Yesterday, the first day of the Texas Invitational in Austin, Texas, the Arizona swim and dive team proved exactly why they are among the nation’s elite.

“”We’re off to a really, really good start,”” said head coach Frank Busch.

The men’s team is currently in first place after 14 events with a total of 390 points, edging out the hosting Texas Longhorns by 17 points. Meanwhile, the women stand alone with 393 points, a heavy lead over the second-place women’s Texas squad, which has 261 points.

But more importantly, the Wildcats produced the only two “”A”” standard qualifying times of the meet, courtesy of the senior duo of Jack Brown and Jean Basson.

Basson qualified in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing in 4:15.22. In the 200y individual medley, Brown took first by touching the wall in 1:44.05, just 0.08 seconds ahead of the “”A”” qualifying standard.

The women’s team was highlighted by wins in the 200y freestyle relay, 400y medley relay and sophomore Alyssa Anderson’s win in her 500y freestyle event.

“”‘A’ standards will be very, very difficult to come by,”” Busch said. “”But our whole goal is to get people qualified, and we’re doing that right now.””