There’s no place like home. And the men’s and women’s swim teams proved it with impressive victories over Colgate in each of their first home meets of the season. In last Saturday’s matchup, the men and women dominated with scores of 160-122 and 185-111, respectively.
The victory helped the men hold onto its third place standing in the EISL, right behind perennial leaders Harvard and Princeton. The men (6-2, 4-2 EISL) remain tied with today’s opponent, Columbia, who has a combined record of 2-1 in the EISL.
“We may make minor adjustments to the lineup,” said men’s head coach Joe Lucia. “But we’re going with the strongest lineup we have so that we can beat Columbia.”
Coming off a win against Bucknell last Saturday to continue a three meet winning streak at its home pool, Columbia will use the momentum it has built up to put up a tough fight against the Red. Against the Bison, Columbia took 13-of-16 races in a 162-136 victory.
Columbia’s swimmers finished 1-2 in the 200-yard medley relay, 1650-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke, and the 500-yard freestyle.
Cornell’s last meet had a similar tone, with the men taking the top spots in all 10 of the contested events. The Red earned eight 1-2 finishes during the meet. The team hopes to continue the success it has found on the road in its home pool.
“The first seven away meets went really well,” Lucia said. “The next two competitions are really important for us.”
With twice the competition tomorrow, the women will have to step up to ensure victories against both Brown and Columbia. Prior to last Saturday’s meet with Northeastern, Columbia had over a one-month break from competition. But, the Lions proved they were not rusty after the time off.
Sandwiched between both of tomorrow’s competitors in the Ivy League standings, the Red (3-5, 1-4 Ivy) will need to come out with a victory to improve upon its seventh place standing.
Cornell will have to watch out for Columbia’s strong freshman class, which took three out of seven first-place finishes for the Lions against Northeastern.
A strong freshman class is not the only thing the two teams have in common. Both squads also took a training trip to Puerto Rico over the winter break. While enduring strenuous practices, the women prepared for the remainder of the season’s meets.
Brown, the other opponent in this dual-meet, is coming off a victory as well. The Bears outscored Penn 129-114 in a close meet on Jan 15.
Junior Eileen Robinson will prove essential after winning the 50-yard free and 100-yard free while anchoring the 400-yard medley relay team against Penn.
Even the slightest advantage, like swimming at home, will undoubtedly be important in the upcoming meet.
“Being at the home pool is an advantage,” Lucia said. “Our parents come even on the road. But [the advantage] all depends on having a good crowd.”
Archived article by Kristina Kovach
Sun Staff Writer