HEAVYWEIGHT ROWING
Racing in conditions that were far from ideal, the heavyweight rowing team earned victories in all three events, topping Rutgers and ensuring that the Collins Cup would remain in the Lions’ hands. The varsity eights beat the Scarlet Knights by 23 seconds, while the second varsity fours topped the Rutgers B boat by 30 seconds and the A boat by 40 seconds. The freshman eights also outpaced their Scarlet Knight counterparts, as the Light Blue finished 16 seconds ahead of the Rutgers A boat and 48 seconds ahead of the B boat. Columbia will face MIT, Holy Cross, and Dartmouth at Orchard Beach Lagoon in the Alumni Cup at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
—Eli Schultz
LACROSSE
The Lions (1-6, 0-4 Ivy) fell 15-4 at No. 10 Dartmouth (6-1, 2-0 Ivy) on Saturday. Junior attacker Kacie Johnson, who recorded two goals in the contest, struck first, giving Columbia a 1-0 lead just 1:12 into the game. The Light Blue held the lead for the next 5:15. The Big Green dominated the rest of the match, scoring the next 15 goals and finishing with a plus-12 shot differential and a plus-nine turnover differential. Big Green senior midfielders Sarah Plumb and Kirsten Goldberg both had hat tricks to lead the hosts, and Plumb had a game-high six points. Columbia next plays Friday at home against Iona.
—Muneeb Alam
MEN'S GOLF
The Light Blue will compete in the UALR/First Tee Collegiate Classic in Little Rock, Ark., on Monday. The tournament includes two top-100 teams—No. 67 Southeastern Louisiana and No. 97 Sam Houston State. Columbia will try to build off its impressive late-round performance in the USF Triumph at Pauma Valley two weeks ago, as the team’s final-round score of 298 was 12 strokes better than its second-round score. Junior Michael Yiu, seniors Brendan Doyle and Sam Mysock, and sophomores Andrew Kim and Jordan Lee are expected to be io the five-man team. Freshman Brandon Jowers has had an impressive season so far and is expected to compete as an individual in the tournament. The tournament will be held from Monday, March 26, to Tuesday, March 27.
—Josh Shenkar
MEN'S TENNIS
The No. 62 Light Blue (13-2) extended its winning streak to nine games with a 5-2 upset over No. 60 St. John’s on Friday. The Lions’ most recent loss came on Feb. 18 at the hands of the Red Storm (10-5), but this time, the Light Blue came out on top. Starting strong in doubles, Columbia took the first point thanks to the work of freshman Winston Lin and senior Haig Schneiderman in the No. 3 doubles spot. The Lions took four matches in singles play, including the No. 2 spot, where Lin defeated junior Vasko Mladenov, the No. 40 singles player in the nation. Having handed St. John’s its first home loss of the season, the Lions will now prepare for the start of conference play next weekend.
—Steven Lau
SOFTBALL
Columbia’s (5-14) dominant offense, which put up 24 hits and 12 runs, helped propel it to two wins over St. Peter’s on Saturday. After a home run from freshman catcher Liz Caggiano in the third inning in the first game of the doubleheader, the Lions scored two more runs in the inning with a bases-loaded single from freshman infielder/outfielder Alix Cook. St. Peter’s fought back in the sixth to bring the score to 4-2, but the Lions got the final run with sophomore infielder Emily Snodgrass in the top of the seventh to finish the game at 5-2. The Lions succeeded in limiting St. Peter’s offensively, thanks to starting freshman pitcher Kalli Schultea, who struck out seven batters and allowed only one earned run in 5 1/3 innings of work. The Light Blue jumped to a fast start in the nightcap, taking a 2-0 lead in the first. Led by starting freshman pitcher Brooke Darling, who allowed only one earned run in her fourth complete game of the season, the Lions cruised to a 7-1 victory for their third straight win. Columbia wraps up its nonconference play against Rider on Wednesday.
—Hahn Chang
TRACK AND FIELD
Columbia picked up right where it left off in the indoor season at Saturday’s Philadelphia Big 5 and Friends Meet, hosted by Penn. The first meet of the outdoor season for Columbia showcased the talent of the younger Lions in the short distance events, as jumpers, field athletes, and top distance runners did not make the trip to Philadelphia. Sophomore sprinter Miata Morlu had an outstanding first-place finish in the 400-meter dash with a time of 57.80 seconds. Top-three finishers in their respective categories also included senior Kyra Caldwell in the 400 hurdles, along with freshman Brendon Fish and sophomore Tim Cousins in the 1,500. The Light Blue will next race in the Dick Shea Open at West Point on March 31.
—Melissa Cheung
WOMEN'S ROWING
After an impressive outing in Florida, the Lions struggled at their own Collins Cup. With only a few meters left in the varsity eights race, after pulling well ahead of Penn, the Lions were unable to overtake the Bulldogs. Yale finished two seconds before Columbia. The second varsity eight also lost to Yale by six seconds. Both varsity four teams finished third. The Light Blue will next compete on March 31 at the Woodbury Cup in Boston.
—Alison Macke
WOMEN'S TENNIS
With wins over William and Mary on Friday and Old Dominion on Saturday, the Lions (8-3) stretched their win streak to four matches. The Light Blue recovered from an early deficit after losses at the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles positions against the Tribe on Friday for a 4-3 victory. No. 1 singles player senior Nicole Bartnik defeated the Tribe’s No. 109 nationally ranked sophomore Maria Belaya 6-4, 7-6 (2), leading the Lions to four singles wins against the Tribe. With less than a day’s rest between matches, the Lions faced Old Dominion on Saturday. Columbia swept four straight singles matches to guarantee the 4-0 victory over the Big Blue.
—Caroline Bowman
