With the loss, Dartmouth's record falls to 0-5 on the season and 0-4 in Ivy League play.
Senior captain Kemper Diehl '06 acknowledged that Dartmouth went into Sunday's race as the underdogs.
"Columbia had just come off a win against Harvard, so we knew they were really on top of the league. Our goal coming in was to swim fast times and try to have competitive races," Diehl said.
The Big Green won the first event of the meet, the one-meter dive, as standout diver Andrew Berry '08 held off a strong performance by Columbia's Justin Reardon and a personal-best by the Lions' Dean Spirito. The talented Lion duo put pressure on Berry, and the sophomore elevated his performance to meet the challenge.
Impressed with the technique of the Columbia divers, Berry said, "They're all very well coached. Justin Reardon is the cleanest diver in our league; I really like his style."
Anchored by his success on a technically difficult dive, Berry tallied 318.75 points to the 303.38 and 247.35 posted by his opponents.
"I was especially happy with my reverse 2.5," he said. "I was a little worried about it, but I ended up nailing it in the meet."
The event made waves in the record books, as the score was Berry's highest ever and moved him into second place in Dartmouth's all-time scoring for the one-meter diving event.
Following the diving competition, the Lions rallied to win the meet's final twelve events. The win improves Columbia's record to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the Ivy League.
Runner-up finishes became the highlight for Dartmouth's squad in New York. Dartmouth's freestylers Kemper Diehl '06 and Drew Wenzel '08 touched-in behind Columbia's Tobin White, taking second and third in the 50-yard freestyle. Drew Wenzel '08 finished third in both the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle events. Berry followed his one-meter performance with another memorable set of dives, setting a personal best in the three-meter dive with a score of 297.68, falling just short of Reardon's point total of 307.78.
The team benefited from a strong freshman contribution as well. Diehl noted the contribution of the team's younger swimmers.
"Kevin Ellis ['09] was looking pretty good," he said. "We're excited about him, he's a promising guy."
Ellis swam the 500-yard freestyle in 4:43.51 and was just out-touched at the wall by Columbia's Henning Fog. In addition to Ellis, both Chris Koppel '09 and Porter Diehl '09 scored points for their team in multiple events.
Despite Sunday's lopsided defeat and the team's winless start, the team remains optimistic. The squad looks to bounce back this weekend when Penn and Yale come to Hanover for a group meet.
"We're really looking forward to our meet with Yale and Penn," Diehl said. "Our times from our most recent meets match up very closely with Penn's, so we're looking to have a strong performance and come out with a win."
The Dartmouth women's team will face-off against the same teams on Saturday at Karl Michael Pool. The women's meet is set to begin at 10 a.m. before the men hit the water at 1 p.m.
