Lions take third in Ivy League Championships

The women’s swimming and diving team recorded their best-ever performance this weekend at the Ivy League Championships. The Light Blue, having earned a 3-4 record in the league for the season, came out strong at the championships to take third place overall with 894 points, while Princeton took the title with 1,562 points and Harvard took second with 1,496. Leading the Lions was sophomore Katie Meili, who won her first Ivy League Championship title in the 200 IM on the first day of the competition. Many Lions swam personal best times in their events, and gained significant points for Columbia through their efforts.

In the final heats of the opening day, the 200 free relay squad of Meili, senior Ashley MacLean, sophomore Lacey Harris-Coble, and freshman Alena Kluge finished sixth overall with a time of 1:34.04, while the 400 medley relay team of Meili, senior Annie Perrizzolo, sophomore Caroline Lukins, and senior Mariele Dunn took fifth in 3:45.66.

Meili swam the 200 IM in 1:59.75 in the preliminary heats that morning. It was the first time she had finished in less than two minutes, and it proved to be the fastest in the Ancient Eight this season. The time also qualified for an NCAA “B” cut. Swimming the event again that evening for the finals, Meili cut half a second off her time to finish in 1:59.20, one second in front of the second-place finisher from Princeton.

At the end of the first day, the Lions stood in sixth place overall, but had two days remaining to improve their standing. On the beginning of day two, the Lions performed well in another relay, with the team of junior Dorothy Baker, Perrizzolo, Lukins, and Kluge finishing sixth overall in the 200 medley relay. Three Lions placed in the top ten in the 1,650 free, with junior Isabelle Vandenbroucke taking fifth, senior Abby Reilly finishing eighth, and sophomore Molly Dengler taking 10th. In the 400 IM, Meili was able to finish ninth overall, and her teammates Perrizzolo and Dunn were strong performers in the 100 breast, with Perizzolo taking fourth and Dunn seventh. Both seniors qualified for NCAA “B” cut times. In the 100 back, Kluge finished fifth overall to score major points in her first championship, and Baker was the top finisher in the consolation final, finishing ninth overall. The Lions then closed out the day with their fourth strong relay performance in the 800 free relay, where Vandenbroucke, Meili, junior Caitlin Rogers, and Harris-Coble placed sixth overall.

The Light Blue was able to move up a spot to fifth place by the end of day two, but it was the final day of competition that allowed them to surge to third in the league.

Kluge came in sixth overall in the 200 back in 2:01.14, while Baker took ninth. In the 200 breast, three Lions finished in the top 10, with Meili taking fourth, Dunn fifth, and Perizzolo sixth. As the Light Blue steadily climbed the rankings, Rogers finished sixth overall in the 200 butterfly and rookie diver Liana Diamond continued to perform well, taking 12th place in the 1m competition. Closing out the championships, the team of Meili, Dunn, Vandenbroucke, and MacLean took seventh overall in the 400 free relay, topping off the points the team had gained throughout the day and pushing Columbia to third place in the League with 894 points.