While teams are always gunning for a victory, doing so against their rivals may provide extra motivation.

And the opportunity to kickstart a winning streak could be the icing on top.

UCLA swim and dive (1-1-1, 1-0-0 Big Ten) will compete in back-to-back dual meets this weekend, first against No. 3 Stanford (2-0) on Friday and then against No. 7 California (1-1) on Saturday at Spieker Aquatics Center.

UCLA Athletics did not provide media availability for the team’s athletes or coach.

After capturing their first win of the season, the Bruins will go into another weekend at home off a week of rest – one that may be crucial after several members fought through illness during last weekend’s competitions. Freshman Jada Duncan was one of the Bruins dealing with illness. Nevertheless, she won three total events – the 50 free, 50 fly and 200 medley relay – across both the dual meet victory against Iowa and the quad meet against Iowa, Utah and UC Santa Barbara.

While it is unclear whether or not Duncan will compete again this weekend, her three victories were testaments to the resilience that may be necessary to best two top-seven-ranked squads. Nonetheless, the Bruins enter the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend with strong momentum, since they swept all three teams they faced last Saturday.

Senior Rosie Murphy spearheaded the strong team performance with five individual victories. The Sacramento, California, local won the 100 back, 100 butterfly and 200 breast Friday, before touching the wall first in the 150 back and 100 IM on Saturday. Murphy also helped clinch a UCLA victory in Friday’s 200 medley.

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Torri Huske, who is in her final year of collegiate eligibility, highlights Stanford’s roster. Huske also holds the world records for both the 4×50-meter mixed medley and the 4×100-meter medley.

Unlike UCLA, both in-state foes will benefit from lengthy rest periods, since neither squad has competed in 2026 yet.

The Cardinal last hit the pool in mid-November at the Texas Swimming Invite in Austin, Texas, during which they won 12 out of 18 total races across four days of competition. Stanford was undefeated in relays, including the 400 free relay, in which Huske – who won all eight of her events – Annam Olasewere, Gigi Johnson and Lucy Thomas combined for a new school record of 3:07.59.

The Golden Bears enter Westwood in a similar state of rest, last competing in early December at the Minnesota Invitational, where Cal swept every race in a pool of five other squads to punctuate its team’s triumph at the meet.

Record-breaking performances from Claire Weinstein and Ella Cosgrove, both of whom are in their first years of collegiate action, highlighted the Golden Bears’ tournament performance. Weinstein won the 1650 freestyle by setting the third-fastest time in program history with a 15:52.28 – also good for the best mark in the country this season. The latter finished with a 16:13.97, the 10th-fastest time in program history.

Both Stanford and Cal come into Southern California as the strongest opponents UCLA has faced all season, which will likely require the Bruins to ride their 2026 momentum to challenge the top-ranked squads.

Competition begins at 2 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday.