HOUSTON, Texas –  In the jam-packed four day event that encompasses Big West Conference Championships, the Aggies pull through triumphant.
 
The Ags ended up with one silver medal and six bronze medals on the week. "We had an exciting week in Houston that saw multiple podium finishes from both swim and dive and many lifetime best times which is always the goal for the end of the season" states head coach Matt Macedo.
 
"Every single Aggie scored individually, and a few relays received hardware as well. We had some unfortunate situations that didn't have our squad at 100%, but I am proud of the way the team responded to adversity. I can't thank this senior class enough for their commitment to the program. Can't wait for next year and our final Big West Championship."
 
Diving also dominated the podium, with multiple top eight finishes on the week.
 
"Our goal was to score all eight divers and get a couple medals, and we did just that. Mackenzie had the best finish with a second on the tower, and Katherine ended up third in two events, it was a very successful week" praises diving coach Phil Tonne.
 
DAY ONE (February 12th)
For the medley, Emily Scheberies took the 50 backstroke with a time of 25.95. Senior Sam Rhodes followed up with a 28.31 in the breaststroke. Sophomore Brynn Graham took butterfly, clocking in a 24.47. Junior Sophi Mackay handled business as the anchor, a 22.41 in the freestyle. They totaled up an impressive 1:41.14 for the race to earn fourth overall. 

In the 800 relay, each athlete took a 200 freestyle. Sophomore Elsie Luisetti started off strong with a 1:51.77. Senior Katie McLain was next, finishing her leg of the journey with a 1:50.71. Sam Rhodes was third and the speediest of the squad, coming in with a 1:48.96. Sophi Mackay was called to be anchor once more and swam a 1:49.97 to close out the race. Rhodes and Mackay had a short turnaround but still garnered the two fastest times of the relay. The team finished fourth overall with a 7:21.41, which was an impressive 12 seconds quicker than their entered time for the meet. 
 
DAY TWO (February 13th)
Five Aggie divers advanced past the preliminary round in the one-meter contest. Those five ended up being seniors Leila Busch and Taylor Schwarz, juniors Priscilla Nguyen and Mackenzie Young, and freshman Katherine Lim. This fortified group charged the boards and secured fourth through eighth place for the Aggies. Leila Busch led the ambush, scoring a 250.05 for fourth place. Schwarz followed suit with a springy 245.75 off the board. Katherine Lim scored a 240.95, Mackenzie Young with a 240.55, and Priscilla Nguyen capped off the Aggie train with a 231.50.
 
In the consolation dives, freshman Lauren Kudo secured 10th with a 239.60, right after was sophomore Malia Panganiban scored a 231.45, and sophomore Karina Giacomazza earned 13th with a 222.05.
 
Elsie Luisetti was the lone Aggie competing in the 500 freestyle competition, making it to the consolation round after the tough preliminary battle. Clocking in a time of 5:02.03, she came out 14th of 23 total competitors.
 
In the 200 IM competition, Brynn Graham was fighting for the points in the finals portion of the event. She came out seventh overall, sporting a 2:03.99 to hold her ground against her Big West opponents, mainly hailing from UCSD. Sam Rhodes finished tenth in the race, flaunting a speedy 2:02.06 in the consolation heat.
The rapid dash for the title in the 50 yard freestyle proved to be fruitful for the Aggies, with Sophi MacKay taking the third spot on the podium. She swam a lifetime best of 23.02 to secure her place among the stars. Close behind by a matter of milliseconds, Katie McLain placed fourth with a 23.06, also recording a lifetime best. Christy Douglas placed 12th overall out of the 45 racers pining for a spot in the top performers.
 
To close out the second day of neck-and-neck competition, a powerful relay squad made up of Christy Douglas, Sophi MacKay, Katie McLain, and Anna Boyer placed fourth in the 200 freestyle relay. The results of this event proved that sometimes determining a winner of a swim race is like splitting hairs; the top four relay teams all within a second of each other. The electricity of the team charged the Aggies to a speedy 1:31.60, just shy of passing the current UC Davis record by .18 seconds.
 
 
DAY THREE (February 14th)
The Ags made big strides on the third day of events, finding themselves back on the podium three more times following MacKay's third place finish the day before.
 
Sam Rhodes made history in the 400 IM finals event, smashing her previous record set in 2023 at the MPSF tournament in the race. She improved her finish this time around by three whole seconds. She made the Big West podium and came in third place with her lifetime best of 4:16.85.
 
Brynn Graham also made top five, securing fourth place with a time of 4:20.85 in the 400 IM.  
 
The 400 medley relay team made up of Emily Scheberies, Katie McLain, Brynn Graham, and Sam Rhodes garnered the second third place of the day for the Aggies, swimming a collective 3:43.19.
 
The third medal went to freshman diver Katherine Lim, her performance off the 3 meter block earned her the title and a score of 285.60. Leila Busch followed suit in fourth place with a 282.85. Freshman Lauren Kudo earned sixth with a 253.15 and Mackenzie Young rounded out the finals group at eighth with a 249.30.
 
Sophomore Ellie Heit held her own as the solo Aggie competing in the 100 butterfly, finishing 15th overall with a 55.66. Led by Sophi MacKay in ninth place, McLain, Luisetti, and Andersen all competed in the 200 freestyle consolation finals.
 
Senior Haley Hoefer collected 15th in the 100 breaststroke, a time of 1:04.57 to earn her the placing. Three Ags also took 10-12th in the 100 backstroke consolation event in order of Emily Scheberies, Ella Palmer, and Olivia Andersen.
 
DAY FOUR (February 15th)
The diving team rounded out a super successful weekend, Mackenzie Young posted the highest place for the team all weekend on the platform, scoring 221.50 and earning silvery second for her stellar performance. Katherine Lim earned her second third place accolade with a 216.90 for her long fall. Leila Busch placed 6th, and Taylor Schwarz and Lauren Kudo blocked out the top eight spots.
 
McLain and MacKay proved to be a dynamic duo in the 100 freestyle, closing out the top five in the conference. McLain placed fourth with a fast 50.21, Mackay in fifth with a 50.46. Christy Douglas placed tenth in the consolation, leading Anna Boyer and 'Ala Wong.
 
Elsie Luisetti was placed into the long haul 1650 freestyle race for the first time, and rose to the occasion – placing ninth overall.
 
Brynn Graham headlined Aggie efforts during the consolation finals in the 200 backstroke, placing tenth to lead Ella Palmer, Olivia Andersen, and Emily Scheberies.
 
Ema Klimauskas and Ellie Heit placed 11th and 12th in the 200 butterfly, both improving their times from the prelims by a second.
 
Seniors Haley Hoefer and Sam Rhodes ended their collegiate careers in the 200 breaststroke race, Rhodes leading the pack in ninth and Hoefer in thirteenth.
 
The curtain closing event for the Big West Conference Championships was the 400 freestyle relay, taking the team's final third place finish. The squad made up of Katie McLain, Sophi MacKay, Christy Douglas, and Anna Boyer came in third with a final time of 3:20.96.