CORNELL
124.5
FINAL
175.5
COLUMBIA
Ithaca, N.Y. – With crowns in 10 of 16 events, the Columbia men's swimming & diving team earned its second-consecutive win and first of 2017 at Teagle Pool on Sunday, Jan.15 in a 175.5-124.5 triumph over Cornell. The Lions have now won three-straight in dual-meet action to improve to 5-2 on the season and 3-2 in conference play.
Once again Jayden Pantel was phenomenal on the boards for the Lions setting pool records in both three-meter and one-meter dive victories. In the three-meter dive Pantel tallied a top-score of 383.62 besting the previous pool record that since 1972 and earning his 28th-consecutive win in the event to remain unbeaten in his career in dual-meet action, including back-to-back 11-0 seasons in his rookie and sophomore campaigns. A pool-record score of 351.14 eclipsed the previous record that stood since 1985 and also gave the junior his fourth Ivy League victory in the one-meter dive.
Brian Tsau clocked his second Ivy League triumph of the season in the 1000 freestyle with a time 9:31.29, finishing ahead of teammate Eric Ng who hit the wall in a runner-up time of 9:39.20. Tsau swept the distance field with a 500 freestyle win on the day at 4:35.95, leading a 1-2-3 Lions sweep as Nikita Bondarenko took runner-up at 4:37.25 and Nian-guo Liu placed third at 1:38.50. Earlier in the afternoon, Nian-guo Liu took home a first-place finish in the 200 freestyle at 1:39.21, his third conference crown of the season, out reaching Bondarenko who finished in second at 1:41.83.
Cole Stevens and Michal Zyla delivered another Columbia 1-2 punch in the 100 backstroke with Stevens leading all swimmers with a time of 50.21, edging Zyla at 50.91. Zyla returned in the 200 backstroke to capture the crown with a time of 1:49.90 to lead a 1-2-3 Columbia sweep in the event with Stevens in second place at 1:52.43 and Jack Foster in third place at 1:54.43.
In the 100 freestyle, Kevin Frifeldt added first-place points behind a winning-time of 45.83, followed by a runner-up showing in the 100 butterfly at 49.90 with Terry Li taking the win at 48.89. The Lions capped the day with a first-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay as the squad of Li, Bondarenko, Kevin Dang and Mark Gullick combined for a time of 3:06.94.
Up next, the Lions will return to Uris Pool on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 12 p.m. as they host Brown in their final home conference meet of the season.