On the women's side, diver Erica Serpico '12 was the highlight for Big Green (2-11, 0-7 Ivy), winning the one-meter and three-meter dives for the eighth consecutive meet.
"[Serpico's] diving performance this year has been extraordinary," co-captain Carolyn Rippe '10 said. "We are expecting a really great performance from her at Ivies. She's our top performer of the year."
Head diving coach Chris Hamilton said that Serpico's success in diving is a combination of her talent and eagerness to improve.
"[Serpico] has the talent to win at the Ivy League Championships if it all comes together, but she also has NCAA aspirations," he said.
Hamilton said he has a four-year plan when preparing his athletes to be contenders at Ivies, but Serpico's accomplishments this season put her ahead of schedule.
The Lions (6-3, 4-3 Ivy) swept the top three places in two events the 500-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke.
"Columbia is a really fast team," co-captain Catherine Armstrong '10 said. "It was their senior meet, so they had a lot of positive energy that helped them swim well."
In the 50-yard free, Columbia swimmers Ashley MacLean and Bunge Okeyo tied for first place, each finishing in 24.87 seconds, while Dartmouth's Elizabeth Kamai '12 placed third with a time of 25.07.
Galen Barry '12 the only Big Green female swimmer to leave the pool with a victory placed first in the 200-yard backstroke.
The Dartmouth women remain optimistic for the upcoming Ivy Championships.
"We started off a little shakier than we would like, but we've had a decent amount of progress since the Fall and some positive momentum," Armstrong said.
Rippe said that having a smaller team this year has forced swimmers to swim events they don't normally compete in, which presented a challenge.
"We've had some high points, like the victories against Boston College and [University of] Maine, and have demonstrated what we are capable of in the water," she said.
Strong finishes by underclassmen may be the boost the team needs, with young swimmers like Isa Guardalabene '13 and Caitlin Nicholson '12 both placing second in their respective events.
The 200-yard medley relay team comprised of Guardalabene, Nicholson, Kamai and Barry placed second with a time of 1:50.85.
"We would like to see our relays be competitive middle to the top of the group and we would like to beat Cornell [University] or Brown [University]," Armstrong said.
The men's team (3-7, 0-6 Ivy), also at the bottom of the Ancient Eight, had four swimmers earn first-place finishes.
The Big Green pushed until the very end in its attempts to silence the Lions (6-5, 3-4 Ivy), taking first and second place in the 300-yard freestyle relay. The first-place team was comprised of underclassmen Ben Reasons '13, Will Derdeyn '13, Zack Doherty '13 and John Hill '12. It finished with a time of 2:19.99.
With the dual meet season at a close, the Dartmouth women will compete at the Ivy Championships Feb. 25-27 at Harvard University.
The men will compete at the Championships at Princeton University the following weekend, March 4-6.
