The Eastern men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams have their seventh dual meet of the season this weekend and hope to continue their strings of victories when they travel to St. Louis, Missouri to face the Billikens of St. Louis University.

Both teams had a mandatory practice on Sunday and assistant coach Matt Bos said there was no problem with getting back into swimming form after the nine-day absence from practice at the Lantz Natatorium.

“Everybody did what they were supposed to do over break,” said Bos. “They all were very productive over the break … we want to pick up right where we left off before the break.”

The men’s team (6-0) would like to keep their undefeated streak alive while the women’s squad (4-2) would like to add another win to their four-meet win streak. Bos said the mood amongst the Panthers is optimistic because both teams beat the Billikens last year and they are weaker this year.

“They are a little down from last year,” Bos said. “They have a first-year coach and they didn’t have a great recruiting class. They are still a good squad but they are still a little weaker in the past.”

As was the case in previous meets, the teams have had the advantage of depth in the roster and this week’s contest will not be any different.

“We definitely have the depth factor this year,” Bos said. “We are a little stronger in our No. 1, 2 and 3 spots than they are. We match up well but we are still a little bit deeper.”

If the swimming aspect of the competition is not in question, that leaves the diving, where Bos said he believes the biggest competition will come.

“I think the most competition will come from the diving, and specifically the women’s diving will be big,” he said

Bos stressed the importance of gaining even more momentum before the semester break because it is the mid-point of the season.

“This is leading into the biggest part of the season,” Bos said. “We want to continue to be very productive.”