Women's swimming and diving beats Dartmouth on Senior Day

Upper West Side NY

07 February, 2022

2:21 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY TUPELO SULLIVAN • FEBRUARY 6, 2022, 8:54 PM On Saturday, women's swimming and diving made a dominant return to the Percy Uris Natatorium for its last home meet of the season, beating Dartmouth in comfortable fashion. As the Lions look towards Ivy League Championships, their 12 first-place showings prove they are a team to watch out for in the postseason. Columbia (4-4, 3-4 Ivy) shone between the lane lines, coming out of the gate with determination and not letting up against Dartmouth (2-7, 0-6 Ivy), finishing with a score of 171.5-100.5. In the first individual meet of the day, junior Olivia Jubin swam away with a first-place finish in the grueling 500-yard freestyle at 4:57.20, eight seconds ahead of senior Clare Larsen's 5:05.04. In the next event, first-year Emily MacDonald fended off the Big Green to claim her own 100-yard freestyle victory, while the rest of the Lion pack settled for a 3-5 sweep. Sophomore teammates Aziza Ganihanova and Allegra Walker were first to hit the wall in the 50-yard backstroke and 50-yard breaststroke, respectively, putting up 18 more points to the Light Blue's tally. Columbia continued to dominate the sprint events, with senior Claire Lin breaking 24 seconds to secure first place in the 50-yard freestyle. First-year Riley Pujadas led her teammates to a podium sweep in the 100-yard backstroke, as did first-year Taylor Whang in the 100-yard breaststroke. The Light Blue equally excelled in the relay events, delivering a 1-2 punch in both the 200-yard medley and freestyle relays. In the latter, MacDonald accompanied senior trio Emily Wang, Larsen, and Lin to edge out Columbia's second team. Towards the middle of the meet, the competition was paused to recognize Columbia's 11 seniors in their last home game as Lions. All of the athletes that entered into the program in 2018 remained on the team for their entire time at Columbia, despite years of uncertainty brought about by the pandemic. "For this group we really need to thank them in a good way because they've done a lot for the program [...] They've been through so much, [and] they could have negative attitudes, but they have been the best group and were really the cohesion that helped us," head coach Diana Caskey said. On the board, Columbia's diving squad produced impressive performances, with first-year Macy Pine winning the 3-meter dive and senior Briget Rosendahl securing second place. The Light Blue again went 1-2 in the 1-meter dive later in the day, led by sophomore Alice Diakova and senior Michelle Lee. The victory marked the return of the divers in the new year, as COVID-19 outbreaks following winter break left them unable to compete as a unit. Head diving coach Scott Donie was particularly proud of Rosendahl and Lee's performances on Senior Day, attesting to their long-standing commitment to the program. "[Rosendahl and Lee] honestly transformed our women's diving program, just the two of them together," Donie said. "They're irreplaceable really, but again [...], I just feel so fortunate to work here so that I can get to know and work with people like [them]." After this big win at home, the Lions get the next weekend off in preparation for the four-day Ivy League Championships at Harvard from Feb. 16 to 19. While they will train and fine-tune leading up to the culmination of the season, they have already put in the bulk of the work. "Right now everybody is ready. We've trained, we've competed, and now it's just like sharpening up the finer details of everything … and just trying to enjoy it," Donie said. "It's a bit of a grind at times, and, now that we're towards the end and––my favorite part––the championship season, I just try to remind them all to just enjoy it. Enjoy this. If you're enjoying it, the performances usually mirror that." Staff writer Tupelo Sullivan can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow CU Spec Sports on Twitter @CUSpecSports. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.