CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Columbia women's swimming and diving team hit the road for the first time this season on Friday afternoon, making the trip to Cambridge for a meet against the Harvard Crimson. Despite some strong performances from the Lions, Harvard came away with a 206-93 win.

"Lots of great swims today," Head Coach Diana Caskey said. "Going 1-2 in the 50 and 100 free was a highlight for sure. We had some places where we could have been better but it was our first away meet, so we will get better!"

Emily MacDonald's amazing start to the 2024-25 season continued, as she won both sprints yet again. MacDonald took the 50 free with a time of 23:17, before winning the 100 free with a time of 50:22. 

Sally Ma finished directly behind MacDonald in both events, securing a 1-2 finish for Columbia. She touched the wall at 23:44 in the 50 free and 51.65 in the 100 free. 

In the first individual event of the day, Mia Avansino earned second place in the 1000 free with a solid time of 10:20.13. 

Jilly MacNamara had one of the best performances of her young career, taking second in the 200 back with a time of 2:01.59. 

As for the divers, Valeriya Bondarenko had the Lions' top score on the 3m boards at 265.65, while Chloe Leung led the way on the 1m boards with a score of 245.70

"The Lions competed well today," Head Diving Coach Scott Donie said. "Definitely upward trending. Very proud of this group and looking forward to the Invitational after break!"

Full results from the meet, including all of the Lions' top performers and times, can be found HERE.

Next up, the Lions will look to defend their title once again at the ECAC Winter Championships in East Meadow. At the same time, Columbia will be comepeting against the Princeton women at the Big Al Invite in New Jersey. 

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