After impressive showings in Hawaii in their last competition, the men and women's swimming and diving teams jump back into Big Ten competition as they compete in the Big Ten Quad Duels this weekend in Minneapolis.

So far this season, the No.9 Wisconsin women (9-1, 4-0) have been on a tear through the water and the conference. In Wisconsin's four conference meets this season, the Badgers have won by an average of 106.25 points and have shown no sign of slowing down.

"I am happy with the way they have come around," head coach Eric Hansen said. "We have got a good group already qualified for the NCAAs. Our main objective between now and the NCAAs is to prepare more and to have more people qualify. So, I feel good with where we are at with the women."

Wisconsin has been anchored by some impressive performances thus far, especially from freshman Jennifer Illescas.

Against Hawaii, Illescas placed in three events, coming in third in the 200-yard freestyle (1:54.27), and winning both the 500-yard freestyle (4:59.43) and the 1000-yard freestyle (10:07.55).

"She had [been swimming] really well," said Hansen. "We knew she was a talent. So, I don't think that's too surprising, but her training has been very consistent. Now that the majority of the hard work is behind us, we'll get to see how they handle the rest and what becomes of it. I'm very happy with how she has trained and how she has come around."

Not only is Illescas swimming well, but, as a whole, the Badgers are making strides towards a strong surge throughout the second half of the season.

At this point, five Badgers have already earned NCAA "A" qualifying times, which qualify them for the NCAA Championship. Those Badgers are Anna Trinidad in the 200-yard IM, Andrea Wiesner in the 200-yard IM, Sarah Johnson in the 100-yard butterfly, Yi Ting Siow in the 200-yard breaststroke and Susan Johnson in the 200-yard backstroke.

"We're six qualified and it helps with a lot of things," Hansen said. "We will be able to rest them for the Big Ten Championships so that they are 100 percent for the NCAAs."

On the men's side, the Badgers (5-4, 1-2 Big Ten) have yet to get on a roll. They haven't won back-to-back meets since early October.

However, the Hawaii meet seemed to give the Badgers a much-needed boost, as they were able to cruise to a 106-53 victory over the Warriors. However, with Wisconsin posting a combined 18 freshmen and sophomores on their roster, the Badgers early-season struggles may not be indicative of how Wisconsin is performing.

"[Our record] doesn't reflect how we've performed," Hansen said. "With a team with one junior and one senior, we're the definition of a young team. I am really happy with how they've come around.

"We knew we were going to take some losses this year, but, our main objective is to get people to that NCAA level and get back to the top 20. We have really seen some good results with our program."

So far this season, the standout swimmer for the men has been freshman Scott Rice. After earning a ninth place finish in the 200-yard butterfly at the Texas Invitational, Rice had one of his best meets as a Badger, earning a second-place finished in the 200-yard IM (1:55.48), the 200-yard butterfly and the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:05.12).

"Scotty is a hard worker and very talented," Hansen said. "He's one of the major players on our men's team. He's surrounded by a great freshman class, and I think that class, as a whole, has really stepped up.

"Scotty … is probably the closest person to qualifying individually and will play an integral part in our relays. He's put himself in a great position [to succeed] and now it's just attention to detail and attacking at the end of the season."

While the women had success at the duals last year, the men are heading to Minnesota in hopes of avenging last season's poor results, in which the men lost to both Minnesota (269-85) and Purdue (212-141).

Although records are important, Hansen is more concerned about technique as both teams prepare to make a splash. The women will strive towards a national championship and the men look to make a statement for the future.

"Winning is something we all like doing, but how we judge our season is how we do at the end of our season," Hansen said. "The NCAA Championships is everything to us in this sport. The Dual meet is important, and the thing I am looking for more than anything is swimming cleaner and technique. If we can do that, then we know with more rest, we can be better and be where we need to be at the end of the season."