Rowan women’s swimming head coach Elise Fisher believes this to be one of the better – if not the best – starts to a season since she’s been at Rowan. 

The team started hot against Stevens in non-conference action to start the year. It was a tremendous, 175-87, win to get the juices flowing and start the year strong. Then, the team improved even further just six days later. They got Ella Pennington in the pool after she missed the season opener, and the scores continued to fly up to 150-112 against the Montclair State Red Hawks in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) meet.

All signs point to this hot start for the Profs, leading to the energy that’s taking over the Tony Lisa Natatorium.

“First and foremost, I think we have a really great staff,” Fisher said. “Not that we have not in the past, but I think we have a different energy on this staff this year that the athletes can feel. How the athletes came back and their preparedness for the season was evident.”

If it was not evident after Stevens to those watching this team, it certainly is after two meets.

Kaitlyn Crouthamel added onto her season resume with three more individual wins in the 200 Free, 500 Free, and 200 Individual Medley. Pennington jumped in the water for the first meet of the season and captured two individual races. Everyone on the team seems to be a contributing member to the 2-0 start the Profs have gotten off to.

One member of that contribution is freshman Peyton Stauffer. Stauffer was part of the 400 Free Relay that won at Montclair State, paired up with Pennington, Alexa Harris, and Barbara Mora. 

Fisher has been super strong with handling freshmen in her time as the head coach, with three NJAC Rookie Swimmer of the Year under her belt, and the goal is no different with Stauffer.

“She’s unique,” Fisher said. “I think she absolutely, in the best way, is still adjusting, which leaves loads of room for opportunity. I think that she’s going to develop to grow confidence this first semester, and we’ll see what that can bring her second semester.”

As Stauffer and her teammates continued to dominate the pool at Montclair State, they also glanced over periodically at the Red Hawk pool deck. The team took note of the energy that Rowan had within their team. As the Profs got louder, Montclair State got quieter. Eventually, Rowan had gained all the momentum just by their passion and enthusiasm, and the lack thereof from the Red Hawks.

“It reflects us as a team,” sophomore Lilyanna Martin said. “You look over and you’re like, ‘Oh, are they not having as much fun as we are?’. And I feel like it’s reassuring for us, definitely, because we were just having a great time and we’re winning.”

Now, after a break since the Montclair meet on Oct. 17, the team is back in action on Saturday, Nov. 1, at Salisbury. Rowan has not beaten Salisbury in the past two meetings in 2024 and 2023, when the Profs picked up the Gulls on their schedule for the first time since 2014.

That certainly doesn’t mean Rowan, specifically Fisher, is unfamiliar with Salisbury’s program.

“Their head coach is an alumni and former coach here as well,” Fisher said, speaking about Nate Parsley, a Rowan grad of 2012. “He coached swimming and softball here at Rowan. And so we actually started our coaching career together here in 2013, under the direction of Tony Lisa. Adding them to our schedule was a no-brainer because he’s a great competitor.”

Fisher believes this is the team that is going to shake things up all year, which starts with a much tighter matchup with the Gulls.

“They get better every year, and when we’re looking at what we have this year and what we’re capable of doing, I think this is going to be our best matchup in the past three years.”