Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Open Ivy Season Friday Against Penn

Friday, November 3

New York, N.Y.

Noon

Columbia University

Penn

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Stockton Photo, Inc.

Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Open Ivy Season Friday Against Penn

11/2/2023 6:00:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

The men will swim at noon, the women will swim at 5 p.m.

NEW YORK — The Columbia men's and women's swimming and diving programs will open the 2023-24 Ivy League season on Friday at Percy Uris Natatorium. Both teams will square off in a dual meet against the Penn Quakers, with the men's meet set to begin at noon and the women's meet scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m.

LAST SEASON
The women finished the 2022-23 season with a 4-3 overall record in dual meets, all of which were Ivy League contests. The Lady Lions also came away with a first place finish at the ECAC Winter Championships in early December. Columbia would go on to finish in fifth place at the Ivy League Championships.

The men concluded the 2022-23 season with an overall 7-2 record in dual meets, and 6-1 within the Ivy League. The Lions went on to finish in fourth place at the Ivy League Championships in late February

KEY RETURNERS
The men return a pair of swimmers who won Ivy League Championships last season. Demirkan Demir is fresh off two Ivy League gold medals, winning the 100-breast and 200-breast competitions last winter, while qualifying for the NCAA Championships in both events in the process where he would finish 23rd and 20th, respectively. Adam Wu also returns for his sophomore campaign after winning gold in the 1000-free at the 2023 Ivy League Championships last February. Combined, Demir and Wu hold five Columbia program records.

The women are lucky to return multiple top-finishers from last year's Ivy League Championships, as well as multiple program record holders. Emily MacDonald headlines this group, with her highest finish at last year's championship meet being fourth place in the 100-free. MacDonald will be searching for her first Ivy League Championship this season, already holding four Columbia program records including the 50-free. Aziza Ganihanova, Columbia's 200-back record holder will also make her return for her senior season. The Lady Lions will also return three out of four members of their record setting 200-free, 400-free, and 800-free relay squads, including Sally Ma, Georgia Young, Allison Martin, Ganihanova, and MacDonald.

The divers also return a solid group, with Joseph Nicol leading the way for the men and Alice Diakova and Macy Pine leading the way for the women. Diakova and Pine both currently hold program records in the 3-meter and platform boards, respectively.

NEW FACES
The Columbia women welcome nine new faces ahead of the 2023-24 season. The class of 2027 hails from eight different states and is composed of eight swimmers and one diver. To meet each new individual, click HERE.

The men welcomed 10 new swimmers ahead of the 2023-24 season. To learn more about the class of 2027, click HERE.

PAN AMERICAN GAMES
Columbia men's swimming and diving's Adam Wu and Columbia women's swimming and diving's Emily MacDonald competed in the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile last month. Wu, representing Canada, and MacDonald, representing Jamaica, excelled in the competition and made both their home countries and Columbia family proud.

The Pan American Games is a continental multi-sport event that takes place in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The event is held every four years in the year before the Summer Olympic Games. It is the second oldest continental games in the world.

Speaking on how this competition can help her get ready for the 2023-24 season, MacDonald said "With the Pan American Games being in the middle of midterm season, I had to manage exams and assignment deadlines as well as ensuring that I got enough rest and recovery for my races. I am very pleased with my performances, achieving a personal best in the 100m freestyle, and I hope to carry this same energy into Columbia's duel meet season. This meet taught me how to push through the pain no matter what. It also taught me to be aggressive no matter who I am put up against. No matter who was beside me on the blocks in Chile, Olympian or not, I gave it my all, and I hope to carry this same spirit into tomorrow!"

For a full recap on Wu and MacDonald's performances in Chile, click HERE.

SCOUTING PENN
The Penn men finished last season with a 5-4-1 record in dual meets, including a 2-4-1 record in conference dual meets. The Quakers went on to finish sixth at the 2022-23 Ivy League Championships. Last season, Columbia defeated Penn in a dual meet to open the season, 178-122.

The Penn women finished last season with a 5-5 record in dual meets, including a 2-5 record in Ivy League dual meets. The Quakers went on to finish sixth at the 2022-23 Ivy League Championships. Last season, Columbia defeated Penn in a dual meet to open the season, 177-123. Penn already completed its first meet of the 2023-24 season, defeating the Richmond Spiders 185-107. Penn was paced by sophomores Anna Moehn and Abby Wickersham, each claiming a pair of first-place finishes. The Red and Blue had a total of 12 victories in the 16 events.

ON DECK
The women will travel to New Haven for a dual meet against Yale on Friday, November 10 at 5:00 p.m. The men will take on Princeton at the same time in New Jersey.

For the latest on the Columbia men's and women's swimming and diving program, follow @ColumbiaMenSwim & @CULionsWSD on Twitter, @ColumbiaMenSwimming, @CUlionsWSD and @ColumbiaDiving on Instagram, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.