The Arizona women’s swimming has experienced a surge of confidence after coming off a decisive 170-114 victory over its in-state rival, No. 21 ASU.

The No. 9 Wildcats have experienced high and low points during their dual meet season. They started off 4-1, managing a win over No. 25 UCLA while the only loss came in a close meet to No. 3 USC.

However, after a superb beginning, the women dropped three straight dual meets until last weekend’s win over ASU. Given these three loses were to the likes of No. 2 Cal, No. 6 Stanford and No. 4 Texas, the Wildcats can remain confident heading into the Pac-12 Championships.

Sophomore captain Margo Geer was able to finish with a trio of first-place finishes over the weekend, in the 50-meter, 100-meter, and 200-meter freestyle events.

“We had a meeting the other day and we emphasized that we are a championship team, not exactly a dual meet team,” Geer said. “Going into championship season we are very excited and very confident.”

The Wildcats’ main focus all season long has been the NCAA Championship, but that doesn’t mean they’ll take the Pac-12 meet lightly. This meet can further propel the women’s confidence by putting them in better position to shoot for the NCAA title.

A few of Arizona’s women have a chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships, giving the Wildcats a little extra fuel during the conference meet.

Senior captain Alyssa Anderson and fellow senior Emma Darlington said they see the Pac-12 Championships as a bittersweet experience, as it will be their last time competing in this event.

“Our main focus is obviously the NCAAs,” Darlington said. “It’s my last year. There’s going to be a lot of fast swimming and it’s going to be fun.”