The Big West Swimming & Diving Notebook: Pair of Conference Meets Highlight End of the Month

2024-25 Swimming & Diving | Men's Schedule | Women's Schedule | Jan. 17 Notes (.pdf)

 What 2 Watch 4
- Another week around the pools of The Big West takes place about a month away from the 2025 Swimming & Diving Championships on Feb. 12-15.  

Hawai’i continues competing in prelims at the Cal Invitational while Cal Poly visits Pacific on Friday at 3 p.m. UH will remain in Berkley until Saturday, Jan. 18 and will wrap up its regular season at the Invite.  

Cal Poly visits Pacific on Friday, Jan. 17 before remaining on the road for a conference clash with UC Davis, Saturday at Noon. The Aggies host UC Santa Barbara’s women on Sunday before another home meet at Schaal Aquatics Center on Friday, Jan. 24 against Fresno State.  


Houston, We Have A Championship!
- The Big West announced that the 2024-25 Big West Women's and Men's Swimming and Diving Championships will be held at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center Natatorium at the University of Houston. The four-day event will be contested from Feb. 12-15, 2025.

The 1,000-seat CRWC Natatorium, which underwent facility renovations in the summer of 2015, holds 1.3 million gallons of water. Measured at 70 meters by 25 yards, the pool ranks among the longest in the state of Texas. In addition to the pool and two 1-meter and two 3-meter springboards, the facility features five platform diving boards at 1-, 3-, 5-, 7.5, and 10-meter heights. 

Since opening in the spring of 2003, the facility has been host to several prestigious conference and national events including three iterations of the NCAA Zone D Diving meet and the 2007 NCAA Division III Championships. The Big West joins the Mountain West and WAC in hosting a championship event in the venue.


 Big West Top Swims

Men's
Rank Name/School Event Time Points
1 Karol Ostrowski, UH 100 Free 43.37 779
2 Austin Sparrow, UCSB 200 Free 1:37.64 770
3 Milan Bukovis, UH 100 IM 50.28 765
4 Jack Hendrick, UCSB 1000 Free 9:25.91 749
5 Riley Clinton, UH 1650 Free 15:46.36 746
- As of Jan. 14, 2025
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Women's
Rank School Event Total Average
1 Catherine Belyakov, UH 100 IM 56.17 744
2 Alexa Ozment, UH 100 Back 55.02 737
3 Samantha Banos, UCSB 200 Fly 2:01.24 737
4 Catherine Belyakov, UH 200 IM 2:02.85 731
5 Samantha Banos, UCSB 200 Free 1:50.19 727
- As of Jan. 14, 2025
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Big West Weekly Recognition 
- Cal Poly’s Evan Yoo captured the first-place crown in every event the junior competed in to win The Big West’s Men’s Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Week. This is the second weekly distinction of Yoo’s career after winning the first rendition of the award on Oct. 8. For the second straight week, Yoo won every event the junior competed in helping take the two relays, but highlighted CP with a win in the 1000 Free (9:30:16) and 100 Fly (49.33). The junior celebrated the most total victories on the day with four. Yoo remains in range for a 200 Breast NCAA appearance with his B-Cut time standing tied-31st.


Samantha Banos of UC Santa Barbara lived in first place this weekend to bring home The Big West’s Women’s Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Week for the second time this season (Dec. 24, 2024). In the pool against BYU, Banos boasted four first place finishes in the 200 Free 1:51.39 (1:50.19 altitude adjusted), 500 Free (4:58.19 altitude adjusted), 200 Fly 2:02.44 (2:01.44 altitude adjusted) and even 400 Free Relay (Split 51.32). The junior followed up with three more finishes at the top spot in the 200 Free at 1:51:62, 200 Fly at 2:03.76, and 100 Fly at 5.71.



2023 Rewind
- Hawai'i swept the men's and women's swimming and diving championships with UC Santa Barbara as runners-up a year ago in competition in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), where all six Big West member-institutions previously competed. Big West student-athletes and coaches claimed nine of the 10 MPSF individual awards in 2024.   
 
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 About The Big West
The Big West is an NCAA Division I member with 11 member-institutions with the shared goal of empowering every student-athlete in competition and in life and uniting its university communities through championship experiences. Formed in 1969, The Big West membership consists of Cal Poly, CSU Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, CSUN, Hawai'i, Long Beach State, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara.  

The Big West is united in the pursuit of boundless opportunities, enduring integrity, bold activism, fearless innovation and the Pacific spirit of freedom, exploration and progress. The Big West sponsors 19 sports at the NCAA Division I level: baseball, softball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's volleyball, women's beach volleyball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, and men's and women's water polo. 

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