EAST MEADOW, NY -- Three members of the Columbia women's swim team set individual meet records on the second day of the 2021 ECAC Winter Swim & Dive Championships while the 800 free relay team of
Olivia Jubin,
Aziza Ganihanova,
Allison Martin, and
Callie Breiter shattered the meet's standing record by 11 seconds. The team clocked a 7:20.76 finals time, ranking among the top three results in program history, followed by teammates
Georgia Young,
Mary Pruden,
Ana Eyre, and
Tina Li in second (7:36.89).
Columbia expanded upon its 200 point lead from day one to remain in first by 319 points (1,457). The University of Maryland, Baltimore County currently sits in second place (1,138) followed, distantly, by New York neighbors Long Island University (682).
Senior captain
Mary Pruden sparked the squad's evening of success with a 4:18.92 finish in the 400 IM, demolishing an eight-year meet record by nearly nine seconds. Teammates
Julia Unas (4:28.67) and
Taylor Whang (4:28.98) joined Pruden on the podium as the Lions went 1-2-3 in the event.
In the following event classmate
Emily Wang contributed 32 first-place points of her own, setting yet another meet record. The senior touched the wall in 54.62, surpassing the 2012 mark (55.24) set by Stevens' Lou Moores. Teammate
Jessica Peng also bested this time, claiming third place in 55.06.
The Lions refused to relent as
Callie Breiter took down yet another meet record, this time in the 200 free (1:50.17). Breiter was followed by Eyre,
Jessica Peng, and
Clare Larsen as Columbia collected 113 points courtesy of the 1-2-3-4 finish.
Underclassmen
Allegra Walker and
Ashley Hu swam for second and third place finishes, respectively, in the 100 breast (1:02.76/1:03.18). Also making an impression in her first winter championship event was
Aziza Ganihanova whose first place finish in the 100 backstroke (55.32) cemented the sophomore's standout status.
Hannah Hailu rounded out the A finals, claiming eighth place (57.30) just ahead of B final victor,
Taylor Whang, who won the heat from the eighth lane after dropping nearly a second from her preliminary time.
Competition concludes tomorrow, Sunday, Dec. 4, at the Nassau County Acquatics Center in Eisenhower Park. Preliminaries will begin at 9:00 a.m. while finals are scheduled for 4:00 p.m..
For the latest on the Columbia women's swimming and diving program, follow
@CULionsWSD on Twitter and Instagram,
@ColumbiaDiving on Instagram and on the web at
GoColumbiaLions.com.
