist the same day.

“”We’ll be absolutely destroyed in those meets, if you want me to be completely honest,”” Busch said. “”We’ll be very tired from all the training, but we’ll have to deal with it. That’s just the nature of the beast.””

The training Busch referred to is his annual Christmas training, the most important aspect of the teams’ winter.

“”We hold them hostage for three weeks and they do nothing but eat, swim and sleep,”” Busch said. “”Any friends I had on this team before the training, I no longer have when it’s over.””

Busch hopes the tough preparation translates into a very successful spring.

“”After we train, we need to get back (in the spring) and hone our skills so our kids can look good and show some signs of life,”” he said. “”We want to have the meet of our lives at the NCAA Championships, so we need to continue to get better as the spring progresses.””