The 2008-09 regular season schedule began on Tuesday night in the ARC Aquatic Center with a non-conference home meet against the NCAA Division II program from Adelphi University.
The men recorded a 113-86 victory against the Panthers, while the women lost a tough battle by the score of 131-70.
The men’s victory, which featured a host of new faces recording their collegiate debuts, is the swimming program’s first-ever win against a Division II team.
The men started the evening meet by winning and setting a school record in the 200 medley relay behind the solid team efforts of junior R. Michael Shiwnath (Elmhurst, NY/St. Francis Prep), freshman Jeffrey Wong (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood), freshman Idan Saragosti (Fresno, California/Clovis West), and freshman Gustavo S.M. Dancourt (Lima, Peru/Santa Margarita).
Shiwnath, the 2007-08 CUNYAC Performer of the Year, was also victorious in the 50 free, and despite being narrowly touched out to fall to second place in the 100 back, he still managed to break his own school record with the effort.
Saragosti also set the school and freshmen record by winning the 200 individual medley and 100 fly in arduous back-to-back events. Jeffrey Wong broke the same records by winning the 100 breast.
The 200 free relay team featuring senior Camilo Reyes (Bogota, Colombia/Woodlands), junior Jonathan Bermudez (Rego Park, NY/W.C. Bryant), junior Justin Wong (Brooklyn, N.Y./Stuyvesant) and freshman Andrey Grebenetskiy (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) helped the Bearcats end the meet on a high note with a victory.
On the women’s side, they began by winning the 200 medley relay thanks to the team efforts from junior Grace Kim (Flushing, NY/Francis Lewis), freshman Priscilla Arana (Jackson Heights, NY/Bayside), junior Jessica Penaherrera (Guayaquil, Ecuador/U.E.M.S.), and sophomore Tiffany Wong (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood).
Penaherrera, who will also represent Baruch this weekend at the women’s cross country conference championships, had a solid overall evening by placing second in 100 fly and third in the very long 800 freestyle event.
Parana was also one of the major individual highlights of the evening as she won the 200 individual medley and 100 breast to break both the school and freshmen records in the two events.
The Bearcats ended the meet with a strong second place finish in the 200 freestyle relay behind the group effort from sophomore Jia Feng (Brooklyn, NY/Fort Hamilton), sophomore Tiffany Wong (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood), senior Irina Statina (Brooklyn, N.Y./U.K.S.#14), and junior Katherine Hansen (Staten Island, N.Y./S.I. Tech).
The men’s and women’s swimming teams will return to action on Saturday, November 8, with an 11:00 am home non-conference meet against William Paterson University.
