Women's swimming extends win streak with victory over Brown

The women’s swimming team is on a five-meet winning streak after winning this past Friday’s competition against Brown, 156-144. The meet was exciting, with the two teams battling for the top spot until the very last event. Many swimmers broke pool records, while others achieved the best times of their careers. With this win over the Bears, the Lions improve to 5-2 (3-2 Ivy).

Head coach Diana Caskey knew the meet was going to be close. “Columbia and Brown were very evenly matched in this dual meet format,” Caskey said. “Brown had the edge in some events and we had the edge in others. We traveled for four hours prior to the meet, which gave them a certain advantage, but many of the Columbia swimmers were undaunted by the challenges of the day and got their hands on the wall first when it counted. We never had more than an eight-point advantage and were down by one going into the last relay.”

In the first event, the 200 meter medley relay, the Bears earned the top spot. But the Light Blue swept the next race, the 1,000 free, with Abby Reilly taking the top spot in 10:30.77 and teammates Molly Dengler and Nicole Marsh coming in second and third, respectively. Brown answered by taking first in the 200 free, but Columbia’s Delghi Urubshurow and Mariele Dunn kept the score close, claiming first in the 100 backstroke and 100 breast, respectively.

Freshman Katie Meili recorded her season-best times in the 50 and 100 free events, with a time of 23:53 in the 50 and 51.51 in the 100. Meili won both events for the Lions, helping Columbia gain an edge over Brown. Urubshurow shined in the backstroke again, securing first for Columbia in the 200 back, and Paige Endsley attained her season-best time in the 500 free, winning the event in 5:02.14.

The Bears started to gain on the Lions in the next events, winning the 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley. This closed Columbia’s lead and delayed the deciding win to the final event, the 400 free relay. Bringing in the win were Columbia’s Meili, Urubshurow, Lacey Harris-Coble, and Christina Hughes, who won the event in 3:30.92, and the team of Ashley MacLean, Caitlin Rogers, Bunge Okeyo, and Endsley, who finished third in 3:37.06.

Caskey was proud of her team being able to claim the win in the final race, and said, “Pulling out the win came from the lead relay staying calm and racing hard, with a spectacular last leg by senior Tina Hughes, who dove in a few yards behind the Brown anchor but was able to overtake her in the last 25.”

Although the team was tired, it was determined. “Our conditioning is better after training trips, but our fatigue level is higher,” Caskey said. “Rest comes later in February, not now. Season-best swims at this time of year are from pure desire and in some cases, improved race strategy and technical aspects of races.”

Columbia’s next meet will be a tough matchup against Princeton (6-0), which is undefeated in dual meets this season. The Tigers’ most recent victories came against Harvard (196-102) and Yale (191-107) this past Saturday. All three teams were undefeated going into the tri-meet, but only Princeton still boasts a perfect record. The Columbia-Princeton meet will begin at 4 p.m. this Friday, Feb. 5, in Princeton, N.J.