The WSU swim team will hit the road, all eight miles of it, for a dual meet with the Idaho Vandals in Moscow on Saturday.

The matchup of neighboring schools will be the last dual meet for the Cougars before the Pac-10 Championships in Long Beach, Calif., from Feb. 24 to 27. WSU looks to rebound from a close loss to conference rival Oregon State in a home dual meet Jan. 29. The Beavers edged the Cougars 135.5-126.5 at Gibb Pool, but WSU was able to take away several positives from the meet.

Seniors Michaela Ahlin and Shawna Keller were honored during their last meet in Pullman, and the two displayed their veteran leadership by winning individual races and leading WSU in individual points.

Idaho comes into the meet after also falling to the Beavers, 103-127, but the Vandals have their eyes set on the Western Athletic Conference Championships from Feb. 24 to 27 in San Antonio.

Saturday’s meet will feature two diving events, which will put WSU in a hole, so the Cougars will have to make up ground in the 11 swimming races.

The team has had a week to rest and prepare for the Vandals. “We need to work on the front end of our races and going out confidently,” Head Coach Erica Quam said.

The Cougars want to finish out the dual meet season strong but are also focusing on getting ready for the Pac-10 Championships. Last year, the team sent three swimmers (Ahlin, junior Rugile Mileisyte and alumna Elyse Peterson) to the championships, which was the most sent by WSU in school history.

The action on Saturday is scheduled to start in Moscow at 11 a.m.