MONTEREY PARK, CALIF.—The University of Hawai'i swim and dive team is off to a fast start in the MPSF Championship as both the men's and women's teams lead after the first day events at the East Los Angeles Community College swimming facility.
 
The Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wahine scored 74 points on the first day, with two events: the 200 medley relay and the 800 free relay. Both squads won the 200 medleys while placing second in the 800 free. Following UH and sitting in second place with a score of 70 is UC Santa Barbara in both the men's and women's team rankings.
 
Led by three experienced swimmers in the 200 medley, the Rainbow Wahine kicked off the event by making a statement as the five-time defending champs. Graduate Anna Kotonen was joined by senior Emma Frey, junior Anna Friedrich, and freshman Kathryn Ivanov for a time of 1:39.14. The foursome narrowly beat out UC San Diego, clocking in at 1:39.37.
 
For the men's team, the drama followed with another close finish. Senior Ian Venter was joined by the junior combo of Justin Lisoway and Tim Masten, along with freshman Tomer Goldfaden, touching the wall at 1:26.80. BYU came in at 1:27.12 for a second-place finish.
 
The men's team came close to adding more to their lead in the 800 free relay by nearly overcoming UCSB in the race's final leg by making up a four-second gap. UH finished a half-second behind the Gauchos, tallying 34 points from the event, maintaining their lead.
 
The 'Bows will be back in action on Thursday with seven events each for the two squads, including the men's one-meter dive and the women's three-meter dive. Prelims will begin at 10 a.m. PT, and the championship rounds will begin at 6 p.m. PT.