Tamayo Shines with a Stellar Second-Place Finish at the Cal Invitational!

BERKELEY, Calif.—The diving squads for the University of Hawai’i, both men’s and women’s, concluded their participation in the first-ever Cal Invitational at the Legends Aquatic Center in Berkeley, Calif..  Both teams took to the platform on Saturday.
 
In the men’s qualifying rounds, Hawai’i’s Juan Esteban Ramirez Tamayo secured sixth place with a cumulative score of 308.40, allowing him to progress to the final round. He was among the few divers, only six, to achieve over 300 total points. UH’s Brandon Shepherd placed 12^th with a score of 225.00.  In the final round, Tamayo ascended the leaderboard to seize second place with a cumulative total of 310.30 points. He finished a mere .15 points ahead of Utah’s Jesco Helling, who ended third with 310.15 points. Tamayo’s top-scoring dive was from an “armstand back 2 somersault 1-1/2 twist free,” which earned him 67.20 points.
 
On the women’s side, Hawai’i had two Rainbow Wahine competing on the platform—Macie Wheeler and Avery Coats. Wheeler ranked 21^st in the preliminary rounds with a score of 184.50, while Coates finished with a score of 153.85, placing her in 28th. Neither of them qualified for the final round.
 

The men’s and women’s swim/diving teams will now have nearly a month to prepare for the 2025 Big West Championship, set to take place at Houston’s CRWC Natatorium. Cal Poly (men & women), Cal State Bakersfield (men & women), Hawai’i (men & women), UC Davis (women), UC San Diego (men & women), and UC Santa Barbara (men & women) will be competing for the titles in the returning season of Big West swimming and diving. This will be the first championship event since 2010.
 

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