Splashing into Success: Anticipation Builds for the Upcoming Big West Swimming & Diving Championships!

 What 2 Watch 4

– The arrival of the new year unleashes enthusiasm and vitality across the pools of The Big West. 

Saturday features a hectic schedule with both UCLA and Wisconsin facing UC San Diego at Canyonview Aquatic Center to kick off the action in 2025. UC Santa Barbara heads out and contests against California and UNLV in another multi-institutional face-off. Cal State Bakersfield and Cal Poly clash at noon for a Big West rivalry to conclude the competition on Saturday.

Thursday witnesses a duel between two Big West institutions as CSUB takes part in the CBU Diving Invite while Hawai’i hosts both Arkansas and Harvard at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.

Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara are both set to swim on Friday, Jan 10, with the Mustangs welcoming UC Santa Cruz at 1 p.m. while the Gauchos visit BYU at 3 p.m. Saturday sees both UCSD and UCSB away as the Gauchos compete against both Utah and UCLA, while the Tritons are also in Los Angeles facing USC.

Looking forward, Hawai’i will travel to the mainland to participate in the Cal Invitational in Berkeley, California. 

Houston, We Have A Championship!

– The Big West declared that the 2024-25 Big West Women’s and Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships will occur at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center Natatorium at the University of Houston. This four-day event is scheduled for Feb. 12-15, 2025.

The CRWC Natatorium, which has a capacity of 1,000 seats and underwent renovations in the summer of 2015, contains 1.3 million gallons of water. Measuring 70 meters by 25 yards, the pool ranks among the longest in Texas. Besides the pool and two 1-meter and two 3-meter springboards, the facility includes five platform diving boards at 1, 3, 5, 7.5, and 10-meter heights. 

Since its opening in spring 2003, the venue has hosted various prestigious conference and national events, including three editions of the NCAA Zone D Diving meet and the 2007 NCAA Division III Championships. The Big West joins Mountain West and WAC in organizing a championship event at this location.

 Big West Top Swims

Men’s

– As of Dec. 21, 2024

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Women’s

– As of Dec. 21, 2024

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Big West Weekly Recognition 

–  Vili Sivec once again excelled for Cal State Bakersfield, this time in a series of conference duels that earned him The Big West’s Men’s Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Week award for an impressive fourth time this season (Oct. 15, Nov. 12, Dec. 10). The Zabok, Croatia native achieved a trio of first-place finishes in the 200 Fly (1:49.28; a 3-second lead), 100 Fly (48.91), and 100 Free (45.52) during conference competition against UC Santa Barbara. Another Big West meet followed on Saturday against UC San Diego, where Sivec improved his times in all three events, leading to three additional victories (1:47.35; 4-second lead / 48.44 / 45.18). Sivec also contributed to CSUB’s victory in the 400-Free Relay with a leadoff time of 45.33. 

–  Samantha Banos from UC Santa Barbara earned The Big West’s Women’s Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Week title after an outstanding performance. This marks the first Big West honor of the junior’s career. Banos played a key role in UCSB’s success in the 200 medley (split: 24.62) and secured first-place finishes in the 100 free (51.99) and 200 fly (55.82). The junior anchored the 400 free relay at the top position (split: 25:13) and won both the 200 free (1:49.01) and fly (1:58.92). The Los Alamitos, Calif. native concluded the week with a victory in the 500 free, clocking a time of 4:52.17.   

2023 Rewind

– Hawai’i claimed victory in both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving championships, with UC Santa Barbara finishing as runners-up in competition within the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), where all six Big West member institutions previously participated. Big West student-athletes and coaches were awarded nine of the ten MPSF individual honors in 2024.