Records tumble as Lions place sixth at Easterns 

Susie Lee
Spectator Associate Sports Editor 

Eyebrows raised in amazement, and jaws dropped to the deck in shock. And it wasn't just on account of the frighteningly bald heads and the Speedo-clad bodies devoid of hair. 

Columbia men's swimming and diving made an impressive statement this weekend with a flurry of unprecedented individual performances, including lifetime bests and record-shattering times. 

Although the team only placed sixth with 295.5 points at the Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League (EISL) Championships, the slew of individual All-Ivy honors and varsity records made the team one of the pleasant surprises at the event. 

Harvard claimed the title, and Princeton was forced to settle for second, followed in suit by Brown, Navy and Yale. 

Columbia started the Championships off on Thursday, finishing the day in fifth place. The Lions' 200-yard freestyle relay took fifth place with a time of 1:22.83, and sophomore Daniel Brown claimed a solid seventh place in the one-meter diving. 

The 400-yard medley relay of first-year Matt Schultz, sophomores Joe Rudler and Gered Doherty, and junior Russell Perkins cruised to a fourth place finish. Their time of 3:21.48 peeled a 1992 Columbia University record off the books. Schultz, who led off the backstroke leg, annihilated Columbia's 100-yard backstroke record twice, first in the preliminaries, then again in the finals. Schultz shattered the '94 record by nearly a whole second with a time of 50.40 in the prelims and 50.23 in the finals. 

Thursday belonged to Doherty, who exploded out of the blocks and blazed through the 50-yard sprint (20.41 prelims, 20.68 finals) to tie for second place, earn first in the Ivy League, and All-Ivy honors. Doherty beat two Princeton, two Navy, and one Harvard swimmer in the final, putting Columbia on the map and in the spotlight. 

"One week I am just one of the swimmers in the Ivies that not many people knew, and the next week everybody knows who I am and wondered where the hell I came from," Doherty said. "I don't mind being the underdog... It's cool going into a meet and shocking the hell out of everyone. I achieved and surpassed every goal I set this year... It was a rush to be one of the 'big boys' up there." 

Head Coach Jim Bolster referred to Doherty's performance as a "fantastic surprise." On Saturday, Doherty brought the Light Blue up to the podium again with a fourth place finish in the 100-yard freestyle. His time of 44.91 in the prelims and 45.00 in the final qualified him for the NCAA B-cut. 

Another highlight from the weekend included the notable performance from first-year diver Mark Fichera on the three meter board. He finished first in the qualifier, and third in the final. His score of 480.25 was only .1 away from second place, and four points away from first. The score qualified Fichera for the NCAA A-cut. 

"Daniel [Brown] and I were very happy with our performances and I think we showed that Columbia diving is an up and coming force to be reckoned with," Fichera said. "It was a really cool experience because the whole team was really supportive and pumped about the meet." 

In the 200 medley relay, Columbia's team of Schultz, Rudler, Doherty, and senior Tri-Captain R.J. Griffith blazed past a strong field including Harvard, Brown, Yale, and Navy to finish second, earning All-Ivy honors. Their time of 1:31.27 rewrote another Columbia varsity record, and was just fractions away from Princeton, who pushed through in the last few strokes to win. 

"The absolute high point of the meet was our 200 medley relay," Rudler said. "The atmosphere behind the blocks was one of confidence and all four of us swam to our full potential. The experience of that relay was the best I've ever had." 

In the distance events, junior Chris Ferris beat his lifetime best in the 1000-yard freestyle by four seconds to take 10th with a time of 9:31.87, and senior Mike McCosker finished 12th. McCosker had an impressive performance in the 1650-yard freestyle, finishing ninth. 

Senior Tri-Captain Matt Gilman posted lifetime bests in the 400 I.M, taking second place in the consolation finals. And Rudler won both consolation finals in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke events. 

"As a team, our performance was magnificent. The kids did everything they needed to do," Bolster said. "It wasn't one person who made the difference, everybody had a hand in our success. The team stuck together." 

The Lions ended their dual meet season with a 3-8 record, but their performance at Easterns nullified a lot of the disappointment from Ivy losses earlier this season. 

At Easterns, Columbia finished well ahead of Cornell, Army, Dartmouth and Penn, and finished the season accomplishing what they set out to do from the start of the season-showing their stuff when it counted at the Championships. 

"We're about quiet confidence. If we have anything to say, we'll say it in the water. And that really happened this weekend. Everybody hit their taper, swam well ... and it was a culmination and a celebration of all of our hard work."