The men’s swimming and diving team finished its road schedule on Saturday with a 178-114 victory over Colgate, as Cornell improved its record to 5-2 on the year. Although the Red switched around much of its lineup during the meet, the team was able to put the Raiders away early.
“Everyone swam pretty well,” said senior co-captain Jeremy Sample. “Again, we had an intense week of training and everyone swam really tough this weekend.”
To defeat the Raiders, the Red employed a true team effort, with seven individual swimmers claiming first-place finishes. Among them was senior co-captain Danny Royce, who won both the 400-yard IM and 100-yard free. Junior James Parrish also won two events for the Red, including the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke.
Freshman Mike Smit continued to impress in his first year as a member of the Red, placing first in the 200-yard free. Senior Rob Payne contributed with a victory in the 500-free, while sophomore Jared Levan captured a first-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly. Danny Diette also added a victory in the 100-yard backstroke. On top of the individual accomplishments, the Red won both relays, the 200-yard medley and the 200-yard free.
The Red will start a four meet homestand starting on Saturday against EISL rival Columbia. The team will look to improve its EISL record to 4-2, with meets against Dartmouth, Harvard, and Brown to follow.
“I think the team should be in great shape for that meet,” said Sample. “As long as we swim tough I think we will be able to pull it out.”
While the men’s team had no trouble with Colgate, the women’s team was engaged in a much closer battle. Nevertheless, the Red was able to hold off the Raiders by a final score of 163-137.
“After coming back from our training trip, this was a big step for us as a team,” said senior co-captain Aliza Ginsburg. “We came back to Cornell and trained really hard and had a lot of time to prepare.”
Out of the 16 individual events, Cornell was able to snag seven first-place finishes while capturing its third win of the season. The Raiders fell to 9-5 with the loss.
“Everyone put up a good showing,” said Ginsburg. “It was a complete team effort.”
The Red received contributions from many of its swimmers, none greater than from junior Alyson Melin, who emerged victorious in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke. Freshman Kristen Conway also pitched in two first-place finishes in both the 200 and 500-yard freestyle. Senior co-captain Jayme Majek added a victory in the 200 fly, while sophomore Jessica Brookman claimed the 100-yard backstroke. With the win, the Red improved to 2-1 after the winter recess.
“We swam pretty well,” said Ginsburg. “A lot of people stepped up where they needed to and it helped us come away with a win.”
Cornell will be in search of its fourth win on Saturday.
Archived article by Bryan Pepper