Suckow Breaks 3 Meter School Record as Columbia Beats Penn

Columbia vs Penn (Men)

• Saturday, November 4th
• New York, NY
• Short course yards
• Results on MeetMobile (“Penn @ Columbia”)

Team Scores

• Columbia: 198
• Penn: 102

Columbia cruised to a victory over Ivy league rival Penn on Saturday, dropping only 3 of 16 events.

Jonathan Suckow, a Columbia Freshman, broke the 3 meter diving school record for the 2nd consecutive meet in a row on Saturday, November 4th. Suckow’s score of 425.03 was about 4 points higher than his school record outing from the day before, 420.83, which he did against Army at his collegiate debut.

Freshmen ran the show at this meet, starting with Suckow winning both the 1 and 3 meter diving. Will Thomas, a Penn Freshman, won the 1000 with a time of 9:23.63. Eric Tong, also a Columbia Freshman, won the 100 breast with a time of 55.93. Sean Lee, another Penn Freshman, won the 100 and 200 fly, posting times of 48.97 and 1:48.59. Lastly, Columbia Freshman Albert Gwo won the 50 and 100 free, putting up times of 20.28 and 45.03.

In all, Freshmen won 8 out of 14 individual events at the meet, showing how well Ivy League recruiting has been doing.

Event Winners:

• 200 medley relay: Columbia (Stevens, Park, Frifeldt, Gwo), 1:29.40
• 1000 free: Will Thomas (Penn), 9:23.63
• 200 free: Nianguo Liu (Columbia), 1:37.26
• 100 back: Michal Zyla (Columbia), 49.53
• 100 breast: Eric Tong (Columbia), 55.93
• 200 fly: Sean Lee (Penn), 1:48.59
• 50 free: Albert Gwo (Columbia), 20.28
• 100 free: Albert Gwo (Columbia), 45.03
• 200 back: Michal Zyla (Columbia), 1:47.54
• 200 breast: Jae Park (Columbia), 2:01.49
• 500 free: Nianguo Liu (Columbia), 4:30.33
• 100 fly: Sean Lee (Penn), 48.97
• 200 IM: Jae Park (Columbia), 1:50.46
• 400 free relay: Columbia (Frifeldt, Liu, Gullick, Gwo), 3:01.43
• 1 meter diving: Jonathan Suckow (Columbia), 372.98
• 3 meter diving: Jonathan Suckow (Columbia), 425.03

*Nianguo Liu is a Sopphomore, original post said he is a Freshman.

Press Release – Columbia:

NEW YORK – The Columbia men’s swimming & diving team capped opening weekend with an impressive 198-102 Ivy League victory over Penn Saturday, Nov. 4 at Uris Pool. The Lions took down the Quakers for their second win in as many days and pushes their unbeaten streak at home to six, dating back to an 4-0 campaign last season.

For the second consecutive meet, first-year Jonathan Suckow set a new program record in the three-meter dive to earn another victory. With a winning total score of 425.03, Suckow bested his previous record of 420.83 set in his first ever collegiate meet against Army yesterday. He also added his first Ivy League sweep with a win in the one-meter dive with a top score of 372.98.

Veteran diver Jayden Pantel posted runner-up finishes in both events, including a score of 388.58 in the three-meter dive and 353.54 in the one-meter dive. Pantel passes the baton to teammate Suckow in his first ever Ivy League second-place finish in the three-meter dive.

The tandem of Cole Stevens, Jae Park, Kevin Frifeldt and Albert Gwo clocked in for a first-place time of 1:29.40 in the 200 medley relay to ignite the Lions in the pool. Nian-guo Liu gave the Lions their first individual win of the meet with a top time of 1:37.26 in the 200 freestyle. He also added winning points in the 500 freestyle, clocking in with at 4:30.33.

Michal Zyla led the charge in both the 100 and 200 backstroke with times of 49.53 (100 back) and 1:47.54 (200 back), followed by Cole Stevens in second place at 50.18 (100 back) and 1:50.66 (200 back).

Columbia swept the podium in the 100 breaststroke, spearheaded by Eric Tong hitting the wall first at 55.93, followed by Jae Park at 55.96 and Jack Smith at 56.69. Albert Gwo was great in the 50 and 100 freestyle with winning times of 20.28 and 45.03 for victories in the fastest events of the day.

Jae Park joined the win column with his performance in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:01.49 and followed it up with a triumph in the 200 I.M. in 1:50.46. The Lions capped the win with a first-place finish in the 400 free relay as the squad of Frifeldt, Liu, Gullick and Gwo combined for a time of 3:01.43.

Up next, the Lions will return to Uris Pool on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. to take on Yale.

Press Release – Penn:

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The University of Pennsylvania men’s swimming & diving team returned to team competition Saturday afternoon at Columbia’s Uris Pool, falling to the host Lions, 198-102. Freshman Sean Lee swept the butterfly events to pick up his first collegiate victories in the effort.

The Quakers built momentum early in the meet, as Will Thomas and Taylor Uselis placed first and second respectively in the 1000-yd freestyle. Thomas clocked a time of 9:23.63 as Uselis followed shortly behind, touching the wall at 9:25.80. Mark Andrew produced three runner-up finishes on the day in his return to the pool following an All-American campaign from a season ago; placing second in the 200-yd free (1:40.45), 500-yd free (4:34.95) and the 200-yd individual medley (1:54.26).

In the seventh event of the afternoon, Lee provided Penn with nine points with a first-place finish in the 200-yd butterfly (1:48.59) – the first win of his career with the Red & Blue. Lee one-upped that performance by securing the top spot in the 100-yd fly, posting a time of 48.97.

Penn concluded the afternoon with a runner-up effort in the 400-yd free relay from the team comprised of Chris Nicholson, Mark Blinstrub, Nathaniel Cunnan and Thomas Dillinger, completing the event at 3:03.90.

The Quakers return to action Saturday for their home-opener against visiting Villanova. Saturday’s dual meet from Sheerr Pool is scheduled to begin at noon.