There may be no I in team, but there’s an I in win. Columbia athletes had outstanding individual performances this weekend, helping their respective teams to big wins in meets, matches, and championships. Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving, Wrestling, and Men’s Tennis all picked up W’s this weekend, and the Women’s Track & Field team took the top spot at the Metropolitan Indoor Track & Field Championships for the first time in team history. Read on for more sports news and knowledge in the weekly round-up. 

Tennis:

Latest Result: The Men’s Tennis team sweeps Fordham in opening dual match, 7-0

Overview: The Lions kicked off the 2012 season with an emphatic performance on Saturday, dropping only one set on the day against local rival, Fordham. There were a number of quick matches as the Lions cruised to victory on opening day. Freshman Bret Vancura stunned Fordham’s player in the No. 5 singles, winning 6-0, 6-0, and fellow freshman Winston Lin took down his opponent in the No. 2 singles, 6-1, 6-2. The closest match of the day came in the singles top spot. After dropping the second set, 2-6, senior Haig Schneiderman fell behind in the third, but broke back to close out the hard-fought match, 7-5, 2-6, 7-5.

Upcoming Contest: The Lions take on Cleveland State on Friday at 2 p.m, while the Women’s team opens their dual match season on Friday as the face Hofstra on the road.

In other tennis news, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open this weekend, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5. In the Women’s singles, Victoria Azarenka took the title over Maria Sharapova, 6-3, 6-0. To add salt to the wound, check out Djokovic’s impersonation of Open losers Sharapova and Nadal.

Indoor Track & Field:

Latest Result: For the first time in program history, Women’s Track & Field wins the Metropolitan Indoor Track & Field Championships

Overview: At The Armory on Friday, the Women’s team scored 156 total team points and won seven events. The squad was especially strong in the distance events, winning the 1000m, 1 mile, and 3000m races. The team of Madeline Rathbun, Sophia Harrington, Mallory Anderson, and Waverly Neer dominated the field in the 4 x 800m relay, finishing a comfortable 3 seconds ahead of the next best team. The Women’s team also notched wins in the 60m hurdles, high jump, and triple-jump.

Upcoming Contest: The Lions will compete at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational next weekend at The Armory.

 

Swimming & Diving:

Latest Result: The Men’s and Women’s teams both picked up two wins this weekend, beating Brown and Boston University in a tri-meet

Overview: In the Men’s meet, junior Jason Collazo took first in both diving events, and the swimmers had similar success on Saturday. The team notched eight wins in swimming events, including a one-two finish 200 yard freestyle with freshman Dominik Koll taking the top spot. The Lions beat BU 196-102 and Brown 190.5-106.5, improving the squad to 6-2 overall and 2-2 in the Ivy League.

The Women’s team also had an impressive performance on Saturday, besting BU 184-115 and Brown 182-118 in their fourth consecutive win. Freshman Salena Huang tallied the first win of the day for the Lions in the 200 yard freestyle and went on to win 400 yard free relay with teammates Dorothy Baker, Katie Meili, and Laney Kluge. Baker, Meili, and Kluge also had two wins on the day, with Baker finishing first in the 100 yard backstroke and Meili taking the top spot in the 100 breasttroke and Kluge winning the 200 back. The Lions also swept the100 butterfly as the team advanced to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the Ivy League.

Upcoming Contest: The Men’s team will take on Navy next weekend, while the Women’s squad heads to Princeton for another Ivy League match-up.

 

Wrestling (4-2):

Latest Result: The Lions take down Franklin & Marshall, 32-12

Overview: The Wrestlers had an outstanding weekend on the road, winning seven of ten weight-divisions against F&M. Sophomore Jake O’Hara extended his personal win streak to five on Saturday, winning by technical fall* 22-7. Teammates Robert Dyar and Kevin Lester recorded pins in the victory, leading the team to a 32-12 win.

Upcoming Contest: The Lions open the Ivy League season next weekend on the road against Cornell.

*A technical fall, or “tech” for short, is wrestling’s version of the mercy rule. In college wrestling, a differential of fifteen points ends the match no matter when it occurs. In layman’s terms, this is essentially getting your ass kicked.

 

Men’s Basketball (12-8, 1-3 Ivy League):

Latest Result: Despite second half comeback, the Lions drop close game to Cornell, 65-60

Overview: In their second straight game against Ivy League rival, Cornell, the Lions rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half, but were unable to close out the game. After leading in the opening minutes, Columbia watched their lead disappear as the Big Red went on an 18-5 run to go up by ten late in the first half. The Lions made up some of the difference before entering the half down, 30-23. Junior guard Brian Barbour had the hot hand coming out of the break, scoring ten straight points in the opening minutes of the second half. Cornell answered with three straight three-pointers to take their biggest lead of the game, 47-33. With a strong defensive effort, the Lions forced a number of turnovers and hit key baskets late in the half to tie the game at 53-53, including a conventional three-point play from Barbour to cut the deficit to four. With just over five minutes left to play, the two teams remained deadlocked at 56-56. Cornell began to pull away in the closing minutes, and the Lions were unable to convert on a number of chances. With the loss, the Lions fall to 1-3 in the Ivy League and drop to 6th in conference standings.

Upcoming contest: The Lions continue Ivy League play next weekend, traveling to Dartmouth on Friday and Harvard on Saturday.

 

Women’s Basketball (2-15, 0-3 Ivy League):

Latest Result: The Lions fall to Penn in third straight Ivy League loss, 75-50

Overview: The Lions suffered another frustrating defeat on Saturday against Ivy League rival Penn. Columbia got into foul trouble early and was never able to take the lead against the Quakers. Coming out of the break down 37-24, the Lions rallied to cut the deficit to ten after a three-pointer from senior Melissa Shafer, but that would be the closest the Lions would come. Penn went on to a 17-5 run to close out the game late in the second half, beating the Lions, 75-50. Junior Tyler Simpson led the Lions with 19 points and six rebounds in the loss.

Upcoming Contest: The Lions are home next weekend, hosting Dartmouth on Friday at 7 p.m. and Harvard on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Levein Gymnasium.