Columbia Men's Swimming Sinks in Philadelphia

The Columbia men's swimming and diving team is officially halfway through its season, and one Lion in particular has emerged to lead the pack. Junior Hyun Lee has proven his butterfly prowess, turning in consistent, strong performances thus far this season.

Unfortunately, however, the rest of his teammates have not been able to match Lee's level of consistency, and the Lions (2-3, 0-3 EISL) now sit at the bottom of the Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League standings after a 185-114 loss to Penn (4-2, 1-2 EISL).

Lee continued his stellar season this past weekend in Philadelphia in a battle of Ivy bottom feeders. The day's first Light Blue victory came at the hands of Lee, who touched first in the 200-yard butterfly ahead of Quaker Jack Wiese. Lee also placed second in both the 500- and 1000-yard freestyle events, as well as with the 200-yard freestyle relay team.

Despite Lee's success, the Quakers won thanks to their superior depth, placing first in 12 of 16 events. By the time Lee posted his butterfly victory, Penn swimmers had already won four different events, taking a freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and medley event to begin competition.

The meet did have a few bright spots for the Lions. Sophomore Darren Pagan continued his solid year, placing first in the 200-yard individual medley. It was perhaps the best meet on the diving boards so far this season, as Jeff Hull led a one-two finish for Columbia in the one-meter diving event. The junior won with a score of 240.80 and was followed by freshman David Levkoff, who placed second with a six-dive total of 201.67. Hull and Levkoff turned in good performances all-around, placing second and third, respectively, in the three-meter diving event as well.

Columbia also swept the top two spots in the 200-yard breaststroke. Ross Ramone rode the momentum he established last week, touching first ahead of fellow sophomore Eric Tang. Ramone topped his fifth-place finish from last week, which had been his best swim of the season.

Although Columbia seems to be finding its identity in the water, the team is still in search of its first conference win, and will have to wait almost 50 days until its next opportunity. The Lions will next hit the pool on January 18, traveling to Lewisburg, Penn. to take on nonconference opponent Bucknell before returning home on January 26 for Alumni Weekend against EISL rival Cornell.