The men’s swimming and diving team suffered from a lack of consistency in its first meet of the new year, losing 169–131 to Cornell’s Big Red on Sunday in New Haven.
Despite Yale’s commanding start and dominant performances by Goksu Bicer ’12, who won three races, Cornell earned more overall top-three finishes in their first conference dual meet of the year.
“I wouldn’t judge our team based on this performance,” Bicer said. “Cornell was well-rested and we were had just finished our training trip. I think that in the long run our training will take us to the next level.”
The Bulldogs started strong with two wins: the team of Mike Dominski ’13, Zak Murez ’11, Alex Benz ’12 and Kyle Veatch ’11 took first in the 200-yard medley relay, while Matt Lee ’11 did the same in the 1,000-yard freestyle. Jerrold Lee’s ’11 performance secured Yale a third place in the event as well.
Points were hard to come by for the Bulldogs after that. Lugar Choi ’11 and Veatch took third and fourth, respectively, in the 200-yard freestyle, while Dominski was the Elis’ top finisher in the 100-yard backstroke with a second place finish. Bicer kept the team’s hope alive by winning both the 200-butterfly and 100-yard freestyle. Jared Lovett ’13 and Craig Steen ’10 secured third place points in the 200-yard backstroke and 200-yard breaststroke, respectively, while Matt Lee took second in the 500-yard freestyle. Bicer completed his successful meet with a third win in the 100-yard butterfly, but it was not enough to give the Bulldogs the overall victory in the meet.
“We just came off a tiring training trip, but we are a strong team and had an opportunity to win,” Matt Lee said. “We can beat Cornell if everyone steps up. We can’t get discouraged.”
Yale divers did their part with a nearly perfect performance. Drew Teer ’10, Eric Olson ’11, and Colton Staab ’12 swept the first three spots, respectively, in the one-meter diving event, with Staab securing first place in the three-meter event.
The loss drops Yale to 0–2 in the Ivy League. The Elis face Penn and Dartmouth on Jan. 16, and return home to face Navy on Jan. 23.
“At this point in the season, our times are not necessarily indicative of how we will perform at Easterns [EISL Championship],” Sean Haufler ’13 said. “When we begin to rest and taper, the team’s final times will represent how hard we have worked all season.”