Sports Briefly: Men's and women's swimming top Cornell, track teams finish second

Men's Swimming
For the first time in eight years, the men’s swimming and diving team (4-2, 2-2 Ivy) beat Cornell (1-6, 0-6 Ivy). The Lions placed first in 14 events, leading to the 205.5-92.5 win. In the 200-yard medley relay that kicked off the meet, the Light Blue quartet of freshmen Omar Arafa and Stanley Wong, senior Bruno Esquen, and junior John Wright won with a time of 1:32.55.

With the stands packed with alumni that came to watch the homecoming meet, freshman Dominik Koll had a big impact in his first-ever home meet, winning both the 200-yard and 100-yard freestyle. Hailing from Austria, the 2008 Olympian found the team environment welcoming. Given what he has seen so far in his time at Columbia, he was excited for the team’s prospects at the Ivy League Championships.

“Considering us winning every single matchup today, it makes me confident for the rest of the season. ” Koll said. “We’re on a good track.”

One of the most dramatic events was the 100-yard backstroke. After Arafa trailed Cornell senior swimmer Jake Sangren for the first 75 yards, he surged forward during the last 25 to win by half a second.

The Lions are gearing up for the home stretch, with four dual meets left before the Ivy League Championships. Their next meet will be against both Brown and Boston University on Jan. 28.
—Eric Wong

Women's Swimming
Saturday, the Columbia women’s swimming and diving team (4-1, 3-1 Ivy) beat Cornell (1-6, 0-6 Ivy) by a decisive 194.5-99.5 score during the Lions’ homecoming meet.

Sophomore Kathleen Furr kicked off the meet by winning the women’s three-meter dive. Junior teammate Kristin Hehir followed suit, taking third. In the one-meter, freshman Alyssa Menz won with a score of 261.97.

The 400-meter medley ‘A’ relay team of senior Dorothy Baker, juniors Katie Meili and Kristina Parsons , and freshman Salena Huang won the event in a Uris Pool record of 3:50.20, with the ‘B’ squad touching third.

In the next event, freshman Chacha Bugatti was seconds away from setting a record herself in the 1650-meter freestyle, touching first with a time of 16:49.95. Later, she would add another victory for the Light Blue in the 500-meter freestyle.

The Lions won 13 of the 16 events, including a sweep by Parsons as well as sophomores Corinna Bertelsen and Laney Kluge in the 100-meter breaststroke. Another sweep was in the cards for Columbia in the 200-meter butterfly, when sophomore Aileen Smith, freshman Olivia Evans, and sophomore Grace Senko touched 1-2-3.

The Light Blue’s depth and dominance was similarly asserted during the 100-meter freestyle and butterfly events. Freshman Stella Zhao won the 200-meter freestyle, and fellow freshman Mikaila Gaffey notched a win and the only sub-minute finish in the 100-meter backstroke. Gaffey later finished second to Senko in the 200-yard distance of the same stroke.

To wrap up the meet, the 200-meter freestyle relay team of Gaffey, Huang, senior Caitlin Rogers, and Zhao placed first in 1:37.74.

Next weekend, the Lions travel to Boston to face Boston University and Brown in a double-dual tri-meet on Jan. 28.
—Charlotte Murtishaw

Men's Track
After finishing in fifth place with 77 points in their indoor season opener, the West Point Invitational, the Lions competed in both the Great Dane Classic as well as the Ivy League Tri-Meet—an annual competition against Dartmouth and Yale. At the Great Dane Classic, senior Kyle Merber set a personal record for the 1000-meter run with a time of 2:22.52—the third-fastest time in school history, the second-fastest time in the nation, and the top time among Ivy League runners this year. He currently ranks seventh internationally in the 1000-meter, yet another accolade to add to his triumphant comeback from last year’s foot injury. Following a strong individual performance by Merber in the Classic, the Light Blue had a strong team outing at the Tri-Meet on Saturday, finishing in second place with 60 points and eight first-place winners. The Lions held their ground in the mid- to long-distance running events, winning the 400-meter, the 800-meter, and the mile. Additionally, Columbia went 1-2-3 in both the 1000- and 3000-meter races. Senior Jason Marks took the lone first place for Columbia in field events, clearing 4.65 meters to win the pole vault. The Lions will next race on Jan. 28 at a New York Road Runners meet at The Armory.
—Melissa Cheung

Women's Track
Columbia women’s track and field took second at the Ivy tri-meet against Dartmouth and Yale on Saturday due to the strength of 18 point-earning entries. The Light Blue finished with 63 points, 11 fewer than the top-placing team, Dartmouth. The Bulldogs lagged behind the Lions and the Big Green, finishing the event third only 41 points.

Whereas the men’s points mostly came from track, the more balanced women’s team was successful in the field events. Four of the Lions’ eight first-place finishes came in jumping events—Junior Uju Ofoche won long jump by 75 centimeters with a 5.94 meter leap, senior Monique Roberts won high jump with 1.76 meters, freshman Nadia Eke beat three other freshman and a junior en route to taking the triple jump by nearly two meters at 12.27 meters, and senior Sarah Engle won pole vault on a tiebreaker at 3.60 meters.

Columbia’s women fared well on the track as well. Sophomore Tayler Johnson and senior Kyra Caldwell took the top two spots in the 60-meter hurdles. Sophomore Marvellous Ikheukwumere won both the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes. Columbia’s 4x400-meter ‘A’ team of junior Yamira Bell, sophomore Miata Morlu, Caldwell, and Ofoche combined to win the event by two seconds over Dartmouth.
—Muneeb Alam