6 in ’26: Hunter Swim Earns Sixth Consecutive CUNYAC Title

BRONX, N.Y.- The Hunter College ladies’s swimming crew managed the meet from begin to end on the 2025-26 CUNYAC Swimming and Diving Championships, capturing its sixth consecutive convention title after additionally claiming the regular-season crown.

Hunter totaled 267 factors to complete atop the standings, holding off Baruch (230) and John Jay (148). Brooklyn College positioned fourth with 117 factors, adopted by Lehman with 23. The Hawks secured 20 complete medals, together with six golds, in head coach Marc Gershel’s first season on the helm.

Freshman standout Grace Valette paced Hunter with a dominant efficiency, sweeping all three of her particular person occasions. She opened the meet with a gold-medal swim within the 500-yard freestyle (5:29.00), added one other first-place end within the 100-yard backstroke on day two (1:02.84), and closed the championships by profitable the 1,650-yard freestyle in 19:13.45.

Cara Chang was equally impactful for the Hawks, incomes two particular person titles. She captured gold within the 400 IM with a time of 5:24.32 and adopted it with a victory within the 200-yard freestyle at 2:11.26. C. Chang additionally added a silver medal within the 100-yard freestyle (57.83).

Valette and C. Chang teamed with Mia Chang and Lian Winter to win the 800-yard freestyle relay, touching the wall in 8:46.76 to provide Hunter its lone relay gold of the meet.

Hunter collected silver medals in all 4 remaining relays, accounting for half of the crew’s eight second-place finishes. C. Chang and Valette have been a part of the 200-yard freestyle relay alongside Winter and Lily Bradshaw, combining for a time of 1:42.19 to qualify for the ECAC Championships. The 400-yard freestyle relay of Valette, C. Chang, M. Chang, and Bradshaw completed in 3:29.36. In the 200-yard medley relay, Bradley, Winter, M. Chang, and Hailey-Madison Quiller positioned second with a time of two:02.88, whereas Valette, M. Chang, C. Chang, and Bradshaw closed out relay competitors within the 400-yard medley relay at 3:49.46.

Senior Lian Winter added two silver medals to her tally, ending second within the 100-yard butterfly on day two (1:06.34) and once more within the 200-yard butterfly on the ultimate day (2:46.12). She additionally positioned third within the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 59.35.

Bradshaw contributed two particular person podium finishes along with her relay efforts, putting second within the 50-yard freestyle (26.34) and third within the 100-yard backstroke (1:08.84). Anastassia Lyshyk and Parvinabonu Makhmadalieva rounded out Hunter’s medal haul, every incomes bronze to shut out the championships.

The Hawks return to the pool on Feb. 13 to proceed postseason competitors on the Metropolitan Collegiate Championships, hosted by Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J.