Men's Tennis
The Columbia men’s tennis team will face Fordham in its first dual match of the season tomorrow, hoping for better results than the Lions achieved in last weekend’s three-day Larsen Bowker Invitational, where they failed to win any of the tournament’s five flights.
The Light Blue proved strong against host No. 34 Virginia Tech on Friday, gaining wins from freshmen Winston Lin, Ashok Narayana, and Bert Vancura, and from junior John Yetimoglu. In doubles, Lin and senior captain Haig Schneiderman won in the No. 2 spot.
On Saturday, the Lions swept Davidson in all eight singles spots and took three out of the four doubles matches. But the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders overshadowed Columbia on the final day of the invitational, as sophomore Tizian Bucher—who tied for the Flight C title but lost in a games-won tiebreaker—secured the Light Blue’s lone singles win. The Lions proved more successful in doubles, winning two of the three matches.
Hoping to build on last weekend’s positives, Columbia will look for success against the Rams, who took three singles wins and one doubles victory last weekend at the Harvard Invitational. Tomorrow’s match begins at 2 p.m. at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center.
—Laura Allen
Women's Tennis
The spring season begins today for the women’s tennis team at the Cornell Invitational in Ithaca. The Light Blue is coming off of a strong finish to its fall season, with three of its players ranked regionally and two ranked nationally.
Junior Nicole Bartnik and freshman Crystal Leung earned a No. 19 national doubles ranking after winning the A draw for the USTA National Tennis Center Women’s College Invitational in October. The doubles team is also ranked No. 8 in the Northeast Region.
Bartnik not only had impressive doubles performances this past fall, but she also earned the No. 1 ranking in the Northeast Region for singles play. That ranking earned her a spot to compete at the four-day USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships in early November, but she fell early to Emily Fraser of Virginia, 6-2, 6-0. Sophomore Bianca Sanon also earned herself a Northeast Regional ranking at No. 18.
The Lions will hope to build off of their fall success this weekend as they seek wins against the Big Red.
—Alison Macke
Wrestling
The Light Blue will take on Franklin & Marshall tonight in its last dual match before opening the Ivy season against Cornell on Feb. 4. After two Columbia wrestlers won their weight classes and another finished second in last weekend’s New York Intercollegiate tournament, the expectations are high for the Lions.
On the other side of the mat, the Diplomats have struggled mightily this season with an 0-10 record thus far in duals. Despite their winless results, they do have talented wrestlers, including senior Matt Fullowan, who qualified for the NCAA tournament last year at 174 pounds. Freshman Richard Durso has also wrestled well this year for Franklin & Marshall, compiling a 22-10 record at 141 pounds.
The Lions have their own 141-pound freshman phenom in Elijah Sullivan. Sullivan is 9-5 this season, and this past weekend he won the 149-pound leg of the B bracket. The Light Blue have no shortage of capable veterans, including 285-pound senior Kevin Lester and 157-pound junior Jake O’Hara, Columbia’s big winners last weekend. The match against the Diplomats begins tonight at 7 p.m. just outside Lancaster, Penn.
—Eli Schultz
Men's Swimming & Diving
The Columbia men’s swim team (3-2, 1-2 Ivy) will attempt to win its second consecutive meet this Saturday against Ivy rival Brown (0-4, 0-3 Ivy) and American East powerhouse Boston University (4-1-1). The Lions are coming off a huge Homecoming win against Cornell, in which the team had 14 first-place finishes.
BU has not competed as a team since the Terrier Invitational in November, where it finished third. Senior Daniel Kempf has led the Terriers so far this season, including wins in the 50 and 100 freestyle events in the Terrier Invitational.
Brown has had a difficult start to the season, and is yet to win a game—its best finish came in December when it took third place at the Princeton Invitational.
The Lions will look for continued production from freshman Omar Arafa and sophomore Harry Stephenson, who each won their respective meets last week—Arafa took the 100-yard backstroke and Stephenson claimed the 1000-yard freestyle. The meet will begin at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at Boston University’s Competition Pool.
—Josh Shenkar
Women's Swimming & Diving
This weekend, the women’s swim team (4-1, 3-1 Ivy) gears up for a double-dual tri-meet against league foe Brown (0-4, 0-3 Ivy) and American East conference power Boston University (4-2). The meet is one of Columbia’s last before the Ivy League Championship next month.
Brown has struggled so far this season as they have yet to win a meet. The Bears’ best result was a third-place finish in the Princeton Invitational on Dec 2.
BU has played well recently, winning its last meet against New Hampshire by a score of 182-118. The Lions bested host BU in a championship-meet format at the multi-team Terrier Invitational in November, where they placed first in a field of 10 teams. The Terriers finished fifth in the meet.
Last Saturday, the Light Blue thrashed Cornell in a home meet, 194.5-99.5, improving its record to 4-1.
Columbia will depend on continued production from sophomore diver Kathleen Furr and freshman swimmer Chacha Bugatti. Furr has had a solid season so far and won first place in the 3m diving event last week. Bugatti is a distance free specialist, and she managed to win the 1650-yard freestyle against Cornell while coming close to breaking a Uris pool record. A repeat of Furr and Bugatti’s heroics of last week could help propel the Lions to victory against the Terriers and Bears.
The tournament will be hosted by BU at their competition pool on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
—Charlotte Murtishaw
Men's Track & Field
The Columbia men’s track and field team will head to the historic Armory this Saturday to race in the annual Saturday at the Armory II meet.
Each year, the Saturday at the Armory program features a lineup of local collegians, with several programs outside the area mixed in as well. Teams from as far as Puerto Rico and Canada have come to this meet in the past. Fourteen teams will be attending this Saturday, including Columbia, Harvard, Cornell, and Princeton. Last year, the Light Blue came in eighth place at this meet, with a total of 24 points.
The Lions will look to build on their first two meets of the 2012 season, in which they took fifth and second places. Columbia has relied heavily on the talent of its young mid-distance runners to accumulate points.
—Melissa Cheung
Women's Track & Field
The Columbia women’s track and field team looks to improve its early-season success as the Lions host the New York Road Runner meet at The Armory on Saturday. Columbia will face Ivy League rivals Princeton and Harvard, among other NCAA teams like the University of Maryland and Morgan State.
After placing second at the Ivy League-Tri Meet last week, the Columbia women will need similar efforts from individuals like senior Kyra Caldwell and junior Yamira Bell, as well as the rest of the 4x400 meter relay team. Caldwell has been integral to the recent success of the women’s team, and will have to continue to be a substantial force if Columbia hopes to be competitive this weekend against teams like the Crimson.
Harvard sophomore Alaina Murphy is ranked third in the Ivy League in the 1000m, and will likely prove to be tough competition for the Lions this weekend. Additionally, Harvard junior Mary Hirst is the top-ranked athlete for the high jump in the Ivy League.
After hosting tomorrow’s meet, the Lions will play host again next weekend at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational on Friday, Feb. 3, and Saturday, Feb. 4.
—Miles Johnson
After two weeks of practice and rest, the Columbia men’s squash team faces two double-headers this weekend in the Lion’s Den. The team will host Middlebury at 5 p.m. and Connecticut College at 7 p.m. Saturday night. Sunday morning, the Light Blue will face Georgetown at 10 a.m. and Williams College at noon.
After both of their matches at the Pioneer Valley Invitational were canceled last weekend, the Lions (3-4, 1-2 Ivy) are readying themselves for the full weekend ahead of them. According to the latest Dunlop Men’s College Squash Team Rankings, Middlebury moved up a rank to 13th place while Connecticut College dropped three to 21st. Georgetown and Williams College remained as the 30th and 10th ranks, respectively, while Columbia moved up one rank, now in the 15th spot.
While Middlebury—whose seven-game win streak was halted by the Williams Purple Cows last Sunday—will seek to regain its momentum, Connecticut College should come out strong after its two consecutive wins last weekend. Saturday and Sunday will be full of both challenges and opportunities for the Lions to establish themselves as a top squad.
—Mia Park
The No. 15 Columbia women’s squash team will face No. 30 Georgetown, No. 22 Connecticut College, No. 12 Middlebury, and No. 11 Williams at home this weekend. While the Lions hope to win all four matchups, the real focus of the weekend will be to perform well against higher-seeded opponents Middlebury and Williams.
Sophomore Katie Quan—playing in the No. 5 spot—is expected to make an impact in the matches this weekend. Quan was the lone Lion to pull out a victory against No. 10 Brown, winning against the Bears’ Katherine Elliott-Moskwa in a four-set battle. The Light Blue will also rely heavily on the performance of senior captain Liz Chu, who has held the No. 1 position for her entire career as a Lion.
Middlebury will be a tough opponent for Columbia, as the Panthers have lost only seven out of their 54 individual matchups this spring after a disappointing 0-4 fall season record. Williams has also had a strong start to its spring season, boasting a 9-0 win over No. 14 George Washington University. Wins over Middlebury and Williams would boost not only the Lions’ ranking, but also their confidence as they move into league play.
—Caroline Bowman
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