Water Polo Coaching Carousel Sends Ikaika Aki to Hawaii, Dustin Litvak to Loyola Marymount
The water polo coaching carousel kicked off last week has added two new changes this week. After James Robinson-O’Brien stepped down from Hawaii to take the women’s head coaching job at UCLA, Hawaii hired Ikaika Aki away from Loyola Marymount. LMU then hired Princeton men’s coach Dustin Litvak. Derek Ellingson is the interim coach for the Tigers.
Aki is the fifth head coach in the Rainbow Warriors history. He spent four years at LMU, earning Golden Coast Conference Coach of the Year each of the last two years, leading the Lions to consecutive titles and berths in the National Collegiate Women’s Water Polo Championship. The 2025 bid was the first since 2012.
“I am incredibly honored and humbled to return home to lead the University of Hawai’i women’s water polo program,” Aki said in a press release. “I want to thank Matt Elliott and Jim Stein for this tremendous opportunity. As someone who grew up here, I know exactly what it means to represent this state and this community. The Rainbow Wahine have established a remarkable standard of excellence, and I look forward to working with these talented student-athletes to build upon that strong foundation and take this program to even greater heights.”
Aki posted a 70-20 record at LMU, including a 20-0 GCC regular-season mark. The Lions were 23-5 last year. He has experience on the islands as a 2006 graduate of Honolulu’s Punahou School.
Aki played at Loyola Marymount, scoring 105 goals and 109 assists. The latter figure was second in program history, sand he’s LMU’s all-time record-holder in steals (176) and blocks (119). He spent two seasons as an assistant for LMU’s men’s and women’s program, then was the head coach at San Clemente High School.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ikaika back home to Hawai’i,” Hawaii athletic director Matt Elliott said. “His proven track record of building a championship-caliber program at LMU, combined with his deep roots in our local community, makes him the perfect leader for the Rainbow Wahine as we look to build upon our legacy of success.”
Litvak resigned from Princeton to take over at LMU. He posted a 162-65 record in seven seasons at Princeton, with a 58-12 mark in the Northeast Water Polo Conference. The Tigers men’s team won six NWPC titles, made six NCAA tournaments and made the NCAA Final Four in 2023. He was also an assistant for the women’s team from 2018-24.
Litvak has California experience at Agoura High School, Occidental College and UCLA, as part of the 2014 men’s national championship coaching staff and the 2017 NCAA runner-up women’s team.
“To return to Los Angeles and to be entrusted with the continued development of LMU’s fast rising and competitive women’s water polo program is a dream come true for myself and my family,” Litvak said in a LMU release. “We have been warmly welcomed and well-supported through the process of this immediate and exciting transition… Heading into this season, I look forward to working with Sarah, our student-athletes, alumni, and supporters to pursue championships while fostering the development of the remarkable young women on this team who represent LMU with pride.”
Litvak’s appointment keeps associate head coach Sarah Kreiser in place.
In Princeton, Ellingson takes over as the interim coach while a national search is conducted. Huw Helman remains his assistant for both the men’s and women’s teams. Ellingson has been the head coach of the women’s team since 2019, with a 148-46 record, and has been on staff at Princeton since 2004.
