NAVY VS COLUMBIA (MEN)
- January 23, 2026
- Annapolis, Md.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: Navy Sports
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Navy men’s swimming and diving team (12-1) placed first, second and third in eight events on its way to winning 15 events and posting a 153-130 victory over Columbia (2-4), Friday afternoon at Lejeune Hall in Annapolis.
The victory in the team’s last dual meet of the season gives the Mids 12 wins for the first time since the 2015-16 season when they also finished the year with a 12-1 record.
“We had some solid performances today,” said Navy men’s swimming head coach Bill Roberts. “We also had some performances in which we need to improve upon, as well. This is often the case with any competition, however today especially as we are going to look very closely at these performances to determine where we need to make some gains for the upcoming championship season.”
Navy began the day by placing first (1:28.73) and second (1:28.74) in the 200 medley relay. Chase Maier then won the first individual event of the meet, the 1000 freestyle, by eight seconds with his time of 9:17.79. A 1-2 finish for Navy ensued in the 200 freestyle as Martin Perecinsky (1:39.39) edged teammate Kellan Pattison (1:39.64) for the victory.
The Mids claimed the gold, silver and bronze medalists in each of the next five events.
Ben Irwin started the run with a victory in the 100 back (49.28). Michael Phillips followed by winning the 100 breast (55.01), with Evan O’Dea next winning the 200 fly (1:50.38). Ben Denman-Grimm would win the 50 free (20.13) and Finn Gelbach placed first in one-meter diving (289.13) to close the first half of the meet.
Denman-Grimm started the second half of the slate with a victory in the 100 free (43.97). Irwin and Phillips joined him as multi-event winners as the former won the 200 back (1:49.59) and the latter won the 200 breast (2:00.61). Maier next picked up his second victory of the day as he won the 500 free (4:30.90). Dean Jones won the 100 fly (48.77), Anthony Sciulli placed first in three-meter diving (310.13) and Gio Aguirre won the 200 IM (1:50.21) to finish the individual event portion of the meet.
The Lions won the meet-ending 200 freestyle relay.
The Mids will play host to the multi-team Navy Invitational on Jan. 31 in what will be the team’s last meet prior to starting the championship portion of its schedule.
Courtesy: Columbia Athletics
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Columbia men’s swimming and diving team took a break from conference competition on Friday afternoon for a road meet against Patriot League foe Navy. The Lions put together several strong individual and relay performances but ultimately fell to the Midshipmen, 153–130, at Lejeune Hall Aquatic Center.
Columbia opened the meet in the 200 medley relay, with the A squad of Isaac Beers, Joshua Corn, Brian Lee, and Zion James placing third in a time of 1:30.97.
The Lions found success in the distance events, led by Zach Vasser’s runner-up finish in the 1000 freestyle (9:25.85). Stephen Zhukov delivered a standout performance later in the meet, capturing first place in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:34.96, while Adam Wu followed closely in third.
Columbia’s butterfly group produced key points, highlighted by Lucas Zhang’s victory in the 100 fly (50.88), with Jerry Yan placing second and Kevin Obochi adding a third-place finish. In the 200 fly, Gian Santos led the Lions with a fourth-place showing.
In the individual medley events, Ali Elmasry claimed first in the 200 IM (1:52.26), followed by Corn in second and Alekos Binder in third, giving Columbia a 1-2-3 finish in the event.
Columbia closed the meet on a high note in the 200 freestyle relay, as the A relay of James, Wu, Santos, and Samuel Eckert captured first place with a time of 1:21.27. The Lions’ B relay also placed second to round out a strong finish.
On the boards, Joseph Nicol led the Lions with a runner-up finish in the 3-meter dive, posting a score of 305.75. Will Cooley added a fifth-place finish in the event with a score of 254.48, while Derek Hong placed sixth at 245.78. In the 1-meter competition, Hong paced Columbia with a fourth-place score of 251.78, and Cooley followed in sixth with 234.38.
Full results from the meet, including all of the Lions’ top performers and times, can be found HERE.
Columbia is right back at it tomorrow, returning to Uris Natatorium for an Ivy meet against Cornell at noon.
