The Baruch College Bearcats athletics teams engaged in a week of exciting action upon students’ return from winter break. The men’s swimming and diving team won the CUNY Athletic Conference finals, while the women’s team finished second in its matchup. Men’s and women’s basketball and men’s volleyball also saw action this week.

Swimming and Diving

The men’s swimming and diving team blew the competition out of the water during the CUNYAC Finals on Jan. 27-29 at the Lehman College APEX Center, winning the championship with a total score of 319, in comparison to runner-up Lehman’s 137.

Sophomore Youssef Elkhouly, who won CUNYAC Men’s Swimmer of the Week four times this season and was voted the Pre-Season CUNYAC Swimmer of the Year, posted a finals time of 46.43 seconds in the Men’s 100-yard freestyle,breaking a 2013 record of 48.23 seconds by Lehman’s Abel Dupres.

Elkhouly’s performance in that matchup, in addition to his first-place finish in all of his other matchups this weekend, earned him the honor of CUNYAC Championship MVP.

With its win, the men’s swimming and diving team cemented its dominance over the CUNYAC, having won the championship every season since the 2017-18 season, excluding the 2020-21 year, when the season was cancelled due to COVID-19 lockdowns.

On the women’s side, the Bearcats posted 177 points, coming in second place after the Hunter College Hawks’ 323 points.

Kira Chen placed first in the Women’s 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard butterfly matchups, posting times of 1:02.9 and 2:23.30, respectively.

The teams will look forward to continuing their success in the 2023-24 season.

Basketball

The men’s and women’s basketball teams played two games apiece this week, playing the City College Beavers on Jan. 24 and versus the Brooklyn College Bulldogs at home.

The men’s team fared particularly well on their outings, defeating the Beavers 63-56 and the Bulldogs 74-62.

Jehmehl Fair led the way for the men against the Beavers, posting a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds;Devin Nicholson poured in 13 points of his own to go along with two steals.

Michael Gannon led the way against the Bulldogs, contributing 14 points and six rebounds on an efficient 6/11 from the field, while Fair poured in 11 points and seven rebounds.

The women’s team split their outings, cruising to a 67-52 win against the Beavers but suffering a massive loss of 76-39 to the Bulldogs.

Bearcats star Mia Castillo led the way in the team’s win against the Beavers, posting 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists to go along with an incredible six steals. Castillo was able to convert at the free throw line, knocking down 15 of her 19 attempts.

Against the Bulldogs, the Bearcats couldn’t seem to get it going. The team struggled with turnovers, posting 29 turnovers in comparison to the Bulldogs’ 11. The team also struggled knocking down its shots, shooting 2/15 from beyond the arc and 15/63 as a whole.

Both the men’s and the women’s teams will head to Feb. 2’s Battle of Lexington, a doubleheader against rival Hunter College in what should be one of the best games of the year. The women’s team tips off at 5:30 p.m., while the men’s team tips off at 8:00 p.m.

Men’s Volleyball

Men’s volleyball continued its young season this week, suffering a 3-0 loss to the St. Joseph’s College of Long Island Golden Eagles on Jan. 24 but coming back for a 3-1 win against the Kean University Cougars.

The Golden Eagles simply outmatched the Bearcats in their matchup, scoring 53 points to the Bearcats’ 26, 36 kills to the Bearcats’ 20, 10 aces to the Bearcats’ three, seven blocks to the Bearcats’ three, 32 assists to the Bearcats’ 18 and 27 digs to the Bearcats’ 15.

Jack Centeno led the way in kills during the loss with seven, while Ryan Oommen led in assists and digs with 18 and six, respectively. Carlos Rodriguez led the way in blocks with two while Andrew Ubanwa led the way in aces with one.

However, the Bearcats bounced back in their win against the Cougars, outdueling them in points, aces and blocks.

Centeno led the way in kills with 18, Oommen led in assists and digs with 37 and six, Haoxin Hu led the way in aces with two and Michael Higgins led the way in blocks with seven.

The Bearcats look to build on their momentum against the Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks on Jan. 31.