Not this kind of squash

Even as the impending doom of finals approaches, the Lions remain in action and thankfully move indoors for the winter sports season. Unfortunately, it was a better weekend for individual performances than team results, especially in basketball. In a sold-out Levien Gymnasium, Men’s B-Ball let a 17-point lead slip away against Bucknell, even as senior Brian Barbour racked up 19 points. Sophomore Caitlin Unsworth had a similarly impactful performance on the Women’s team with a career-high 16 points in a road loss to Bryant. But it was Men’s Squash and Fencing that stole the show this weekend by brutally beating their opponents. The Squash boys opened the season with a 9-0 pummeling over Georgetown, and Men’s and Women’s fencing posted two dominant wins each in the Blue Gym to open the dual meet season.

Catch up with your Lions news after the jump, including the results of the Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving meets.

Men’s Squash (1-0):

Results:

Georgetown 9-0 (W)

Overview: In their season-opening match, the #9 Lions made easy prey out of the Hoyas, winning all nine matches in three games. Senior Tony Zou began the beating in the No. 2 spot, taking down his opponent 11-4, 11-7, 11-7, as fellow senior Graham Miao cleaned up in the No. 4 position, 11-5, 11-3, 11-3. As the courts turned over to the odd numbered matches, the Lions held a comfortable 4-0 lead and used the momentum to drive the stake in and close out the match. Sophomore Ramit Tandon dropped only 11 points in three games in the No. 1 spot, and junior Andrew Tan added another win in the No. 5 match, 11-5, 11-3, 11-5 as the Lions skated their way to a shutout victory.

Up Next:  The Lions take on #4 Cornell at home on Sunday at 11am.

Men’s Basketball (4-4):

Results:

Bucknell 57-65 (L)

Overview: Despite a 17-point lead midway through the first half, the Lions let the Bison back into the game in the second half and fell to the Patriot League team in front of a sold out crowd in Levien. Columbia made it look easy in the first half, scoring 13 unanswered points in about 8 minutes of play. Senior Mark Cisco was a perfect 5-for-5 with 10 points and the Lions silenced the Bucknell offense for much of the half. Up 32-25 coming out of the break, the Lions came out strong in the second and widened the gap to 44-33 thanks to seven points from sophomore guard Alex Rosenberg. But the Bison came storming back with 10 straight points to cut the Lions’ lead to one and get the many (drunk/annoying) Bucknell fans into the game. Senior guard Brian Barbour kept Columbia alive with a three to make it 49-47, but the Bison began to run away with it as time winded down. The Lions missed a number of field goals and were forced to foul in the closing minutes, putting the game in Bucknell’s hand and the Bison took it, capping the game with free throws to make it 65-57 at the final buzzer.

Up Next: The Lions travel to American University on Sunday, 12/9, for a 2pm game.

Women’s Basketball (1-4):

Results:

Bryant 54-68 (L)

Overview: The Lions dropped a road game to Bryant this weekend, even with a breakout performance from sophomore Caitlin Unsworth. After taking a 12-10 lead in the first half, Columbia allowed ten unanswered points, putting them in an eight-point hole late in the period. Unsworth responded with two threes to help the Lions get back to even as they entered the break tied at 22. Bryant quickly jumped out to a six-point lead in the second half, but Columbia rallied with the help of two threes from senior Taylor Ward and reclaimed the lead, 40-37. The Columbia advantage, however, was short-lived as Bryant answered with an 18-5 run and maintained a large lead for the remainder of the game. Unsworth scored a career-high 16 points including another career-high 4 three-points and was perfect from the line in the loss.

Up Next: The Lions face Colgate at 7pm on Tuesday in chilly upstate NY

Women’s Swimming & Diving (0-2, 0-2 Ivy League):

Results:

Varied – Just read the overview

Overview: The Lions were scattered around the country competing in various meets this weekend. At the 2012 ATT&T US Winter Nationals in Austin, TX, senior Caroline Lukins took fourth in the ‘C’-finals of the 200 fly with a personal best time of 2:00.67. Meanwhile, over at the 2012 ECAC Warm-Up Championships in East Meadow, NY, the Lions captured 5th place in the 200 free relay, starring freshman Lily Morris, senior Lacey Harris-Coble, and freshmen (?) Shuchi Chaturvedi and Daniela Rueda. Morris added to her impressive relay leg with a 2nd place finish in the 100 fly and Reuda followed suit, taking third in 400 IM.

Up Next: The Lions join back up and head to Penn for a dual-meet on Friday at 4pm

Men’s Swimming & Diving (2-2, 1-2 Ivy League):

Results:

Fifth Place after two days at Brown Invitational

Overview: The Lions compete in the three-day long Brown Invitational this weekend, and finished the first two days with a number of strong performances. On Day One, the Columbia quartet in the 200 free relay placed fifth overall to start finals for the Lions. In the 200 medley relay on Day Two, the Columbia team of sophomore Omar Arafa, junior Matthew Swallow, sophomore David Jakl and senior John Wright took sixth. In other notable performances, sophomore Dominik Koll placed fourth and junior Harry Stephenson posted a seventh place finish in the 400 IM with a time of 4:03.23. In diving, senior Jason Collazo had a big day, placing third on three-meter after teammate Micah Rembrandt took third on one-meter on Day One. The Lions are in fifth place heading into the final day of competition.

Up Next: The Lions break until January, when they take on Bucknell at home at Uris Pool 1 pm on 1/5.

Fencing:

Results:

Men’s

Stevens 25-5 (W)

NJIT 18-9 (W)

Women’s

Tufts 23-4 (W)

NJIT 25-2 (W)