By Kevin Williamson

The Ivy League stole its second consecutive win from Northeastern University this weekend. Following a loss to Dartmouth on Jan. 29, the women’s swim and dive team traveled to New York City, falling to Columbia 190-108 in their final dual meet of the season.

“The Ivy League is a step up for the most part,” said head coach Roy Coates.

Coates formulates his schedule in three parts. On paper, he plans on a third of the competition being better than Northeastern, a third worse and a third equal.

“The Ivy League is definitely part of the third that’s a reach. The [CAA] conference itself is much better,” Coates said.

However, the losses are not in vain. Coates enjoys pitting his team against the heightened competition because it offers good competition against great schools, he said. Although the Huskies have beat Dartmouth several times, Columbia remains unbeaten. “We’re not far off,” Coates said.

“I was excited that we got to go to New York,” said freshmen Elena Alvarez. “It was a nice road trip with the team.”

The Huskies took three first place spots from usual standouts Emily Crookall-Nixon, Sarah Reddick and Elena Alvarez.

“Emily and Sarah were very outstanding,” Coates said. “Elena also did quite well.”

Crookall-Nixon won the 200 individual medley, Reddick the 100 butterfly and Alvarez the 100 breaststroke.

Alvarez was satisfied with his personal, as well as team’s, performance.

“I originally thought I was going to loose the 100,” she said. “I won but my 200 wasn’t that strong. I feel that the team as a whole did pretty well.”

The weeks following Saturday’s defeat will prove to be some of the toughest the team has endured so far. With the dual season behind them, training will begin for the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Conference Championships.

“Everything up until this point has been preparation,” Coates said. “We will fine-tune our skills, get emotionally and physically ready for the championships.”

Alvarez said the team will need to remain positive through the upcoming training and competition.

“A good majority of our team is in the top 25 percent of the conference,” he said. “We should do very well, I’m excited to see how we place.”

The CAA Conference Championships will be held on Feb. 22-25 at George Mason University.