CU propelled to victory by trip to Puerto Rico

The women’s swimming and diving team won its first meet of the spring semester on Sunday night, topping Bucknell 129-114 in Lewisburg, Penn. This advances the Lions’ overall record to 3-2 for the season.
Having spent over a week training in Ponce, Puerto Rico, during winter break, coach Diana Caskey was a little worried about the team’s fatigue going into the match.
“We flew in from Ponce late Friday night, trained Saturday, and got on a bus to Bucknell at 8 a.m. Sunday. Despite eight days of hard training and travel fatigue, we swam well and beat a very solid team on the road. I was really happy with the team’s performance at Bucknell.”
Caskey thinks that training in warmer weather during winter break makes all the difference. “There are many benefits to training in Puerto Rico. There are excellent long-course facilities, which allow the athletes the benefit of 50-meter training. We are outdoors in fresh air instead of in a contained facility, and going to Puerto Rico ensures warm weather, unlike Florida this time of year, where teams trained outside in 40-degree temperatures. The trip to Puerto Rico really solidifies the good training we do during first semester.”
The girls were clearly ready to compete after the long month of practice and dove into the pool with a vengeance, winning the first three events at Bucknell. In the 400 medley relay, sophomore Caitlin Rogers, junior Mariele Dunn, and freshmen Caroline Lukins and Katie Meili prevailed with a time of 3:55.87. Next up was the 1000 free, where junior Abby Reilly and sophomore Isabelle Vandenbroucke took first and second place for Columbia. Sophomore Paige Endsley also finished first for the Lions in the 200 free, with a time of 1:55.03.
Although first place in the 50 free went to Bucknell’s Molly Goebel, Columbia’s freshmen Lacey Harris-Coble and Bunge Okeyo and senior Allison Hobbs took second, third, and fourth places, respectively. Bucknell was also able to capture the top spot in the 200 individual medley, but Dunn and the Light Blue’s captain, senior Caitlin Bertelsen, clinched third and second place, respectively, preventing the Bison from gaining a lead.
In 1-meter diving, Columbia’s freshman Kristen Hehir and sophomore Stephanie Foster placed third and fourth. When the swimmers returned to the pool for the 200 butterfly, the Lions raged ahead, sweeping the top four places. Lukins won the event with a time of 2:08.27
Meili, continued the team’s lead by winning the 100 free in 52.35, and it was Endsley and Reilly who brought the 1-2 finish in the 500 free, allowing Columbia to gain an edge over Bucknell. The final win of the day went to Dunn in the 200 breast, and Meili, Hobbs, Harris-Coble, and junior Ashley MacLean ended the meet with a second-place finish in the 200 free relay.
The Lions will return to Uris Pool to compete in their annual Homecoming meet on Friday, Jan. 22, at 4 p.m. Columbia will look to gain their second Ivy win of the season as they face off against Ivy rival Cornell.

Tags: Sports, Julia Garrison, Women's Swimming and Diving