Honolulu— The University of Hawai'i swimming and diving team completed its first meet of the new year Thursday with the University of Wisconsin and Drury University at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex, turning in a solid showing to start 2020.
 
The women's team featured a tri-match, along with the diving squad competing in the second day of the Wally Nakamoto Diving Invite, while the men faced off with Drury in a head-to-head meet. In total, UH came away with a total of 15 first-place finishes on the day.
 
The third day of the Wally Nakamoto Invite will conclude on Friday and begin at 2:00 p.m. HT, followed by a dual meet between UH and Minnesota on Saturday, starting at noon HT.
 
Diving- Wally Nakamoto Invite
 
After taking a second-place finish in the men's one-meter dive on Wednesday, sophomore Max Burman took a 24-hour turn around and notched the first-place spot in the three-meter on Thursday.
 
Burman and his teammates fought off harsh conditions with a whipping wind cutting through the Duke for a solid second day of competition. As Burman tallied a score of 369.65, senior Lucas Cooperman followed with a final of 330.00 for third place. Both the marks by Burman and Cooperman solidified them spots in the NCAA Zone Meet to possibly qualify later on in the season for the NCAA Championships.
 

Great performance by Max Burman as he claimed a first-place finish in the men's three-meter dive in the Wally Nakamoto Invite!#HawaiiSwimDive | #GoBows pic.twitter.com/PCXOnfdXXt

— Hawaii Swim & Dive (@HawaiiSwimDive) January 10, 2020

 
Due to the conditions, UH and Wisconsin agreed to pass by the prelims and compete in the finals of the day, resulting in recorded bonus dives that didn't factor into the day's results. While the bonus dives didn't factor into the results, it gave sophomore Octavio Lucero a chance to pick up a qualifying score for the NCAA Zone Meet with Burman and Cooperman. Lucero took advantage of his opportunity as he accounted for a score of 334.55, sending him to the qualifying meet.
 
Junior Victoria Moretti picked up the best finish of the day for the Rainbow Wahine in the one-meter dive, pickup up a score of 256.10 for second overall.
 
Swimming- Women's Tri-Match vs. Wisconsin and Drury
 
Each of the three programs broke their teams up into two separate squads, and UW came away on top with a high of 185.50 points, the top team for UH tallied 150.50 points for a third-place finish.
 
Senior long-distance swimmer Phoebe Hines continues to be a front-runner for the program as she took first place in two events, the only Rainbow Wahine to do so on the day. Hines claimed both the 1000 and 500 free events.
 

Go hard, turn, and go hard again!

🏊‍♀️ 🌈 #HawaiiSwimDive pic.twitter.com/TK0ltpbBWT

— Hawaii Swim & Dive (@HawaiiSwimDive) January 10, 2020

 
In the team relays, a foursome of juniors took a first-place finish in the 200 medley relay. Karolina Hajkova, Kionna Clayton, Lucia Lassman, and Anna Kotonen touched the wall at 1:45.20, besting UW by over a second.
 
Clayton used the momentum she had from the relay and turned it into a strong showing, placing at No. 1 in the 100 breaststroke, timing in at 1:03.41.  
 
Swimming- Men's Dual-Match vs. Drury
 
Starting this season back in October, head coach Elliot Ptasnik hammered the point of the relay teams for the men's squad, and Thursday continued to show how far the Rainbow Warrior have come this year. UH took first place in both the 200 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay, paving the way to a 144.00 to 61.00 victory over Drury.
 
Neither of the two victories bested their previous top times of the season in the events but is a steady step of progression for the program. Junior Kane Follows served on the 200 medley relay team and also placed No. 1 in the 100 backstroke. Follows was bested by teammate Nils Lovgreen in the 200 freestyle, as the Freshman took first-place in the event, with Follows in second.
 
Another member of the 200 medley relay team building on the day was senior Olli Kokko. He finished shy of his season-best in the 100 breaststroke, but Kokko placed first overall in the event, adding another top finish for the 'Bows.