MADISON, Wis. – As the regular season winds down, the Wisconsin swimming and diving program heads south for one last shot at top-notch competition against a pair of top-10 College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) teams. The No. 17 Wisconsin men and women compete in a tri-dual with No. 7/9 Auburn and Florida State at 12 p.m. (CT) on Friday in Auburn, Alabama, and then face a quick turnaround for a 9 a.m. dual against No. 4/1 Georgia in Athens on Saturday. 

UW's first stop in Auburn finds the Badgers going up against the No. 7 Auburn men's team and No. 9 women's team, as well as the Florida State Seminoles. The Tiger men (3-2) and women (2-3) are coming off of a split with Florida last weekend, as the men narrowly defeated the Gators, 154.5-145.5, while the women dropped the meet, 108-192.

The Seminoles head to Auburn after being swept by Louisville in their last competition. The women's team fell, 115-238, while the men's team was topped 150-203 in the dual.

Following the Friday afternoon meet, the Badgers will pack up and head to Athens, Georgia, for a Saturday morning showdown with the No. 4/1 Bulldogs.

The No. 1 Georgia women's team just recently knocked now-No. 3 Virginia from the top-ranked spot in the CSCAA polls. Earning nine of the possible ten votes for first place, the undefeated Lady Bulldogs (8-0) stand atop the rankings for the first time this season.

The Georgia men fell down one spot to No. 4 in this week's poll, as the Bulldogs were replaced by SEC rival Florida despite defeating the Gators, 172.5-127.5, earlier this season.

With wins over Minnesota and Northwestern secured, both the UW men and women look to stir up the action this weekend. Regardless of the top-ranked competition, the No. 17 Badgers take to the road after a number of impressive performances at USC two weeks ago.

Headlining the performances for the Badgers in Los Angeles was junior Matt Hutchins, who smashed the previous school record in the 1000-yard freestyle to win the event against the Trojans with his time of 8 minutes, 58.45 seconds. The mark leads the Big Ten by over eight seconds and ranks fourth nationally. Hutchins' closest competition from any of the three teams swimming against the Badgers this weekend is Georgia's Matias Koski, who ranks 20th nationally with a time of 9:09.59.

Also a standout performer for UW, sprinter Cannon Clifton looks to make a splash in the south this weekend. Ranking third in the Big Ten and 24th in the nation, Clifton's time of 43.32 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle will be competitive at this weekend's meets. Clifton will face off against Peter Holoda of Auburn, whose mark of 42.45 seconds is ranked fifth nationally. A pair of Georgia swimmers also rank within the top-20 nationally, as Koski is seventh (42.74) and Michael Trice is 15th (43.01).

In the 50-yard freestyle, Clifton will battle four swimmers ranked above him in the national polls, as Clifton's season-best time of 19.96 ranks fifth in the Big Ten and 53rd nationally. The junior will go head-to-head with Trice, whose time of 19.31 is ranked sixth nationally, Florida State's Jason McCormick who is ninth (19.55), and Auburn's pair of Holoda and Michael Duderstadt, who are tied for 18th (19.71).

On the women's side, junior Danielle Valley leads the way for the Badgers after being named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week following her performance at USC. Joining her in the weekly accolades was Jess Unicomb, who was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week.

Valley swam to a career-best time in the 1000-yard freestyle at USC, as her winning time of 9:43.37 just narrowly missed the Wisconsin school record of 9:42.61, set by Olympic gold medalist Carly Piper in 2003. Valley sits atop the Big Ten rankings and falls third in the national polls to Georgia's Brittany MacLean (9:38.35) and Virginia's Leah Smith (9:40.22).

Junior Chase Kinney is also one to watch, as the sprinter has won the 50-yard freestyle three times this season at USC, the Texas Invitational, and UW's dual against Minnesota. Kinney's personal-best time of 22.23 seconds at the Texas Invitational ranks second in the Big Ten and is tied for 15th nationally.

Kinney will face off against a pair of top-20 opponents, including top-ranked Olivia Smoliga of Geogia, who leads the polls with a time of 21.82 seconds. Auburn's Ashton Ellzey sits just above Kinney in 14th with her time of 22.20.

Friday's meet at Auburn beings at 12 p.m. (CT), while Saturday's meet in Athens will start at 9 a.m.