Rowan women’s swimming freshman Miranda Coughlan capped off a sensational rookie season by earning the New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year award. The All-Conference teams were announced on March 29.

Coughlan took the conference by storm after putting up remarkable numbers in her first season in brown and gold. The five-time Rookie of the Week selection finished the year second in the NJAC for the 50 (24.20 seconds), 100 (52.76 seconds) and 200 (1:57.47) freestyle events.

In addition to being named Rookie of the Year, Coughlan also took home first team NJAC All-Conference honors in the 200, as well as second team honors in the 50 and 100.

“Once I started winning Rookie of the Week a few times, the idea of possibly being named Rookie of the Year began to pop in my head every once in a while,” Coughlan said. “However, it wasn’t really a main goal of mine. For me, I think it was just more of icing on top of the cake.”

Although Coughlan excelled in her respective individual events, she also played a huge role in the success of the Profs’ relay teams.

The freshman standout was an integral part of Rowan’s 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle teams, both of which were rewarded with second team All-Conference honors this season.

“It’s awesome to see Miranda achieve this much in her first year,” head coach Brad Bowser said. “It’s nice to have her walk in as a recruit and actually be able to perform what we have been talking about from the start.”

With a new core of freshmen entering the program and a year of experience under her belt, Coughlan looks forward to becoming more of a leader in the pool next season, taking what she has learned to pass it on to the incoming class.

Rowan coaches think the future is bright for Coughlan. With hard work and more development, Bowser believes that she can one day become a top competitor in Division III swimming.

“The possibilities are endless for her,” Bowser said. “We always say that if we get her a little bit stronger in the weight room, she could be a finalist at NCAAs. That’s definitely something that we see as realistic and something that she could achieve over the next three years.”

For questions/comments about this story, email sports@thewhitonline.com or tweet @TheWhitSports.