New York, N.Y.— The John Jay women's swimming team took Lehman College down to the final event, the 200 yard free relay, but the visiting Lightning prevailed in the finale as they held on to defeat the Bloodhounds 53-42 at the John Jay Pool on Monday evening.
John Jay's record drops to 1-2 (1-2 CUNYAC) on the season, while Lehman is 1-4 (1-0 CUNYAC).
The host Bloodhounds raced out to an early lead by winning the 200 yard medley relay. John Jay's
Nathalie Cuellar (New Rochelle, NY, New Rochelle),
Rose Edelman (Garden City, NY, Garden City),
Justyna Maksimiuk (Sunnyside, NY, Brooklyn Tech) and
Kaili Insalaco (Ridgefield Park, NJ, Flagler Palm Coast) swam home to victory (2:16.59) to give the Bloodhounds a 7-0 advantage.
John Jay remained out in front after the second event, the 100 yard freestyle after Insalaco claimed second (14:20.96) and
Jessica Tam (Brooklyn, NY, Fort Hamilton) scored a third place finish (16:17.17).
But Lehman chipped away as the Lightning won events 2-8 to take a 40-30 lead after eight races.
John Jay stayed within striking range the entire time by claiming seconds in all seven races won by Lehman swimmers, including a pair of third place finishes in those events.
The Bloodhounds then picked up a pair of wins in the next two races to have a chance at a win. Insalaco sailed to victory in the 500 yard freestyle (6:43.11) before Edelman earned a thrilling win in the 100 yard breaststroke (1:24.62) and the Bloodhounds trailed by four (46-42) before entering into the final race.
But Lehman managed a strong performance in the 200 yard free relay to secure the win (1:56.66). John Jay's
Keshia Hacker (Brooklyn, NY, Murray Bergtraum),
Billie Jean Kuppler (Long Island City, NY, Long Island City) Amanda Garcia (Astoria, NY, St. John's Prep) and Tam finished in third (2:13.37)
