The women’s swim team will be traveling to North Dartmouth, Mass. today for its competition against Ivy rival Brown in a meet set to begin at 4 p.m. The Lions are diving into the meet with four consecutive wins under their belt, two of which were in conference competition. Their most recent matchup was Columbia’s Homecoming meet against Cornell last Friday, where the Light Blue came out on top, 178-121.
Brown has not been as successful in its latest competitions, having lost to Harvard 66-177 this past weekend, as well as to Princeton 102-190 and Penn 110-171 in previous contests. The Bears are 2-5 in dual meets overall and 1-3 in the Ivy League.
When Columbia and Brown faced off last season, the Lions topped the Bears 157-143 in Uris Pool, improving their own record to 8-1 overall and 4-1 in the Ancient Eight. The girls started the meet off with Shannon Hosey’s first-place win in three-meter diving, and gained a significant head start by finishing 1-2 in the 200 medley relay. The team of Lauren Fraley, Mariele Dunn, Allison Hobbs and Hannah Galey took first in 1:45.79, while Delghir Urubshurow, Amanda Stewart, Allie Davitt and Christina Hughes finished second in 1:49.35. The Lions were able to maintain a lead throughout the rest of the meet. However, the Bears came back strong in the one-meter diving competition, securing the first-, second-, and third-place spots. After this event, Brown trailed the Light Blue closely, 86-83. Fortunately, Columbia soon regained a significant lead when senior Galey gained the top spot in the 100 freestyle, Urubshurow finished first in the 100 backstroke and 200 individual medley, and Dunn placed first in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:22.52. These wins widened the gap and eventually brought in the win for the Lions.
Coach Diana Caskey remarks that competition against Brown this season will be exciting and that “Brown has been swimming very well since the winter break. There will be close races in almost every event. It will be a good challenge for us. Because the league finish is decided at Ivy Championships and not dual meets, we did not do anything special to prepare. We have maintained strong training and have our sights set on the end of the season.”
Columbia’s record is currently 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the Ivy League. A triumph over Brown would improve the team to a winning record and propel the Light Blue to a higher ranking within the conference.
Comments
We're looking for comments that are interesting and substantial. If your comments are excessively self-promotional or obnoxious you will be banned from commenting. Consult the comment FAQ and legal terms.