HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i men's and women's swimming and diving teams head to the Bay Area this week to open their respective seasons. The men will compete in two dual-meets against Cal Berkeley and Stanford, while the women participate in the George Haines Invitational.
 
The Rainbow Warriors kick-off the weekend against the Golden Bears on Thursday, Oct. 13 at 12:00 p.m. PT and go on to compete head-to-head against the Cardinal on Friday, Oct. 14 at 3:00 p.m. PT.
 
UH comes off of a strong 2011 season. The defending C-USA Champions return junior Luca Mazzurana, who holds record-breaking times in the butterfly and individual medley events. After winning four events at the championship, Mazzurana went on to represent the Rainbow Warriors at the NCAA Swimming Championships.
 
Other top returnees for the Rainbow Warriors include seniors Lazar Bogdanovski, the defending 100-backstroke conference champion, as well as senior divers Thomas Rugg and Douglas Cohen, who together, swept all three diving events at the championship last season.
 
A well-rounded group of nine newcomers join the men's squad, with seven freshmen and two transfers.
 
The George Haines Invitational, hosted by Stanford, will run from Oct. 14-15. Aside from the Cardinal, the Rainbow Wahine will also be swimming against San Jose State and Nevada.
 
Last season the Rainbow Wahine finished second in the Western Athletic Conference, with returning junior Taylor Ritenberg leading the way. Defending 200 IM and 200 breaststroke champion, Ritenberg, who holds two program records in the events and went to the NCAA Championship last season, is anticipated to have another outstanding season.
 
Among returnees for the Rainbow Wahine is senior Christa Prior, who swam the first leg for the team that won the 800 freestyle relay at the WAC Championships last season. UH has also added five newcomers to the squad.