The Lehman College men's and women's swimming and diving teams returned to action Thursday afternoon, participating in CUNYAC competition against the College of Staten Island. The Dolphins captured both meets, with the men recording a 130-111 victory while the women scored a 119-98 hard-fought win. The Lightning men fell to a record 2-6 overall and 0-2 in conference competition, while the women dipped to 2-8 overall and 1-3 in CUNYAC meets.
Despite the loss for Lehman's men's unit, the team did put forth some outstanding performances in the water as the squad continues to gear up for the stretch run of the season before making its run at a fourth straight conference title in early February. Sophomore standout Nick Shala finished first in the 1000 Freestyle event, finishing the event by recording a time of 12:04.13. In addition, fellow sophomore Orlando Urena recorded top billing in the 200 IM, finishing with a time of 2:16.13.
On the women's side, the unit continued to show its improvement by putting together a hearty effort in the pool against a tough Staten Island squad. Freshman Jordan Perez nailed first place in the 1000 Freestyle with a time of 14:54.61, and fellow freshman Tanaka Nyemba placed first in the 500 Freestyle, finishing with a time of 7:26.12. Finally, it was sophomore Joanne Gonsalves-Barreiro recording the top billing in the 100 Backstroke competition with a time of 1:18.53. Following the meet, Head Coach Peter Kiernan was impressed with his team's efforts.
“As we continue to move towards championship week, I feel that we continue to grow confidence with every passing meet,” Kiernan said. “Our veterans' performances have been very encouraging and our newcomers are swimming well and learning what it takes to be successful in the pool, especially in these conference meets. I'm proud of these teams thus far and hopefully we'll continue to swim well and get hot at the right time heading into the championship meets.”
The Lehman College men's and women's swimming and diving units will return to the pool for its final CUNYAC meet of the year when the teams stay home to battle the Cardinals of York College at the APEX Aquatics Center on Tuesday evening, with meet-time scheduled for 7:00pm.
