Lions Knock Off Pool Records, Down Cornell in Ithaca

Saturday, January 12

Ithaca, NY

11 a.m.

Columbia University

167.5

132.5

Cornell

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin

Lions Knock Off Pool Records, Down Cornell in Ithaca

1/12/2019 3:11:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving

2018-19 Schedule Results (PDF)

The Columbia women's swimming and diving team took down Cornell on the road Saturday

ITHACA, N.Y. — Senior Mary Ashby helped rewrite two Teagle Pool records on Saturday afternoon to lift the Columbia women's swimming and diving team to a 167.5-132.5 victory over Cornell.

The win marked Columbia's second-straight Ivy League dual meet triumph after taking down Princeton on Dec. 7. The Lions move to 4-2 overall, including a 3-2 record in league competition.

"It was touch and go for a while as Cornell is always well prepared for us at their pool," said Columbia head coach Diana Caskey. "But some clutch performances in the back half of the meet put us on solid footing."

Both diving events were contested at the beginning of the meet, with first-year Briget Rosendahl earning Columbia's highest finish on both. The Los Angeles native earned top honors on 1-meter with a score of 257.69 and finished runner-up on 3-meter at 278.47. Fellow first-year Michelle Lee recorded third-place finishes on both boards.

"It was a solid day for the divers," said diving coach Scott Donie. "Looking forward to getting back to work to iron out a few things as we head into Brown next weekend."

In the first swimming event of the day, Columbia's 'A' relay team of junior Julia Samson, senior Jessica Antiles, sophomore Emily Wang and sophomore Jessica He combined for a winning time of 1:44.86 in the 200 medley relay – more than two full seconds ahead of Cornell's second place squad.

The two teams traded individual wins in the first seven individual races, but a victory from Ashby in the 50-yard freestyle energized the Lions to take control of the rest of the meet. The senior took the event with a time of 22.92, lowering the previous record of 23.01 set in 2013 before also winning the 100 free in 50.17.

Sophomore Jessica He raced to a pair of wins in the meet, claiming the top spot in both the 200 free (1:50.42) and 500 free (5:04.03).

Junior Helen Wojdylo led the Lions in a 1-2-3 sweep of the 100 breaststroke, posting a time of 1:05.39 ahead of first-year Yani Le (1:05.75) and Antiles (1:05.76).

In the 200 backstroke, Pruden and Samson grabbed the top two spots, going 2:01.99 and 2:05.91, respectively.

The final two individual events saw Wang earn a victory in the 100 fly (57.10) before Antiles raced away with the 200 IM crown (2:05.58).

Closing the meet in style, the Lions quartet of Ashby, He, Clare Larsen and Claire Lin reset the Teagle Pool record in the 200 free relay, going 1:35.49.

The Lions will continue Ivy League action on Friday, Jan. 18, bringing in Brown for the final home contest of the season. The meet is set for a 5 p.m. ET start inside Percy Uris Natatorium.

For the latest on the Columbia women's swimming and diving program, follow @CULadySwim on Twitter and Instagram, @ColumbiaDiving on Instagram and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.