Suckow Continues to Break Records, Lions Fall at Penn

Saturday, November 3

Philadelphia, Pa.

1:00 P.M.

Columbia University

128

172

Penn

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin

Suckow Continues to Break Records, Lions Fall at Penn

11/3/2018 6:05:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving

Results (PDF)2018-19 Schedule

Sophomore diver Jonathan Suckow broke a pair of Scheerr Pool records to sweep the diving events against Penn

PHILADELPHIA — Sophomore diver Jonathan Suckow had record setting performances to sweep the diving events, but the Columbia men's swimming and diving team ultimately dropped a 172-128 decision to the Penn Quakers on Saturday in Philadelphia.

The Lions were coming straight off a 160-140 season-opening victory over Army on Friday evening, while Penn was racing in its first meet of the season.

"I was pleased overall with the performance today," said Columbia head coach Jim Bolster. "It's tough being on the road on a Friday night and then turning around and swimming against one of the better league teams on a Saturday, but I thought the guys put forth a pretty good effort. Penn has a good team and the score's probably not quite indicative of how close the meet was with regards to a lot of the individual races."

Suckow got things moving on the right foot, breaking the Scheerr Pool record on the 1-meter springboard with a score of 384.52 before going on to do the same on 3-meter with a 388.95 tally. Also highlighting the diving performances was Kevin Fulton, who posted a NCAA Zones qualifying score of 320.85 on 3-meter, finishing fourth in the event.

"A great start to Ivy League competition for the divers," said diving coach Scott Donie. "Getting an NCAA Zone qualifying score this early is a very good sign for Kevin, and Jonathan continues to rewrite the record books all over the league."

Two Lions earned individual swimming wins in the outing. Junior Nian-Guo Liu had an excellent showing, posting top finishes in both the 100- and 200-yard freestyle. Liu came into the wall in 1:38.45 in the 200, before posting the top time in the 100 at 44.94. Sophomore Albert Gwo claimed a win in the 50 free for the second consecutive meet with a time of 20.57.

Ending things on a strong note, Columbia's 400 free relay squad of Nian-Guo Liu, Hayden Liu, Mekal El Halou and Jonas Kistorp combined for the victory with a time of 3:03.20 in the final event.

"At the end of the year, at a championship meet, you have to swim three days in a row really hard, prelims and finals. So, a weekend like this is one of the ways we prepare for that," said Bolster. We try to make the guys feel that a little bit during the year by traveling back to back. I think it's really good preparation for the season ahead. Our first five meets are all on the road, so if they can handle this, they should be able to handle just about anything else."

The Lions will be back in action next weekend as they continue their road stretch at Yale on Saturday, Nov. 10. The meet is set for a 1 p.m. ET start.
For the latest on the Columbia men's swimming and diving program, follow @ColumbiaMenSwim on Twitter, @ColumbiaMenSwimming and @ColumbiaDiving on Instagram, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.