Columbia Finishes Fifth at Ivies

The only consistent aspect of the Columbia women's swimming and diving team's season has been disappointment, culminating in this weekend's Ivy League Championships.

The Lions fell to the bottom of the standings early and couldn't gain ground on the rest of the field, finishing fifth overall with 925 points. Reigning champion Princeton successfully defended its title, finishing with 1,496 points and capping an undefeated Ivy season with its seventh championship victory in the last eight years.

The first day of the tournament, Columbia swimmers placed no higher than fifth in event finals. The relay team of sophomore Hannah Galey, senior Mary McCue, sophomore Casey Weddle, and freshman Christina Hughes took fifth in the first event of the tournament, the 200 freestyle relay. The day got progressively worse from there, with a disqualification on the last leg of the 400 medley relay race to end the day's events. Columbia finished the day in seventh.

The first day of competition also saw the highlight of the Championships. Princeton swimmer Alicia Aemisegger broke the 500-yard freestyle record with a time of 4:43.50, the first of three records she would break at the meet. The record had previously been set in 1998 by former Columbia swimmer Cristina Teuscher, a 1996 Olympic gold medalist.

The Lions saw slightly more success on Friday, as Columbia moved up to fifth in the standings after Galey placed fourth in the 200-yard freestyle. The second day of competition was disappointing for sophomore diver Shannon Hosey, who failed to qualify for finals in both the one- and three-meter diving events. The day once again belonged to Aemisegger, who broke another record, this time in the 1,000-yard freestyle. Her time of 9:47.14 obliterated the meet, Ivy, and pool records by more than 15 seconds, electrifying the home crowd in the stands at DeNunzio Pool.

The third and final day of competition was again dominated by Princeton swimmers, highlighted by another record-breaking performance from Aemisigger. The Tigers set a new meet record of 2:14.19 to beat the time set by Teuscher in 1999. For the Lions, senior Lauren Morford and junior Amy Krakauer finished sixth in the 1,650-yard freestyle and the 200-yard breaststroke, respectively.

The Ivy League Championships ended on a sour note for Columbia. The Light Blue failed to repeat last year's upset victory in the final event of the tournament, the 400-yard freestyle relay. Though three of four members returned from last year, the relay team of McCue, Galey, Weddle, and sophomore Lauren Fraley finished in fifth place, while Yale's relay team took gold.

Columbia's seven seniors will have to show good performances at next week's Harvard Invitational in order to end their collegiate careers on a high note. After that, only Hosey will have another chance to compete, as she qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Championship, which takes place March 1-2.