Columbia University
Brown
Men’s Swimming Opens 2026 With Road Win Over Brown
1/17/2026 6:00:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving
Columbia captured a 157–143 win in its first meet of the new year, highlighted by multiple event victories
"A tough gritty win for the Lions today," Head Coach Jim Bolder. "It was senior day today in Providence and the Bears gave us all we could handle. The meet went down to the last relay and the team of Yu Tong Wu, Sam Eckert, Derek Hitchens and Zion James won to seal the win. There were lots of exciting races and I was proud of the way we responded."
Columbia set the tone early by winning the opening 200 medley relay, as the A squad of Isaac Beers, Joshua Corn, Brian Lee, and Zion James touched first with a time of 1:28.24.
Several Lions turned in standout multi-event performances throughout the meet. Stephen Zhukov and Zach Vasser went 1-2 in the 1000 freestyle, with Zhukov winning the event in 9:19.37 and Vasser close behind at 9:20.71. Gian Santos delivered a big day in the distance events, capturing first place in the 500 freestyle (4:29.76) while also adding a third-place finish in the 200 IM.
In the butterfly events, Seungjoon Ahn claimed victory in the 200 fly with a time of 1:49.69, while Adam Wu followed in second. Wu also placed second in the 200 backstroke and contributed key points across multiple events. Zion James secured a win in the 50 freestyle (20.08) and later added a runner-up finish in the 100 free.
The breaststroke group provided another major scoring boost for the Lions, led by Corn's first-place finish in the 200 breaststroke (2:00.30). Beri Yang placed second in the event, while Alston Qin added valuable points. Columbia also picked up additional event victories throughout the meet, continuing to build separation on the scoreboard.
On the boards, Joseph Nicol paced the Lions with a second-place finish on the 1-meter dive (309.08), while Will Cooley added a third-place showing on the 3-meter.
Columbia closed the meet in emphatic fashion, winning the 400 freestyle relay. The team of Wu, Sam Eckert, Derek Hitchens, and James touched first in 2:56.31 to seal the Lions' road victory.
"Joe was very steady on the 1 meter," Head Diving Coach Scott Donie said. "Will was leading the way on the 3 meter. Excited to get back to work and improve as we prepare for Cornell next week."Full results from the meet, including all of the Lions' top performers and times, can be found HERE.
Columbia remains on the road next weekend, traveling to Navy for a Friday matchup, before returning home on Saturday to host Cornell at Percy Uris Natatorium.
For the latest on the Columbia men's swimming and diving program, follow @CULionsMSD and @CULionsDiving on Instagram and Twitter, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
Players Mentioned
