The University of Hawai’i men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams won the 2026 Big West Championships at the CRWC Natatorium in Houston, Texas. This marks the fourth time both programs have secured conference titles in the same year, with previous wins in 2019, 2020, and 2024.
The men’s team entered the final day with a narrow 25-point lead. The championship outcome was determined by the last event, the 400 freestyle relay. Hawai’i’s relay team finished just under three-hundredths of a second ahead of Grand Canyon University to secure the title. The men finished with a total of 780 points, maintaining a 62-point margin over Grand Canyon.
On the women’s side, Hawai’i began Saturday with a 110-point advantage and maintained control throughout. They ended with 798 points, more than 100 points ahead of their closest competitor. UC Davis placed second with 692 points while defending champion UC Santa Barbara took third place with 660 points.
For individual performances on Saturday, Evan Pickles and Eric Kupsky contributed to the men’s point tally in the 1650 freestyle event. Karol Ostrowski set a new Big West record in the men’s 100 freestyle at 42.41 seconds—his third NCAA qualifying time during this meet—while Finn Brophy earned silver and Regan Richardson added additional points by finishing eighth.
Tom Thalau won bronze in the men’s 200 breaststroke; Victor Dagenais also claimed bronze in the men’s 200 butterfly event. In platform diving for men, Juan Esteban Ramirez Tamayo and Oliver Wignall secured silver and bronze medals respectively.
The pivotal moment came when Brophy, Thalau, Dagenais, and Ostrowski won gold in the men’s closing relay event—their finish also set a new conference record at 2:52.18.
On the women’s side, Holly Nelson took first place in the women’s 100 freestyle (48.67 seconds). Mia Blazhevska Eminova captured bronze in her race for additional team points. In platform diving events for women, Lovisa Gustavsson achieved first place with Keira Chandler earning silver; Macie Wheeler and Avery Coates rounded out top-six finishes for UH divers.
Hawai’i concluded its meet on Saturday night by taking silver in the women’s closing relay after being narrowly surpassed by UC Santa Barbara.
These championships are significant as they represent head coach Steve Allnutt’s first conference crowns since assuming his role two years ago; Allnutt is an alumnus who previously competed on Hawai’i’s own championship-winning team in Conference USA back in 2011.
For program history, this is now eleven overall conference titles for Rainbow Wahine swimming & diving (including past MPSF, WAC and PCAA victories) while it is eight total championships for Rainbow Warriors swimming & diving across several conferences including MPSF, Conference USA and WAC.
