Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Sarah Lawrence College Athletics

The Official Athletics Website of Sarah Lawrence College
Women's Swimming Relay Team

Women's Swimming

Three Records Fall in Women's Swimming Opener

Image courtesy Marcello Cutti Jr./Starlight Illustrated

Complete Results (.htm)
Complete Results (.pdf)

YONKERS, N.Y.—The Gryphons tore three times off the program record board as Sarah Lawrence College women's swimming competed at the inaugural College of Mount Saint Vincent Relay Invitational at Mark Twain Middle School on Saturday.

The strength of Sarah Lawrence's returning Gryphons coupled with the team's new talent to post impressive times in the relay-only format competition.

The squad's first race saw sophomores Ariana Peschke (Topanga, Calif., La Reina), Natasha Leonard (Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i, Kealakehe), Jay Pulitano (Mountain Lakes, N.J., Mountain Lakes) and Alexis Bates (Morristown, N.J., Morristown) team up to knock off the program record in the 200 medley relay. The foursome posted an effort of 2:07.55, more than two seconds better than the mark of 2:09.70 set in 2009.

Later in the meet, Peschke broke the team's only individual mark when she led off the 400 medley relay with a record swim in the 100 backstroke. Her time of 1:01.26 smashed the previous best of 1:09.16, set in 2005.

Peschke's strong swim set the tone for the remainder of the 400 medley relay, rounded out by Leonard, Pulitano and Bates. With all four swimming impressive splits, the group won the race by more than eight seconds, clocking in at 4:41.35 and breaking the old school record by more than 25 seconds. The former-best of 5:06.17 was set in 2011 and included both Leonard and Pulitano.

In a non-traditional race to end the meet, the same group took second-place in the 500 freestyle relay, touching the wall in 5:17.30, a stellar performance that could foreshadow the eventual demise of the team's record in the 400 free relay.

College of Mount Saint Mary took first place in the overall team standings, while Elms College, Purchase College, CMSV and Sarah Lawrence rounded out the top five squads.

Sarah Lawrence swimming takes the week to prepare for its first home competition of the season, as the Gryphons are set to host the Sarah Lawrence College Sprint Carnival on Saturday, Nov. 3. Action begins at 3 p.m.