For the first time this season, both the menâÄôs and womenâÄôs swimming and diving teams will be in action on the same weekend. The Gophers travel to North Carolina this weekend to take on the Tar Heels . Competition will get underway at 6 p.m. on Friday and noon on Saturday. This will be the first meet of the year for the men. Last year the team trumped North Carolina 218 -146, but Gophers head coach Dennis Dale said this time around should be decidedly more competitive. âÄúWe donâÄôt have as much depth yet as we did last year,âÄù Dale said. âÄúIf weâÄôre going to win the meet weâÄôre going to have to dominate the relays. We know that.âÄù Relays, along with breaststroke, diving and sprint freestyle should be among the strongest aspects of the teamâÄôs performance, he said. Team captains Josh Griffey and Anthony Portela said they are confident in the weekendâÄôs outcome. âÄúThis is going to be the first opportunity for us to really show the country how strong of a team we can be this year,âÄù Griffey said, adding that a sprint set the team swam last week was a great team-building exercise and will help focus them. Minnesota is a young team this year, led by only eight senior swimmers. A win this weekend will help build a national reputation as a competitive team. WomenâÄôs head coach Terry Nieszner said the matchup on the womenâÄôs end should be very close. Despite coming into the match as a slight underdog, the Gophers are 2-0 in conference action. This, she said, is a great start to the season. âÄúI think our kids are ready to get up and race,âÄù Nieszner said. âÄúWeâÄôll be in North CarolinaâÄôs home pool, but our kids love to race, and weâÄôre ready to go again.âÄù Strong performances from a number of swimmers helped the team garner wins against Michigan and Michigan State two weeks ago. Stacey Busack was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week for her efforts. âÄúThereâÄôs definitely things that we can improve on, but I think as a team weâÄôre doing really well so far,âÄù Busack said, adding that it was nice to get the momentum going.