Sports Briefly: Wrestling, Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis, Archery

Wrestling
Columbia will host three opponents at University Gymnasium this weekend to mark the close of the Ivy season. The Lions (6-4, 1-2 Ivy) take on Brown (9-10, 2-2 Ivy) at 1 p.m. on Saturday to kick off the weekend. A week ago, the Bears went 3-1 in four matches, including a big win over conference rival Harvard. But Brown finished the weekend on a sour note, suffering a 35-3 loss to No. 15 Lehigh. The Light Blue will have very little time for rest before facing the Crimson at 3 p.m. Though Harvard has lost three straight since defeating Penn (7-6, 2-2 Ivy) on Feb. 4, it boasts two nationally-ranked wrestlers. At 157 pounds, No. 7 junior Walter Peppelman will pose a significant challenge for Lions’ junior Jake O’Hara. Columbia senior Kyle Gilchrist will take on No. 12 Steven Keith. The Light Blue’s final dual match of the season will be against No. 24 Hofstra (10-3) on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Pride is suffering a three-match skid after winning its first 10 matches of the season. Like Harvard, Hofstra also features two nationally-ranked wrestlers in No. 19 senior P.J. Gillespie at 165 pounds and No. 14 junior Steve Bonnano at 125 pounds. During Sunday’s match, the Lions will take the opportunity to honor the team’s five seniors—Gilchrist, Eren Civan, Kevin Lester, Shane Strumwasser, and Jonathan Weibel.
—Eli Schultz

Men's Tennis
The Lions will head to Hanover, N.H., this weekend for the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division I Indoor Men’s Tennis Championships. All of the Ivies except Penn will be competing in the eight-team field, which also features St. John’s. The Light Blue, which is still undefeated this year with a perfect 4-0 record, is coming off of a 7-0 sweep of Marist last Saturday. Columbia has earned the seventh seed in the tournament, and as such, its first matchup will be on Friday at 11 a.m. against second-seed Cornell. If the Lions defeat the Big Red, they will play Saturday at 3 p.m. against the winner of the Harvard-Yale match. Otherwise, the Light Blue will take on the loser of the Crimson-Bulldogs match at 8 a.m. on Saturday. The championship match will be played at 2:30 p.m on Sunday.
—Eli Schultz

Women's Tennis
The women’s tennis team faces its stiffest challenge yet as it looks to extend its three-match winning streak in New Haven, Conn. this weekend during the Eastern College Athletic Conference Indoor Women’s Tennis Championships. The eight-team field is comprised of Boston College, Fairleigh Dickinson, and all the Ivies except for Harvard and Penn. The hosts and defending champions, No. 25 Yale, are the top seed, with Brown, Princeton, and Boston College rounding out the top half of the bracket. The latter three are ranked 43rd, 51st, and 55th in the country, respectively, and fifth-seeded Dartmouth is 58th. The Lions fall outside the top-75 and sit at the seventh seed. Each team will play three matches. Columbia opens Friday morning versus Brown. If the Light Blue wins, it will face the winner of the Princeton-Cornell match. Last year, Columbia was seeded seventh and finished in sixth place. It dropped its opener to two-seed Yale, 6-1, before beating sixth-seeded Cornell 4-3 and falling to fourth seed Dartmouth 4-2. Then-sophomore Nicole Bartnik, playing in the No. 1 spot, won all three of her matches. With only two seniors from last year having graduated, and four freshmen having been added, the Lions hope for a better result.
—Muneeb Alam

Archery
The Light Blue has a lot at stake this season in defending its 2011 National Championship title. At the team’s last competition in Connecticut, Columbia performed well—many members of the team were denied victories by the performances of other Lions. Senior Sarah Chai and freshman Sarah Bernstein both won top honors in their respective recurve divisions. Chai’s victory came at the price of a loss for her three teammates, sophomore Sara Lavenhar, and seniors Aaqilah Chambers and Kate Cwynar. Chai shot 546, while her fellow Lions shot 495, 480, and 289 respectively. Bernstein’s win also cost a fellow teammate, freshman Grace Kim, a loss. Bernstein shot 500 while Kim shot a 475. Meanwhile, sophomore Mary Quien won the compound division. This Saturday, the Columbia archers will continue their spring season in Queens, with the first arrow scheduled to shoot at 12:30 p.m.
—Alison Macke