The Cornell men and women’s swimming and diving teams traveled to Princeton this weekend to take on the Tigers and the Penn Quakers. The men (2-2, 2-2 Ivy) swam on Friday and topped the Quakers, 160.5-137.5, but fell to the Tigers, 190-104. The women (1-3, 1-3 Ivy) swam on Saturday and fell to both the Quakers, 128-172, and the Tigers, 122-167.

The men were led by sophomore standout Michael Cai, who continued his success this season with a first-place finish in the 400 IM (1:54.83) and a couple second-place finishes in the 100 and 200 breast, finishing in 56.22 and 2:05.41 respectively. Junior Chris Keady won in the 200 back (1:52.61) and placed second to Cai in the 400 IM (1:55.14). Senior Nick Campbell finished second in the 100 back (51.41) and junior Dean Holcomb finished second in the 200 butterfly (1:50.92).

“I think we did really well as a team,” senior co-captain Sasha Dobrolioubov said. “Coming off a really hard week of training I’m impressed how hard the guys stood up against good competition and raced very well.”

Cai has been a steady contributor for the Red this year, establishing himself as one of the best swimmers in the Ivy League. Whether or not he can continue his strong swimming throughout the season will be critical to the Red’s success this year.Above the plane: Sophomore Michael Cai finished first in the 400 individual medley and second in the 100 and 200 breast.

“Cai has been doing very well this year,” Dobrolioubov said. “Every weekend when it comes down to the line he’s there ready to bring his best. I’m very impressed with the way he’s going.”

For the women, sophomores Chiara Spinazzola and Emily Dean along with junior Lyla Youssef finished Nos. 1,2 and 3 in the 100 butterfly with times of 56.56, 58.67 and 59.03 respectively. Spinazzola (57.30) and Dean (58.28) also finished Nos. 1 and 2 in the 100 backstroke for the Red. Spinazzola also added a second-place finish in the 100 free (52.55). Dean finished second in the 200 back (2:06.39).

“I think we performed really well,” said senior co-captain Laura Acchione. “I think we performed better than we ever did against both Penn and Princeton. Everyone was giving it their all, and everyone had a positive attitude. Both teams were really surprised at how well we did.”

Spinazzola and Dean have been standouts so far for the Cornell this season. The Red hopes its continued development will mean more top finishes.

“They’re both swimming out of their minds. Their times are awesome,” Acchione said. “Both of them are such a positive influence on the team. They’re both swimming amazing. It’s really great to see and we’re excited for them.”

While Spinazzola and Dean have been fantastic for the Cornell, the team has still found it difficult to put large numbers of points on the board. However, the Red still remains confident in its depth.

“I think we have a lot of great depth. We have a lot of great girls. Although we could use a few more breaststrokers, once we get healthy we’ll have a great breaststroke as well. Overall I think our depth is looking great.”