HONOLULU—The University of Hawai'i men's swimming and diving squad will compete this week at the Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center, located on the campus of the University of Texas for the NCAA Championships.
 
The Rainbow Warriors are traveling with one of their more extensive roster of participants in recent memory with a total of six student-athletes making the trip. Of the six, three are returning to the NCAA Championships, including seniors Metin Aydin and Johan Sandell, along with junior Olli Kokko. The three newcomers are juniors Mateusz Chaba and Kane Follows, along with sophomore Adam Franz.
 
Aydin will be making his third career appearance as he was an Honorable Mention All-American from last year when he finished at No. 11 in the 200 backstroke. In this year's championships, he'll compete in the same three events from 2018, the 100 and 200 backstroke and the 200 individual medley. Kokko will compete in two events with the 100 and 200 breaststroke, his best finish in last year's championships was in the 100 breast at No. 21.
 
Sandell, like Aydin, will be making his third career appearance in the NCAAs. During his two previous appearances, Sandell competed in all three diving events with the one-meter, three-meter, and platform. In 2019, he'll compete in two, with the three-meter and platform.
 
Follows will be making his first appearance and will going head to head with Aydin in the 100 and 200 backstroke, as well as the 200 individual medley.
 
The other two newcomers in Chaba and Franz may make the most significant impact on the program at this year's championships. For the first time since 2004, UH will have a relay team competing in the NCAA Championships. Chaba and Franz will be teamed up with Aydin and Kokko in both the 200 and 400 medley relays.
 
The championships will begin on Wednesday, Mar. 27 and will go until Saturday, Mar. 30. Updates will be provided throughout the week on hawaiiathletics.com and on Twitter @HawaiiSwimDive. Preliminary events will be available for live streaming at texassports.com. Evening final sessions from Wednesday through Saturday will also be available to watch on ESPN3.