Army Defeats Columbia, But Columbia Diver Jonathan Suckow Sets Two Pool Records

Army vs. Columbia (men only)

• Friday, January 21, 2022
• West Point, New York
• Results (PDF)

Courtesy: Army Athletics

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Thanks to strong performances across the board, the Army West Point swimming & diving team secured a 174-126 win over Columbia on Friday night at Crandall Pool.

With the result, the Black Knights (5-3, 1-1 PL) achieved both their first home defeat and most points scored opposite the Lions (2-4, 2-3 Ivy League) since at least 2014. Army is now 59-28 against Columbia in the 101-year history between the teams and 2-0 at Crandall Pool this season.

The Cadets built their lead early in the night, posting first-place finishes in four of the opening five events. After claiming back-to-back victories in the 200 Medley Relay and 1000 Free, the trio of Tanner Falls, Sean Dwyer and George Glover VII boosted Army’s advantage with a sweep of the 200 Free.

Army and Columbia traded wins over the next few events, with Evan Zhang coming up with a dominant victory in the 100 Breast after out-touching the second-place Lion by 1.69 seconds.

The Black Knights then used back-to-back first-place finishes to re-distance themselves from their visitors, as Owen Harlow paced the field in the 50 Free and Falls added his second victory of the night in the 100 Free while additionally helping Harlow and William Rankin sweep the event.

On the boards, the Black Knights were led by Daniel Alaimo, who captured second-place in both the 1- and 3-meter dives. He out-scored the third place Lion by nearly 20 points on each board.

Down the stretch, Army took four of the final six events to extend its margin of victory. After Zhang and Evan Yoo grabbed the first two spots in the 200 Breast, Tansill added his second win of the night in the 500 Free. The Cadets then finished the meet in dominant fashion, sweeping the last individual event of the night thanks to Kevin Lin, Yoo and Sam Wesley before taking home the 400 Free Relay.

Event Winners
200 Medley Relay – Jacob Powell, Evan Zhang, Tanner Falls, Owen Harlow – 1:29.33
1000 Free – Ian Tansill – 9:14.97
200 Free – Tanner Falls – 1:38.90
100 Breast – Evan Zhang – 54.47
50 Free – Owen Harlow – 20.21
100 Free – Tanner Falls – 45.12
200 Breast – Evan Zhang – 1:59.15
500 Free – Ian Tansill – 4:30.81
200 IM – Kevin Lin – 1:50.31
400 Free Relay – Tanner Falls, Owen Harlow, Jacob Powell, Nick Isenhower – 3:02.03

Coach’s Corner
“We talked all week about this meet and the level of competition Columbia would bring with them both in the pool and on the boards. We knew they’ve dominated the rivalry over the last few meetings and that this meet was a big opportunity for us. Very proud of our men tonight, this was our most consistent meet from start to finish. We’ve struggled over the years to jump on top of teams from the opening relay but tonight that relay got the job done and set the tone. We had many in-season bests and our race details were much improved from last week. Tomorrow we are back to training and are going to get after it in practice… Only three and a half weeks to conference and there’s still work to be done.” – Head Coach Brandt Nigro

Cadets’ Corner

“We haven’t been that hyped in a long time. We came in, we knew that they were going to be tough to beat and it feels really good.” – Freshman Owen Harlow #GoArmy 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/83J01eEUXf

— Army Swimming & Diving (@ArmyWP_SwimDive) January 22, 2022

“Tonight was insane.” – Sophomore Ian Tansill

Enough said. 🗣 #GoArmy | #RelentlessPursuit pic.twitter.com/nRPYWrtqsJ

— Army Swimming & Diving (@ArmyWP_SwimDive) January 22, 2022

What’s Next
Army will now prepare to take on Lehigh in a Patriot League clash on Friday, Jan. 28. The meet against the Mountain Hawks, which is set for a 5 p.m. start, will serve as the program’s Firstie night. Nigro and his staff will honor the 11-member senior class as part of the night’s festivities.

Courtesy: Columbia Athletics

NEW YORK — Junior diver Jonathan Suckow set a pair of pool records at Army’s Crandall Pool as the Lions fell 174-126 to the Black Knights. Suckow recorded a score of 421.28 off the one meter before dominating the three meter event by over 100 points (450.08). The Lion standout set a pair of pool records at Ivy League rival Penn, earlier this season.

“Jonathan returned today in absolute top form,” Head Dive Coach Scott Donie said in recognition of the feat. “His consistent hard work and attention to detail is quite evident in these performances. All the men should be very proud and we are looking forward to competing again, tomorrow, in our home pool.”

From the pool, underclassmen Joshua Cho and Kyle Won went 1-2 in the 100 and 200 backstroke events. Cho outpaced Won by just one tenth of a second in the 100 (50.20, 50.21) while Won earned the advantage in the 200 (1:48.98, 1:49.79).

Sophomore Seung Joon Ahn shone in the 200 butterfly, claiming the event in 1:48.98.

In the 100 butterfly, Jonas Kistorp was the lone swimmer to beat the 50 second mark, doing so in 49.91 for the win. The Lions went 1-2-3 in the event as Ray Yang swam for second (50.16) followed by Noah  Czelusta (50.39). Additionally, Kistorp added to Columbia’s total in the 50 free, finishing in second (20.68).

Columbia returns home tomorrow, January 22, for a 1:00 P.M. face-off against the Naval Academy at 1:00 P.M.