The Boston University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams face strong opposition this weekend when they travel to the University of Connecticut for a non-conference meet.

‘We’re going to be up against a lot of tough competition,’ said BU Coach Reagh Wetmore. The Connecticut men and women both have records of 3-2 on the season. Their programs, however, are much larger than BU’s.

‘We’re trying to build up our size, especially with the women,’ Wetmore said. Connecticut has the automatic advantage of a larger team. They are able to fill every spot in every event, which is not true for the BU men.

‘What hurts the men is that we just don’t have enough people,’ Wetmore said. ‘That puts us at a great disadvantage.’

One area where both the BU men and women should be on par with Connecticut is diving. Sophomores Victor Paguia and Sylvia Golle have been standouts this season.

‘They have a very good chance of taking first,’ Wetmore said.

Paguia won the one-meter dive for the men last weekend and Golle took first in both the one-meter and three-meter. The women have a solid trio of divers, with Golle, Gallacher, and Kristen Stratton.

‘They’re not easy to beat,’ Wetmore said.

The BU women have gotten off to a rough 0-3 start (0-2 America East). Last weekend against the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, the women took first in nine out of 16 events, but came up just six points short of a win. It will be difficult for the women to earn their first win of the season against Connecticut.

Last weekend gave Wetmore encouragement. Senior captain Karissa Lopez took first in both the 100 and 200 fly and was second in the 200 individual medley. Freshman Meagan Breiland won both the 50 and 100 free and anchored the team’s first 400 freestyle relay win of the season.

‘The women swam so strong last week, they could probably make a meet out of it,’ Wetmore said.

The men’s team is coming off a lopsided defeat against Massachusetts. The loss dropped them to 1-1 on the season (1-0 America East). It won’t be any easier against Connecticut.

‘The Connecticut team is probably more powerful than Massachusetts,’ Wetmore said.

In order for BU to keep the meet close, they will need a lot of top finishes from their swimmers. ‘It’s just a matter of first places,’ Wetmore said. Getting those top spots won’t be easy, but the men do have a number of talented swimmers who should compete.

Last weekend, freshman Mike Kelly won both the 50 and 100 free. Kelly has been a key performer in both of BU’s meets this season. He will need to stay strong this weekend. Freshman Ryan Falk should help out; he took first in the 200 individual medley against Massachusetts. Senior freestyle Doug Mark and junior backstoke swimmer Jay Toutant also turned in solid performances, but did not claim a first place finish.