Stanford men’s swimming and diving will participate in its first dual meet in nearly a month on Saturday, heading to UC-Santa Cruz for an early 10 a.m. start.

On Sept. 9, the squad made its longest trip of the year — Stanford will compete entirely within California until the NCAA Championships roll around in March — to Baton Rogue, beating Centenary College to start the season 1-0 as part of its annual training camp in Louisiana. Despite the loss of four-time NCAA individual champion Austin Staab, the Cardinal returns an experienced collection of swimmers, including seniors Bobby Bollier, Chad La Tourette, Curtis Lovelace and David Mosko, who have combined for 36 All-America honors over the years.

Meanwhile, the diving group will rely on its youth, featuring the talents of freshman Kristian Ipsen and sophomores Noah Garcia and Dhruv Tyagi.

Stanford should be heavy favorites to win the recently expanded Pac-12 after having won 30 consecutive conference championships and posting 25 top-three finishes at the NCAA Finals dating back to 1982.

The Cardinal will return to the Farm for its first home meet on Oct. 14 to kick off its first set of back-to-back weekend meets.

—Joseph Beyda