Friday, November 4
New York, N.Y.
3:00 P.M.
Columbia University
172
vs
127
Army
Men's Swimming & Diving Bests Army West Point, 172-127
11/4/2022 7:20:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving
Lions win 10 events as they take down the Black Knights in their season debut
NEW YORK – Columbia men's swimming and diving used a fast start to earn a 172-127 victory over Army West Point Friday afternoon at Uris Natatorium. The Lions won 10 events on the day and had a mix of newcomers and veterans come through with solid performances.
"Our guys responded really well, and I was happy to see them swim that well," head swimming coach Jim Bolster said. "We will have to swim that well, if not better, tomorrow on the road down at Penn. We definitely saw some things that indicate there's going to be some pretty good talent here. I was very happy with the performance we put together, and I hope it's an indication of things to come."
The Lions swept each diving event. Senior Jonathan Suckow picked up his two wins of the season, racking up a score of 434.18 in the three-meter and 402.38 in the one. Nick Leavell (three-meter - 311.40, one-meter 334.05) and first-year Joseph Nicol (three-meter - 307.65, one-meter 301.13) placed second and third, respectively. All three divers hit NCAA Zone qualifying marks in the one-meter and Suckow punched a ticket in the three-meter.
Sophomores Demirkan Demir and Kyle Won each won two individual events. Demir picked up first-place finishes in the 100 breast and 200 fly. He was also victorious in the 200-meter medley relay. Won led the pack in the 200 free (1:39.23) and 200 back (1:47.57).
Columbia got out of the gates strong in the swimming portion of the competition, with the quartet of Andy Huang, Demir, Dongjun Lee and Zion James winning the 200-meter relay with a time of 1:29.90. James anchored the squad with a split of 19.59 in the free. Joshua Cho, Michael Chang, Noah Czelusta and René Strezenicky earned points with a third-place finish, completing the race in 1:31.76.
"Winning that first relay was really critical, and Zion had a tremendous leg and split time," Bolster noted. "And then we just kind of continued from there."
Columbia went 1, 2, 3 in three-straight events in the 100 back,100 breast and 200 fly. In the backstroke, Stanford Li, Isaac Beers and Josh Cho went back-to-back-to-back in the 100 back. Li clocked in at 50.00, followed by Beers with a time of 51.02 and Cho just .09 seconds behind. Just .19 seconds separated Michael Chang and Matthew Lou for second and third in the 100 breaststroke after Demir. Seungjoon Ahn posted a 1:48.51 to claim the top spot, followed by Ray Yang (1:50.06) and Lucas Canteros-Paz (1:52.23) in the fly.
James (20.90) and Lee (21.20) returned from their relay performances to earn second and third in the 50 free. James finished his day with a runner-up finish in the 100 freestyle, posting a time of 46.07. Senior Thomas Shepanzyk was right behind in 46.23 in the event.
Following Won in the 200 backstroke were Stanford Li (1:48.11) and Tristan Pragnell (1:50.58) to take second and third.
Junior Noah Czelusta posted a time of 50.27 in the 100-yard butterfly to cap the string of first-place finishes for the Lions.
Columbia is back in action Saturday, November 5, for a meet with Penn in Philadelphia. Meet time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
For the latest on the Columbia men's swimming and diving program, follow @CULionsMSD on Instagram and Twitter, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
"Our guys responded really well, and I was happy to see them swim that well," head swimming coach Jim Bolster said. "We will have to swim that well, if not better, tomorrow on the road down at Penn. We definitely saw some things that indicate there's going to be some pretty good talent here. I was very happy with the performance we put together, and I hope it's an indication of things to come."
The Lions swept each diving event. Senior Jonathan Suckow picked up his two wins of the season, racking up a score of 434.18 in the three-meter and 402.38 in the one. Nick Leavell (three-meter - 311.40, one-meter 334.05) and first-year Joseph Nicol (three-meter - 307.65, one-meter 301.13) placed second and third, respectively. All three divers hit NCAA Zone qualifying marks in the one-meter and Suckow punched a ticket in the three-meter.
Sophomores Demirkan Demir and Kyle Won each won two individual events. Demir picked up first-place finishes in the 100 breast and 200 fly. He was also victorious in the 200-meter medley relay. Won led the pack in the 200 free (1:39.23) and 200 back (1:47.57).
Columbia got out of the gates strong in the swimming portion of the competition, with the quartet of Andy Huang, Demir, Dongjun Lee and Zion James winning the 200-meter relay with a time of 1:29.90. James anchored the squad with a split of 19.59 in the free. Joshua Cho, Michael Chang, Noah Czelusta and René Strezenicky earned points with a third-place finish, completing the race in 1:31.76.
"Winning that first relay was really critical, and Zion had a tremendous leg and split time," Bolster noted. "And then we just kind of continued from there."
Columbia went 1, 2, 3 in three-straight events in the 100 back,100 breast and 200 fly. In the backstroke, Stanford Li, Isaac Beers and Josh Cho went back-to-back-to-back in the 100 back. Li clocked in at 50.00, followed by Beers with a time of 51.02 and Cho just .09 seconds behind. Just .19 seconds separated Michael Chang and Matthew Lou for second and third in the 100 breaststroke after Demir. Seungjoon Ahn posted a 1:48.51 to claim the top spot, followed by Ray Yang (1:50.06) and Lucas Canteros-Paz (1:52.23) in the fly.
James (20.90) and Lee (21.20) returned from their relay performances to earn second and third in the 50 free. James finished his day with a runner-up finish in the 100 freestyle, posting a time of 46.07. Senior Thomas Shepanzyk was right behind in 46.23 in the event.
Following Won in the 200 backstroke were Stanford Li (1:48.11) and Tristan Pragnell (1:50.58) to take second and third.
Junior Noah Czelusta posted a time of 50.27 in the 100-yard butterfly to cap the string of first-place finishes for the Lions.
Columbia is back in action Saturday, November 5, for a meet with Penn in Philadelphia. Meet time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
For the latest on the Columbia men's swimming and diving program, follow @CULionsMSD on Instagram and Twitter, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
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