LOS ANGELES – The Hawai'i men's and women's swimming and diving programs turned in a solid opening day of competition, highlighted by a number of high finishes, top-10s and strong debut performances Friday at the USC Invitational.
 
Both the Rainbow Wahine and Rainbow Warriors got off to strong starts with third-place finishes in the 400 medley relay. The UH women started things off with a 3:39.21 to finish behind only a pair of USC relay squads while the men also were bested only by a pair of Trojans teams with a time of 3:13.97
 
A pair of true freshmen turned in strong efforts in their collegiate debuts, as Riley Clinton placed fourth in the men's 500 free with a time of 4:28.41, while Alexa Ozment finished runner-up in the women's 100 back with a mark of 55.25. Ozment led a 2-4-7 finish for the Rainbow Wahine in the event as Dorottya Dobos swam a 55.62 to come in fourth while Anna Friedrich placed seventh with a 55.94. In the men's 100 back, Tim Gallagher got his season off to a strong start with a 48.29 to finish second.
 
Graduate transfer Mira Selling turned in a solid effort to begin her UH career in the 200 IM, clocking the ninth-fastest time in program history with a 2:02.68 to come in fifth. Sophomore Mario Surkovic delivered a solid swim to start his sophomore year in the men's 200 IM, coming in second with a time of 1:47.62.
 
The UH diving squad opened their season in Riverside, Calif. at a meet hosted by California Baptist with the men's 3-meter and women's 1-meter competitions. Isabelle Lombardi led the way for the Rainbow Wahine, finishing second in the 1-meter competition with a score of 264.65 while Isabella Plantz, Elma Lund and Nea Immonen finished fourth through sixth. Juan Gonzalez paced the Rainbow Warriors in the 3-meter competition with a mark of 326.20.
 
The Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wahine are back in action Saturday morning beginning at 6:30 a.m. HT/9:30 a.m. PT.