The Lehman College men's and women's swimming and diving teams returned to action last night at the APEX Aquatics Center as the squads battled the Adelphi University Panthers in non-conference meets. On the women's side, the Lightning (2-6 Overall, 1-0 CUNYAC) fell by a score of 109-1, while the men dropped their fourth consecutive meet, losing by a score of 125-103.

The Lightning did not go down without putting up a strong fight as on the women's side, standout Luisa Garcia captured two second place finishes and one first while continuing her assault on the record books. After breaking a record in the 200 Backstroke event at ECAC's last weekend, she shattered the mark again by completing the event three seconds quicker last night. Basilisa Alonso gave a strong performance while finishing third in the 200 Freestyle in recording the fastest time in that event since 1976 when Lehman Hall of Fame Swimmer Elaine Hochuli set the current record. Basilisa's time of 2:18.77 is within five seconds of that astounding mark.

Overall the women established 21 new personal records on the night while continuing to prepare for the end-of-season championship meet in February by competing in newer, longer, and more challenging events.

Lehman's men's squad swam against a very strong opponent in losing to Adelphi but came away with performances that will be useful in their push toward the CUNY championship in February. The Lightning's divers scored the bulk of the meet points (32 overall points) while finishing 1-2-3 in both the one-meter and three-meter events. Also despite the loss, sensation Luis Arias continued his stellar season as he finished first in the 200 Yard Breaststroke, completing the event in a time of 2:34.42. Teammate Orlando Urena also dazzled in the 200 Yard Breaststroke event by earning a first place finish with a time of 2:21.96.

Following the meet, Head Coach Peter Kiernan gave his thoughts on the team's performance on the evening, as well as his feelings on the teams moving forward.

“These squad have been learning what sacrifices must be met in order to accomplish the team goals and to conform to the group identity which promotes progression of skill performance and future achievement,” he said. “We may lose a few meets but we'll develop toward reaching our ultimate individual and team potential.”

Both teams will have a month off before returning to action at Baruch College on January 12, 2009. Starting time for those meets will be 7:00pm.