Another Rowan women’s swimming season is underway. The Profs were coming off a season opener victory at Stevens 161-101 on Oct. 12, and hoped to capture another win in their home opener at Tony Lisa Natatorium on Oct. 26, against No. 3 ranked New York University (NYU).

Unfortunately for the Profs, their goal of a 2-0 start wouldn’t turn out how they hoped, as they fell at the hands of the Bobcats for the second year in a row 192-68.

Head coach Elise Fisher says she isn’t worried about the 1-1 start for her team as it is still very early in the season. She says the main focus is on their performance in later season meets.

“Regardless of the outcome of meets, this time of the year is challenging because you’re really still trying to build an aerobic capacity and get the season going. Our main focus in our sport is really our mid-season, but more so our end-of-season and conference championship meets,” Fisher said. “I personally don’t place too much emphasis on our dual record, it’s really about seeing progress from one meet to the next. So from where we started at Stevens to where we are now, we’ve seen time improvements across the board for all athletes.”

Ella Pennington, who was named New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Swimmer of the Week for her performance against NYU, picked up a pair of first-place finishes in the 100 backstroke (57.73) and 200 backstroke (2:05.58). She was also a part of the winning 400 freestyle relay along with Barbara Mora, Rhylee Cornell, and Laura Jones (3:45.84). 

Pennington says she is proud of how her teammates performed against such a tough opponent at NYU.

“My team did so well. They swam fantastic, especially against a team as good as NYU,” Pennington said. “It’s just great that we rose to the challenge and did so well, and everyone performed to the highest of their ability. Obviously, we’re gonna get faster as the season goes on, but just to see everyone perform at that level against competition was awesome.”

Jones, now in her senior season, garnered a third-place finish in the 50 freestyle (25.19). Coming off a difficult season last year, Jones is optimistic about her team going forward.

“It’s my senior season and I definitely want to see the girls get up and race and I’m looking forward to climbing the podium,” Jones said. “Last year, we had a tough season, but I think we’re ready to make it out on top this year in first place. We’ve got some tough competition again, but I definitely think we have a really good team and great group of girls.”

Last season, the Profs finished fourth in the NJAC championships. Fisher says they will look to improve upon their outcome from last season, starting with improving their record against NJAC opponent Salisbury on Nov. 2.

“Knowing the eagerness of where we performed at the end of last year and what the outcome was of our conference championship meet definitely has us eager for Salisbury,” Fisher said. “We’re excited for not just what we’re going to do against them just in the dual season, but also what that’ll look like at the conference championship.”

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