Columbia
YALE
Men's Swimming & Diving Bounces the Bulldogs, 151-149
11/14/2009 7:00:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving
NEW YORK - In a thrilling meet that came down to the last relay of the day, Columbia men's swimming & diving had a huge win over Yale in its home opener at Uris Pool, defeating the Bulldogs, 151-149.
Yale opened the meet with a 1-2 finish in the 3-meter boards, taking a 15-4 lead after the first event of the day. But the Lions answered with a first and third place finish in the 200 medley relay, showing the Bulldogs that they weren't messing around. The squad of first-year Patrick Dougherty, sophomore John-Howard Sidman, senior Nick Barron and senior Darren Pagan took third, with a time of 1:36.45, while the group consisting of Johnny Bailey, senior Eric Tang, sophomore Bruno Esquen and junior Adam Powell won the event, with a time of 1:33.72.
Dols and first-year Sean MacKenzie went 2-3 in the 1000 free, with times of 9:42.96 and 9:49.50, to help keep Columbia in the hunt. That event was followed by a win from senior co-captain Darren Pagan, who won the 200 free with a time of 1:43.90. Two other seniors, co-captain Ross Ramone and Eric Tang, went 1-2 in the 100 breast, with times of 58.81 and 59.61, helping give Columbia a slight lead over the Bulldogs. Sophomore Robert Eyckmans and senior Barren added more points to the Lion total with a 2-3 finish in the 200 fly, and junior Adam Powell added nine more points with his win in the 50 free, at 20.73. Heading into the second diving event, Columbia held a 78-72 lead over Yale, with just the slightest of edges.
A strong performance by Lion divers helped Columbia surge ahead. First-year Jason Collazo score 274.15 points to take second place in the 1-meter boards, while junior David Levkoff had a strong final dive to move his score to 276.15, good for first place in the event. With those points, Columbia's lead widened to 91-78, and both the swim team and a packed Columbia house went crazy. But Yale wasn't ready to give up a shot at the win just yet.
Powell took another first-place finish for the Lions in the 100 free, with a time of 45.35, but Yale took 2-3 in the event, quietly amassing more points. Though Pagan took second in the 200 back with a time of 1:54.53, Yale managed to place first and third, closing the lead even more. Ramone had his second win of the day in the 200 breast, an exciting matchup that saw him edge two Yale swimmers by two-tenths of a second, taking first in 2:08.70. But again, Yale went 2-3, adding to a growing point total. The Bulldogs used a 1-2 finish in the 500 free, and a 1-3 finish in the 100 fly to close the lead to 134-130, heading into the last three events.
In the 200 IM, Columbia co-captain Pagan took first, beating out two Yale swimmers in 1:53.65. Sophomore Chester Dols also had a strong swim for the Lions, as he placed fourth in 1:58.21, edging the nearest Bulldog by a touch. At a moment when every point counted, Columbia had a slight lead. But the 400 free relay was the only event left, and it was a winner-take-all situation. Columbia needed to either win the event or shut Yale out of second and third, in order to hold on to its lead. With that in mind, head coach Jim Bolster split up his relay squads in a strategy move, designed to win the Lions the meet. His plan worked. The team of Jordan Kobb, Joseph Beutler, Nathan Mormann and Adam Powell came in third in 3:09.99, while the squad of four first-years, Mitchell Phillips, Joseph Jeffers, John Wright and Patrick Dougherty came in second, with a time of 3:09.49. Though Yale got 11 points with a first place finish in the event, it wasn't enough, and Columbia earned the 151-149 win.
It was the first time since 2005 that Columbia has earned a dual meet win over Yale, a 191-128 victory that also took place in Uris Pool.
"It was a fun meet," head coach Jim Bolster said. "That's what college swimming is supposed to be about. I mean, 151-149, that as close as you can get without tying. I'm really proud of our guys."
With the win, Columbia improves to 1-1 overall, 1-1 in the Ivy League. Up next, Columbia hosts Ivy powerhouse Harvard, Friday, November 20 in Uris Pool at 5 p.m.
Players Mentioned
