Rowan women’s swimming capped off their first home victory of the season on Friday, Nov. 15 with six straight event wins to close out the meet, defeating Montclair State 143-119 at Tony Lisa Natatorium. 

The win avenged last season’s loss to the Red Hawks which saw the Profs fall 173-87 on the road and brings their record up to 2-2 on the season.

“The expectation was to go in and give it what we had and I knew that we would be prepared, but, I think there were several swims that definitely impressed me as to where we are in the season,” head coach Elise Fisher said. “It’s a great indicator for the team and our coaching staff just to know where we’re at with the training we’re doing now, making us even more prepared for our mid-season meet coming up.”

Ella Pennington captured first in three events, including the 100 back (58.02), 200 back (2:07.29), and 100 fly (58.00). Pennington’s performance earned her the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Swimmer of the Week honors for the third time this season.

“I think I did really well. It’s really easy to feel good about my swims, or when you’re around such an amazing team,” Pennington said. “The coaching staff is always super supportive and it feels just really good to be able to represent what we have here in the program.”

The meet against the Red Hawks also saw breakout performances from freshman Lilyanna Martin and Rhylee Cornell. 

“They have been outstanding and I think it’s all proof of how they train. They show up eager every day and they’ve been awesome rookies and it’s rubbing off on all the other rookies as well,” Fisher said. “Where I continue to be excited about the both of them is they are freshmen and so there’s a lot of room for growth and stroke improvement, but overall, they’re doing a phenomenal job.”

Cornell placed first in the 100 breast (1:08.89) and 200 breast (2:27.14) for the second time this season, while Martin, who was named NJAC Rookie of the Week for her performance, captured wins in the 200 fly (2:10:22) and 500 free (5:19:95). Those are the season’s fastest times by an NJAC swimmer thus far.

“Coming in I didn’t really expect much so it was awesome to get the win,” Martin said. “It’s amazing to see everyone show up and see us win after losing by a good amount last year.”

The Profs will now travel to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to compete in the three-day-long Franklin & Marshall Invitational. Building off their strong performance against Montclair State, Fisher says the long weekend will be good practice for her team moving forward.

“Being able to finish strong through the whole meet and keeping the energy high from start to finish,” Fisher said. “I think that that’s something that we can really articulate this weekend and then really hone in on when we get to conference championships. It’s a good trial run.”

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