Men's Swimming Makes a Splash, Splits Weekend

The Columbia men’s swimming and diving team made major strides this weekend, though the final score might tell a different story.

In Friday’s meet against perennial contender Harvard, the Lions (1-2, 0-2 Ivy) fell behind early and could not gain ground. The day started off well for the Crimson (3-0, 3-0 Ivy), who took first in the first six events of the day en route to a 195-105 victory. Senior Lucas Sanders swept the diving events, while senior Geoff Rathgeber touched first three times, including once with the 200-yard medley relay team.

The depth of the Harvard squad dominated at Uris Swim Center, as the Crimson placed first in 12 of 16 events. For Columbia, the story of the day was junior Hyun Lee. The South Korean native took first four times, sweeping the butterfly events, and showing his versatility in the 100-yard freestyle and the 200-yard freestyle relay team. Lee’s victories were the only events in which Lion swimmers wound up on top.

Despite the result, it was a rather successful meet for freshman Adam Clayton Powell. The highly-touted sprinter anchored the Lions’ winning relay team, and placed second in two other events. Powell was edged out in the 50-yard freestyle by Harvard senior Pat Quinn, who won by .27 seconds.

Saturday proved more successful for Columbia, as the team defeated nonconference Army for its first victory of the season. Though the Black Knights (3-2) boast promising talent, they are still in a rebuilding stage. The mismatch allowed Lions head coach Jim Bolster to test out swimmers who normally don’t get a chance in competitive waters.

The meet belonged to Light Blue sophomore Darren Pagan. Pagan touched first in the 100-yard freestyle and the 200-yard individual medley and led off the first-place 200-yard medley relay team.

In addition, two freshmen posted the first victories of their collegiate careers, as Steven Yang swept the backstroke events and Josh Brown won the 100-yard butterfly. Yet again, Powell came close to victory, but was touched out by Army junior John Dragelin in the 50-yard freestyle by a margin of .02 seconds.

Columbia is back in action on Monday, opening the road season at nonconference foe Fordham. The Lions will run into a hot Rams team that is in the midst of a four-meet winning streak. The Rams (4-1) are fresh off a 150-92 victory at Rhode Island, a meet that was dominated by the Fordham divers. In addition, sophomore Justin Coombs placed first in the 100-yard freestyle, while his twin, Ryan, touched first in the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle events after being named the Atlantic-10 Performer of the Week.

The meet is set to begin at 6 p.m. in the Bronx, N.Y.