The Lehman College men's and women's swimming and diving teams returned to the pool yesterday afternoon as they traveled to Wayne, New Jersey to battle the Pioneers of William Paterson University. The Lightning men (1-3 Overall, 0-0 CUNYAC) fell to William Paterson by a score of 123-84, while the Lehman women (0-4 Overall, 0-0 CUNYAC) are still searching for their first victory of the season as they lost to the Pioneers by a score of 115-89.
On the men's side, despite the loss, the Lightning still recorded numerous seasonal-best times. Standout Mingfan Sun won the 100-yard backstroke and put forth a seasonal-best time of 1:07.54 in that event. The Lightning dominated the 500-yard freestyle as Chris Mammano won the event by completing the event in 5:54.58. Shqiprim Shala came in second with a time of 6:05.43, and Matthew Martinez placed third with a time of 6:57.55. Also, Lehman's team of Wesley Canani, Manaury Duarte, Diorvic Gonzalez, and Raymond Rodriguez won the men's 200-yard freestyle relay by completing the event in 1:57.71.
On the women's side, Lehman's Luisa Garcia won the 100-yard backstroke by finish the event in 1:10.84. Adriana Navarette came in second place in that event by clocking in at 1:36.23, and Daniela Lira put forth a seasonal-best time of 1:57.10 in finishing in third. Tanaka Nyemba won the 500-yard freestyle with a seasonal-best time of 7:16.99, and Sylvia Churchill came in second in that event with a time of 8:21.82. Yocari Almanzar placed third in that event with a seasonal-best showing of 9:25.19. Following the losses for Lehman College, head coach Peter Kiernan gave his thoughts.
“In any meet if you come out of it with plenty of seasonal best times, you've improved your team's standing,” Kiernan said. These teams work hard to improve their technique and skill level with drills and repetitive practices and it's nice to see their hard work paying off. Combined, the squads swam best times in 25 out of 54 swims against a very strong pair of William Paterson University teams under less than ideal conditions in New Jersey. I'm proud of the effort and look forward to the conference schedule when we'll really show what we can do.”
The Lehman College women's swimming and diving team returns to action Monday evening as they'll battle the Bloodhounds of John Jay College in a CUNYAC meet, with start-time scheduled for 6:00pm. Lehman's men's team will be off for a while until returning to the pool against USMMA King's Point in King's Point, NY on December 3rd.
