Big West Conference- Men and Women
- Dates: Wednesday, February 12 – Saturday, February 15
- Location: Houston, Texas
- Defending Champions: None
- SCY (25 yards)
- Championship Central
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Teams: Cal Poly, Cal State Bakersfield, Hawaii, UC Davis (women), UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara
Tomorrow marks the start of the first Big West Swimming Championships since 2010. At the beginning of the season, the Big West brought back their swimming sponsorship, and five men’s teams and six women’s teams left the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Hawaii men and women are the reigning MPSF champs, and as all six teams in the Big West come directly from this conference, they are the favorites to win again.
Women’s Preview:
The women’s Big West meet will be made up of the top six teams from last year’s MPSF conference championships. The Hawaii and UC San Diego women have traded off the MPSF trophy over the past few years, with Hawaii winning the last two titles, and UCSD’s most recent championship coming in 2022. This year is shaping up to have a similar leaderboard at the Big West Championships, with Hawaii at the top, and UCSD, UCSB, and UC Davis battling it out for 2nd.
At last year’s MPSF meet, Hawaii defeated UCSB by 188 points, finishing 794 to UCSB’s 606. This was thanks, in large part, to the 198 points they scored with diving because UCSB scored zero diving points since they cut their program.
The ‘Bows are in a tough spot this year, after graduating their top five scoring finishers, including their two highest scoring divers. Their highest returning point scorer is senior diver Isabella Plantz, who will likely benefit from her former teammates being gone, since they outscored her on the boards.
Their highest scoring swimmer to return is junior Holly Nelson. At last year’s meet, she scored 46 points, placing 2nd in the 50 free and 3rd in the 100 free. In both events, the swimmer(s) ahead of her has graduated, and she is coming in seeded 2nd in both.
Hawaii also picked up transfer and NCAA qualifier Catherine Belyakov, who is coming in seeded top three in three different events, the 100 free, 200 IM, and 400 IM. At last year’s NCAA Championships, she swam the 100 free, 200 IM, and 100 breast, with her highest finish coming in the 200 IM at 24th.
They only had three individual swimming event winners last year, and only one is returning this season. 200 breast champion Zofia Tyminska is currently ranked 1st in the event. One of the events they won last year was the 200 backstroke, and, while Dorottya Dobos is not competing this season, junior Ella Varga currently has the top time in the Big West by over a second.
The Hawaii women also took home two relay titles, the 400 free and 800 free. They did graduate three of the four swimmers on both relays, but they have plenty of depth in those events still, and they are still top contenders in both.
UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Davis were separated by just over 40 points last year, and UCSD and UCSB do not sponsor diving programs, which will severely hurt them in the total point scores.
This year, it looks like it’s going to be a tight race between these other three teams. UC San Diego won 13 events at last year’s meet, but they lost a lot of their top swimmers. They are coming in with a few top seeds, again this year, primarily in the relays.
Freshman Madison O’Connell is making a huge impact for the Tritons, coming in with two top spots in the 100 back and 100 fly, and the 2nd seed in the 200 backstroke. She also has made a significant impact on relays for the team, and was a major factor on their 200 and 400 medley relays that have the top times in the conference.
They are also returning Asia Kozan, who won two events at last year’s meet, the 200 free and the 200 fly. This year, she is coming in 5th in the 200 free, and 4th in the 200 fly
UCSB did not win a single event last year, but their depth is difficult to compete with, and they had 11 swimmers score more than 20 points, and they are returning eight of those swimmers, including the top four.
Last year’s number 1 scorer, junior Samantha Banos, is back again, and after earning two silvers and a fourth place last year, she is looking to win this year. She comes into the meet with three 1st place times, the 200 free, 500 free, and 200 fly. She also sits 2nd in the 100 fly.
Other high scoring finishers who are back for this year include Hazel Derr, Anna Andres, and Mai Kawahata.
UC Davis was fourth last year, a little over 40 points back of UCSB, but they lost very few swimmers, and they have the advantage of diving points pushing them over the edge, especially with a smaller diving field like we will see at this year’s Big West meet.
They are bringing back their top four scoring divers, who brought in 141 points at MPSFs.
They also have junior Olivia Andersen, who is coming in as the top seed in the 50 free, and they are returning Sam Rhodes, their highest point scorer from last year.
Races to Watch:
200 Breast:
MPSF Champion Zofia Tyminska is seeded first in the event at 2:14.43, and the next three swimmers are all within half-a-second of her. UCSB’s Silvia Faraboschi sits 2nd at 2:14.86, Hawaii’s Mano Nguyen comes 3rd at 2:14.91, and UCSD’s Hayley Gregory is 2:14.95 for 4th. Just outside of tem is UCSB’s Mai Kawahata at 2:15.06. This could be a very close race, and it seems like every point is going to count for a lot of these teams.
200 Free Relay:
The top four women’s teams are separated by less than a second. UCSD won last year’s relay, but they came in seeded 3rd in the event with their 1:31.55. Hawaii is seeded first at 1:30.95, and UCSB comes in 2nd at 1:31.35. UC Davis rounds out the top four at 1:31.91. This could be a very exciting relay between the top four teams.
MPSF Results from Last Year:
- Hawaii – 794
- UCSB – 606
- UCSD – 585
- UC Davis – 563
- CSUB – 354
- Cal Poly – 245
SwimSwam Predictions:
If the meet was scored with just swimming, I think it would be a much closer race between Hawa’i, UCSD, and UCSB, but it’s not. It is incredibly difficult to win conference meets without a diving team, and UCSD and UCSB don’t have a team that can make up for those lost points this year, leaving Hawaii to win again.
UCSD and UCSB can battle it out for 2nd, along with UC Davis who is bringing huge diving points, but I think UCSD’s relays and event wins will ultimately put them over the top for 2nd.
- Hawaii
- UCSD
- UCSB
- UC Davis
- Cal Poly
- CSUB
Men’s Preview:
The men’s meet is shaping up to look a lot like the women’s meet. The five men’s teams were five of the top six teams at the MPSF meet last year, and the rankings don’t seem like they are going to change that much for this year’s Big West meet.
Hawaii defeated UCSB last year 794.5 to 667.5. This is a 127 point differential, and 111 of these points came from diving. Even without the diving scores, however, Hawaii still would have won the meet.
This year, they have three freshman divers who joined the team, and every point they score on the boards is a place for them to open a lead on UCSB who does not sponsor a diving team.
The sprint freestyle events are also Hawaii’s to lose with their superstar senior sprinter. In the 50, they have the top four swimmers in the event, led by Karol Ostrowski’s 18.99. Ostrowksi only swam a few meets for Hawaii last year after appearing on their roster halfway through the year, but one of those meets was the MPSF championships where he won the 50 freestyle in 19.30, and helped Hawaii qualify the men’s 200 free relay for the NCAA championships. In the 100 free, Ostrowski also leads, with his 42.58, and three other Hawaii swimmers join him in the top 10. His 200 free time of 1:34.36 also leads the Big West, but by less than four tenths of a second. He is the only Hawaii swimmer in the top 8.
Outside of these three events, the ‘Bows only other top seed comes in the form of junior Tom Caps and his 52.67 in the 100 breaststroke. They also have a 2nd seed in the 100 fly with senior Grant Stoddard’s 46.84.
The sprint freestyle relays are also Hawaii’s to lose, and the medley relays will likely be a close race between them and UCSB.
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos appear to be the better swim team this year, although we thought that last year, and Hawaii still won, even subtracting their diving scores. They have numerous top seeds, and their depth is unmatched.
The Gauchos are returning most of their top point scorers, including top distance freestyler Taber daCosta. At last year’s MPSF championships, he finished 2nd in the 500 and 1st in the 1650. This year, he is going seeded 2nd in the 500, two tenths of a second behind top seed Luigi Perez Franco. He is coming in as the top seed in the 1650.
2nd and 3rd scorers Austin Sparrow and Kyle Brill are also back this year. Sparrow is coming in 2nd in the 200 free and 1st in the 200 IM, the same places he earned last year. Brill finished 3rd in the 200 IM and 2nd in the 400 IM last year, and he is coming in seeded higher this year at 2nd in the 200 IM and 1st in the 400 IM.
UCSB also sits first in the 800 free relay by more than five seconds over 2nd place team Hawaii.
Cal Poly also has a few top ranking swimmers, and they were the next highest scorer from last year’s MPSF who is in the Big West. Backstroker Drew Huston, has the top seeded times in both backstroke events, after winning the 200 backstroke last year. They also have breaststroke transfer Evan Yoo who is coming in as the top seed in the 200 breaststroke.
Races to Watch:
500 Freestyle:
The men’s 500 freestyle is shaping up to be incredibly exciting with the top seven swimmers coming within two seconds of each other. Luigi Perez Franco from UCSD comes in first with Taber daCosta just two tenths behind. Evan Yoo is 3rd for Cal Poly half-a-second behind daCosta. Owen Berry rounds up the 4:27s, coming in just two one-hundredths behind Yoo.
200 IM:
The 200 IM looks similar, with the top four swimmers coming from UCSB and Cal Poly. If all four of them swim the event, they are separated by just over half a second this season. Austin Sparrow from UCSB holds the top time at 1:45.09 with teammate Kyle Brill exactly two tenths back. Evan Yoo from Cal Poly is six-one-hundredths behind at 1:45.35, and Drew Huston, also from Cal Poly rounds out the top four at 1:45.67. While there likely won’t be a race between these two teams on the podium, the final is looking to be close.
2023 MPSF Final Standings (Big West Teams Only)
- Hawaii – 794.5
- UCSB – 667.5
- Cal Poly – 471
- UCSD – 444
- CSUB – 289
SwimSwam Predictions
UCSB might have the better swim team, but can they compete with no diving points? I don’t think that’s in the cards for them this year, especially with Hawaii’s Ostrowski leading their relays and the sprint freestyle events.
Even taking into account the fact that all of Hawaii’s divers are freshman, if all three of them compete, it’s hard to make up that big of a point differential. Ultimately, Hawaii takes the top spot.
- Hawaii
- UCSB
- Cal Poly
- UCSD
- CSUB
