It Turns Out Lady Jaguars Can Swim!

Agatha Ryan, Staff Writer

The John Jay girls swim team made it to the second round of the playoffs this fall, their run for a championship ending with a loss to Stuyvesant of 56 to 42. Overall though, the newly formed John Jay campus team prevailed as a strong competitors, winning five out of seven meets during the season. The two new coaches, Coach Kovalkova and Coach Fey, welcomed swimmers from Park Slope Colleagiate and the John Jay School for Law and worked to unite the team into a happy family. Unfortunately, complications with pool renovations led to the cancellation of a few meets. But the second meet against Midwood on October 12, 2021 was the most memorable of the season. The team was expected to win, but because they were short a few swimmers, the Jaguars only squeaked out a win by a small margin. The season culminated in the City A Championships where junior Fayanne Smith-Salzberg won the 100 breaststroke (1:06:46) and 100 butterfly (59.45), with the eighth best time in the state! The other athletes at the meet also excelled. Lexi Asch came 2nd in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle and the John Jay 400 freestyle relay team of junio Sabine Mitchell, Asch, Smith-Salzberg and senior Chloe Deng came in 4th overall. It was a season full of chlorine smell and cap hair, but first and foremost, team bonding and support!