The Columbia men’s swimming and diving team looks to build some momentum this weekend against Harvard and Army. The Lions are in search of their first win of the season and will need strong performances in order to keep pace with the rest of the Ivy League.

Last weekend’s season-opening loss to Yale featured several promising showings by Columbia swimmers. Juniors Hyun Lee and Kevin Wakefield won three events each, with Lee dominating the butterfly events. The Lions (0-1, 0-1 Ivy) ended the meet strong despite a slow start, winning the last five events en route to a 164-136 loss to the Bulldogs.

Columbia faces a deep threat in Harvard on Friday. Harvard (2-0, 2-0 Ivy) opened the season last weekend with a sweep of Cornell and Dartmouth. In the first game, the Big Red took first in eight events, but the Crimson held them off behind a strong team performance and six first-place swims. Harvard cruised to victory the next night, defeating Dartmouth 228-70 in a meet in which the Crimson only failed to take first in two diving events.

Harvard’s depth poses a challenge for Columbia. The Crimson was led by strong senior performances last weekend, but also saw several freshmen emerge in their collegiate debut. Seniors Geoff Rathgeber and Pat Quinn each won an individual event last weekend and swam with one of Harvard’s first-place relay teams, while freshman Mike Polino took first in the 100-yard breaststroke.

After taking on Harvard, Columbia will get a visit from nonconference Army. The Black Knights (3-1) will be a tough opponent, as they are among the elite teams of the Patriot League. Army is coming off of last weekend’s loss to Connecticut but boasts a talented roster, highlighted by senior Jake Mentele. The breaststroker was named Patriot League Swimmer of the Week for the third week in the season’s first four after winning three events against the Huskies last Saturday.

Action begins Friday at 5:30 p.m. against Harvard and Saturday at 4 p.m. against Army at Uris Swim Center.