The Lehman College men's and women's swimming and diving teams both got back into the win column Tuesday evening at the APEX Aquatics Center as the units recorded CUNYAC victories over the York College Cardinals on Senior Night in the Bronx. Lehman's men's squad downed the Cardinals by a score of 94-54 to improve to a record of 3-6 overall including a mark of 1-2 in conference meets, while the women's squad turned back York 100-60 to up its record to 3-8 overall and 2-3 in CUNYAC competition.
Prior to the start of the meets, Head Coach Peter Kiernan and Lehman College swimming and diving teams took the time to honor six seniors for their dedication to the programs over the years. On the men's side, Matt De Tiberiis, Jose Toval, Johan Lopez, David Turay and Benny Ventura were recognized, while Katy Matos of the women's swimming and diving team was honored.
Winning two events for the women was freshman Basilisa Alonso. In the 1000, the standout set a new school record by recording a time of 13:56.81. She also swam the 200 IM in (2:46.95). Fellow freshman Jordan Perez won the 200 Freestyle and 500 Freestyle competitions in personal best times of 2:37.45 and 7:04.74, respectively. Also, swimming strong meets were Luisa Garcia as she captured the 100 Backstroke in a personal best of 1:09.68, while Judy Espinal finished with a personal best in the 100 Fly winning in 1:14.77.
On the men's side, the squad was led by the impressive debut of freshman Jose Polanco as he won the 200 IM in 2:12.53 and the 100 Backstroke in 1:03.03 while Orlando Urena swam an equally impressive 100 Breastroke in a season's best time of 1:05.91 for the win.
The Lehman College men's swimming and diving team will complete its regular season on Monday evening as the team takes on Queens College in a non-conference meet at the APEX Aquatics Center, with meet-time scheduled for 7:00pm. The Lightning women will now have 15 days of rest before they begin competition in the 2009 CUNYAC swimming and diving championship meet, as the first day of the championship competition will take place on Thursday, February 5th, at the APEX Aquatics Center.
