Though disadvantaged, eleven members of Columbia’s swimming and diving team achieved what they set out to do. The Lions were seven men short of the maximum squad size, but still managed to finish in the top ten teams at the Eastern College Athletic Conference championships this past weekend.
With a final team score of 215 points, the men finished eighth out of 21 teams.
The first Lions to put points on the board were sophomore Richard Falk-Wallace, junior Nate Mormann, senior Philippe Putzeys, and freshman John Wright who made up the 200 freestyle relay team that placed seventh in the finals. The men finished the race with a time of 1:24.94. Sophomore Shane Tutass added to Columbia’s total in the 500 freestyle, with an eighth place, 4:45.47 finish.
In the 200 IM, it was Adam Bulkley between the lanes for the Light Blue. Bulkley took 14th place in 1:55.04. Wright made it on the board again, posting a sixth place finish in the finals of the 50 freestyle with a time of 21.09 seconds.
The Light Blue’s 400 medley relay took the fifth spot, in the last men’s event of the first day, as Mormann, Bulkley, freshman Karl Mayer, and Wright combined for a 3:25.30 race.
The same four men teamed up again on Saturday to take sixth in the 200 medley relay in 1:34.58.
In his second final of the night, Mayer reached the wall in 50.88 seconds in the 100 butterfly, earning him 14th place.
With the best finish Columbia saw all weekend, Wright snatched up 17 points in the 200 freestyle, with a 1:39.82 second—place swim.
Bulkley made the finals again, this time in the 100 breaststroke where he finished 12th in just 58.35 seconds.
The Lions had two swimmers in the evening races for the 100 backstroke—Mormann and Mayer. Mormann finished seventh in 51.91, Mayer took 15th in 53.36.
In the last event on Saturday, seniors Robert Frawley and Putzeys teamed up with sophomores Kevin Zhai and Tutass to take 13th place in 7:07.70.
Mormann advanced to yet another final, eventually finishing the 200 backstroke in 1:54.93, enough for 13th place.
Wright represented the Light Blue well in the 100 freestyle, as he took fifth with a 46.62 second swim.
Two more Lions reached the finals, this time in the 200 breaststroke. Bulkley took sixth place in 2:06.24 while freshman Kent Yamada nabbed 14th in 2:10.47.
Tutass and Mayer finished one after the other in the 200 butterfly, taking 14th and 15th with times of 1:53.68 and 1:54.21 respectively.
In the final event of the busy weekend, the relay team of Falk-Wallace, Mormann, Frawley, and Wright pulled off a time of 3:08.34 in the 400 freestyle relay, to take seventh place, and add another 24 points onto the Light Blue’s total.
At the end of the long weekend of competition, Navy found themselves atop the rankings, with 673.5 points. Harvard represented the Ivy League well, taking second with 530.5 points. Columbia was the next member of the Ancient Eight in the standings, as the Lions finished eighth with 215 points, achieving their team goal of finishing top ten.
The rest of the Light Blue takes the pool next Thursday through Saturday, Mar. 4 to Mar. 6, at Princeton for the Ivy League championships.
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