ATLANTA—Senior swimmer Holly Nelson and sophomore diver Lovisa Gustavsson will represent the University of Hawai'i women's swimming and diving team at the 2026 NCAA Championships from Wednesday through Saturday (March 18-21) at the McAuley Aquatic Center.
Nelson is set to compete in the 50 Freestyle, while Gustavsson will participate in the 3-Meter Dive. Both events are scheduled for Friday, March 20th.
UH will send both a women's swimmer and diver to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2019 whn Phoebe Hines, Karolina Hajkova, and Ivy Houser competed at the NCAA's. The Rainbow Wahine also had swimmers and divers qualify for the 2020 NCAA Championships, but the meet was canceled due to COVID-19.
Nelson punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships in the 50 free with an automatic qualifying time of 22.28—the second fastest mark in program history—at the Big West Championships in February. She returns to the NCAA Championships for the first time since her freshman season, when she served as the leadoff swimmer for UH's 200 free relay and 400 free relay teams that finished 21st and 20th, respectively. Nelson is the first Rainbow Wahine swimmer to qualify for the NCAA Championships in an individual event since Laticia Transom in 2023.
Gustavsson secured her NCAA berth with a third-place finish in the 3-meter dive at the NCAA Zone E Diving Championships in Flagstaff, Ariz. last week where she recorded a cumulative score of 606.10. Gustavsson becomes the first UH women's diver to compete at the NCAAs since Daphne Wils and Emma Lund in 2021.
| NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS |
| Date | Time |
Wed., March 18 - Sat., March 21, 2026 | 4:00 a.m. HT (10:00 a.m. ET)
Holly Nelson (Fri., March 20)
5:00 a.m. HT, Women's 50 free prelims
1:00 p.m. HT, Women's 50 free finals
Lovisa Gustavsson (Fri., March 20)
6:00 a.m. HT, Women's 3-meter diving prelims
12:25 p.m. HT, Women's 3-meter diving finals, Rounds 1-3
1:10 p.m. HT, Women's 3-meter diving finals, Rounds 4-6 |
| Location |
McAuley Aquatic Center | Atlanta |
| Live Stream |
ESPN+ |
| Live Results |
Meet Mobile |
| Event Schedule |
CLICK HERE |
| Championship Webpage |
CLICK HERE |
| Social Media |
Instagram | X | Facebook |
SEASON HIGHLIGHTSHolly Nelson
- Nelson won six medals at the Big West Championships, including golds in the 50 free, 100 free, and 200 free relay.
- Nelson helped set a Big West record in the 200 free relay (1:29.39) with a leadoff time of 22.38
- She also posted program Top 10 times in the 50 free (22.28, 2nd), 100 free (48.67, 5th), 100 fly (53.46, 5th) at the conference championships.
- Her 50 free automatic qualifying time of 22.28 was the fastest in the Big West.
- Nelson earned two Big West Athlete of the Week honors this season (Oct. 28, 2025, and Jan. 6, 2026).
- Nelson captured one silver and four bronze medals at the SMU Invitational (Nov. 19-22, 2025).
- Gustavsson earned bronze in the 3-meter dive with a cumulative score of 606.10. at last week's NCAA Zone E meet.
- Gustavsson captured three medals at the Big West Championships, including an individual conference title in the platform dive with a mark of 269.70.
- Her platform dive score of 269.70 also set a new conference record and ranks fifth in program history.
- Gustavsson won the platform dive at the SMU Invitational (Nov. 19-22, 2025) with a score of 254.25.
- She also placed third in the 3-meter dive at the Bruin Diving Invitational (Jan. 9-11, 2026) with a cumulative mark of 576.95.
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