PHILADELPHIA - The Columbia men's swimming and diving team completed its second meet of the 2022-23 with a 178-122 victory over Penn on Saturday afternoon, with the Lions also coming off of a 172-127 win over Army on Friday. Through the 16 events, the Lions roared to 11 first place finishes.
"Today was more about racing than anything else," head coach Jim Bolster said. "We don't always swim well at Penn, so I was a little worried we might suffer a letdown after last night, but that was not the case. Our divers were great too taking 31 of a possible 32 points."
Columbia captured the early lead by finishing first in the 200-medley relay, with the quartet of Andy Huang, Demirkan Demir, Brian Lee and Zion James turning in a final time of 1:29.96. James went on to also capture first in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle.Â
The third event of the dual meet also went to the Lions, with Kyle Won coming off with a 1:40.09 performance in the 200-yard freestyle. Events five through nine also went to the Lions, with Seung Joon Ahn touching the wall a whole two seconds before the second-place finisher in the 200-yard butterfly, with a final time of 1:48.94.
First-year Lee earned his first win with the Lions during the 100-yard butterfly (48.64).
Transitioning into the diving competition, Jonathan Suckow captured first in both the one-meter and three-meter. Suckow earned scores of 439.28 and 443.48, respectively, setting new pool records in each discipline. The Lions also had a top-three sweep in the three-meter.
Nick Leavell came in second at both events, scoring 335.25 in the one-meter and 338.93 in the three-meter.
The final event of the meet also went to the Lions, the 400-yard freestyle. Won, James, Thomas Shepanzyk and Demir touched the wall after a mere 3:02.77.
Columbia returns home next Friday, November 11, against Princeton for a 1 p.m. meet in Uris Natatorium.
For the latest on the Columbia men's swimming and diving program, follow @CULionsMSD on Twitter and Instagram and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
