After Beating Army, Columbia Men Take 11 of 16 Events in Win Over Penn

COLUMBIA vs PENN (MEN’S DUAL)

• Saturday, November 5, 2022
• Sheerr Pool, Philadelphia, PA
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results

TEAM SCORES

1. Columbia – 172
2. Penn – 122

After beating Army West Point at home on Friday, Columbia traveled to Philadelphia for a men’s dual meet against Penn on Saturday. The Lions went 2-for-2 on the weekend, downing Ivy League opponent Penn 172-122. This also marked Penn’s first meet of the season.

For the second day in a row, Jonathan Suckow was phenomenal for Columbia on the boards. After his dominant wins against Army on Friday, Suckow racked up 443.48 points in 3-meter diving, leading the field by 105 points, a stunning margin of victory. It was a great event for Columbia as a whole, with Nick Leavell coming in second (338.93) and Joseph Nicol taking third (310.50).

Suckow also won 1-meter diving in exactly the same dominant fashion. He finished with a score of 439.28, 104 points ahead of runner-up Leavell (335.25).

Penn continues to do a great job developing distance swimmers, seeing first year Truman Armstrong win the 1000 free in 9:21.80. Penn’s Michael Foley came in second, swimming a 9:40.93. Armstrong also went on to win the 500 free, clocking a 4:32.02.

Aside from the strong diving performances, Columbia was helped greatly by winning both relays. They kicked off the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay, where Andy Huang (23.74), Demirkan Demir (24.76), Brian Lee (21.61), and Zion James (19.85) teamed up for a 1:29.96.

Kyle Won (46.11), James (45.52), Thomas Shepanzyk (45.40), and Demir (46.31) combined for a Columbia victory in the 400 free, swimming a 3:02.77.

James went on from the 200 medley relay to sweep the sprint free events. In the 50 free, James clocked a 20.68. He won a tight race in the 50 free, but he would later swim a 45.07 in the 100 free, winning that race by well over a second.

Brian Lee would go on from the 200 medley relay to win the 100 fly, swimming a 48.64. He went up against fellow first year Alex Fu (Penn), who came in second with a 48.95.

Columbia’s Kyle Won won the 200 free for the second day in a row, though he was a little slower against Penn than he was against Army the day before. He posted a 1:40.09, pulling away from the field on the final 50, just as he had done against Army.

Demir swept the breaststroke events for the second day in a row, clocking a 54.96 to take the 100 breast by over half a second. He swam the race with a great back half again, splitting 26.69 on the first 50, then coming home in 28.27, making his second 50 just 1.58 seconds slower than the first. Demir went on to win the 200 breast in 2:01.99.

Seung Joon Ahn (Columbia) took the 200 fly, swimming a 1:48.94 to both win the event and finish as the only swimmer under 1:50 for the second day in a row.

Penn picked up a win in the 100 back, where James Curreri swam a 49.85. He negative split the race, swimming a 24.96 on the first 50, then coming home in 24.89. Penn teammate Daniel Gallagher claimed victory in the 200 back, swimming a 1:47.76.

Penn was without their star All-American swimmer Matt Fallon in their season debut. According to the school, he was at a family wedding.