HOUSTON — The University of Hawai'i men's and women's swimming and diving teams both sit atop the standings after Day 3 of the Big West Championships, highlighted by multiple event victories on Friday at the CRWC Natatorium in Houston.
The Rainbow Wahine extended their lead finishing the day with 560 points, while the Rainbow Warriors reclaimed first place with 512 points heading into the final day of competition.
The Rainbow Warriors captured three individual event titles—one each from Karol Ostrowski, Tom Thalau, and Victor Dagenais. In the 100 backstroke, Ostrowski touched the wall at 46.16 to claim gold while securing his second NCAA Championship qualifying time. Thalau continued his stellar week with a Big West title in the 400 Individual Medley with a blazing fast time of 3:47.09—finishing at least three seconds ahead of his closest competitor. Thalau's time is the second-fastest in UH history. Dagenais earned his first individual conference crown in the 200 Freestyle, clocking in at 1:34.77.
In the prelims,
Tom Caps set a new Big West record in the 100 Breaststroke with a mark of 52.24. Caps followed with a runner-up finish in the finals with a time of 53.47.
Jack Simon finished fourth in the 100 Butterfly, touching the wall at 46.70.
The Rainbow Warriors' 400 medley relay squad of Ostrowski, Caps, Simon, and
Finn Brophy narrowly missed gold, finishing second in 3:07.70—just one-hundredth of a second behind Grand Canyon (3:07.69). Brophy set a new program record in the relay, swimming the anchor leg (100 free) in 41.95.
The Rainbow Wahine's day was highlighted by multiple podium finishes.
Holly Nelson started the evening with a bronze finish in the 100 fly with a time of 53.46, followed by
Carlotta Ingenerf's third place finish in the 400 IM (4:16.05).
The women also tallied several top five finishes throughout the evening.
Isabelle Meraz and
Mia Blazhevska Eminova finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 100 fly, while
Brooke Bennett placed fourth in the 200 free at 1:48.07.
Zofia Tyminska claimed fourth in the 100 breast (1:00.98) and
Rebekka Luoto followed in fifth place (1:01.66). In the 100 back,
Aziza Meyer finished in fifth with a time of 55.39.
For the second-straight day, the Rainbow Wahine diving team dominated, sweeping the top five places in the 3-meter springboard. For the second-straight season
Macie Wheeler has won both the 1-meter and 3-meter conference titles. On Friday, she scored a 352.70 on the 3-meter to lead the charge, followed by
Keira Chandler (308.80) and
Lovisa Gustavsson (292.15).
Ruby Pickron posted a 286.25 for fourth place nd
Avery Coates tallied a 274.30 for fifth.
UH concludes the Big West Championships on Saturday with prelims scheduled for 6:00 a.m. Hawai'i Time (10:00 a.m. Central Time), followed by finals at 2:00 p.m. HT (6:00 p.m. CT) at the CRWC Natatorium in Houston.
2026 Big West Championsips
Day 3
Men's Standings
| 1. |
Hawai'i |
512 |
| 2. |
Grand Canyon |
487 |
| 3. |
UC Santa Barbara |
381 |
| 4. |
UC San Diego |
367 |
| 5. |
Cal State Bakersfield |
271.5 |
| 6. |
Seattle U |
199.5 |
Women's Standings
| 1. |
Hawai'i |
560 |
| 2. |
UC Davis |
450 |
| 3. |
UC San Diego |
441 |
| 4. |
UC Santa Barbara |
424 |
| 5. |
San Diego |
231 |
| 6. |
Seattle U |
121 |
| 7. |
Cal State Bakersfield |
103 |
EVENT WINNERS
Men's Swim/Dive
400 IM - Tom Thalau 3:47.09
200 free - Victor Dagenais 1:34.77
100 back - Karol Ostrowski - 46.16^
Women's Swim/Dive
3M Dive - Macie Wheeler 352.70
Top UH Times
400 MR (Anchor Split) - Finn Brophy 41.95 (1st)
100 Breast prelims - Tom Caps 52.24* (2nd)
400 IM - Tom Thalau 3:47.09 (2nd)
400 IM - Carlotta Ingenerf 4:16.05 (3rd)
100 Fly - Holly Nelson 53.46 (5th)
100 Fly prelims - Mia Blazhevska Eminova 53.63 (6th)
400 IM - Evan Pickles 3:51.21 (6th)
400 IM - Eric Kupsky 3:52.98 (7th)
100 Fly - Finn Brophy 47.18 (7th)
100 Fly prelims - Isabelle Meraz 53.85 (8th)
100 Breast - Rebekka Luoto 1:01.66 (8th)
100 Back - Korey Tiell 47.79 (9th)
100 Back - Andrew Simmons 47.91 (10th)
400 IM - Aoife Harkin 4:21.89 (10th)
*- Big West Record
^- NCAA Automatic Qualifier
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