Sports briefly

Men's Heavyweight Rowing
The Columbia men’s heavyweight rowing team struggled this weekend in stormy conditions, as it lost both of its events in the Blackwell Cup regatta. The Lions were taking on Yale and Penn, who placed first and second in the cup, respectively. Columbia took third in both the Varsity Eights and Second Varsity Eights, as it was outrowed by a large margin in both races. The Bulldogs have seen victory in the Blackwell Cup most often in recent years, and Saturday was no exception.
—Molly Tow

Men's Lightweight Rowing
The men’s lightweight rowing team fared better than the heavyweights this weekend, as it placed second in the Dodge Cup. Conditions were even worse at the Housatonic River, Yale’s home turf, as there were actual waves in the water on Saturday. The Lions placed second in the Varsity Eights, nine seconds behind Yale. The Light Blue placed third in the Second Varsity Eights, the Bulldogs easily taking victory in that race as well. Penn was the other competitor in the cup, as they placed third in the Varsity Eights and second in the Second Varsity Eights. The Freshman Eights event was canceled.
—Molly Tow

Softball
The Columbia softball team went 1-2 against Cornell this weekend at home. Saturday’s game was a heartbreaker, as the Lions led fell to Cornell 2-1. Freshman Prophet Gaspard had an impressive day on the mound, allowing two runs, three hits, and striking out six in seven innings of work. Columbia’s one run came from senior Maggie Johnson’s solo shot to left-center. On Sunday, the Lions fell by the same score in game one, but shutout the Big Red in game two, winning 6-0. It was Gaspard again with the solid outing, conceding four hits, one walk, and fanning four in seven innings. Freshman Emily Snodgrass went 3-4 in the game, drove in two, and scored one.
—Molly Tow

Women's Tennis
The 2010-11 Columbia women’s tennis team (9-13, 0-7 Ivy) finished its season on a two-match losing streak, falling 5-2 to Penn and 4-3 to No. 50 Princeton over the weekend. The two matches were the final matches for senior co-captains Natasha Makarova and Natalia Christenson. Columbia split the singles matches against Princeton, but the Tigers had won the doubles point early and that proved to be the difference. Sophomore Katarina Kovacevic had an impressive 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 2, freshman Ioana Alecsiu won at No. 4, and sophomore Chelsea Davis won at No. 6. Penn was the only Ivy team Columbia beat last season (5-2), but led by star freshman Connie Hsu at No. 1, the Quakers turned the tables. Columbia still managed wins at No. 4 and 5 singles from Alecsiu and freshman Tiana Takenaga.
—Kunal Gupta

Men's and Women's Golf
The men and women’s golf teams each had tournaments this weekend, and both found success on an individual and team level. The men traveled to Annapolis, Md. to take part in the Navy Spring Invitational. Senior Clark Granum led the team with an aggregate three over par, allowing the team to finish in second place overall, 13 strokes ahead of the next best team. Sophomore Michael Yiu and junior Brendan Doyle were not far behind Granum, finishing tied for ninth and tied for 11th, respectively. The women took third place overall in the rain-shortened Roar-EE Invitational in Suffern, NY. Freshman Michelle Piyapattra took first overall by shooting 112—two strokes ahead of the next competitor—over 27 holes. Junior Robin Lee also secured a spot in the top 10, finishing in a tie for seventh place. Both teams were competing in their last tournament before the Ivy League Championships, which will take place this coming weekend.
—Jeremiah Sharf