Rowan dropped a road meet on Saturday at No.14 nationally ranked Gettysburg, 178-84,  in Pennsylvania. However, individual progress continued for Rowan, headlined by three individual wins for senior Ella Pennington, and a win in the 200 Breaststroke by sophomore Rhylee Cornell. 

“Right now, we’re really focusing on details,” acting head coach Gerardo Gonzalez Ruiz said. “I like to think that all the hard work is done. The aerobic base, the strength, right now we’re just trying to get them to their peak level by giving them some rest and just focusing on the little details that matter when it comes to racing. We’re talking about seconds and tenths of a second, so getting the details straightened out right now is very important for us.”

Cornell clocked a 2:27.17 in the 200 Breaststroke, as well as a third-place finish in the 100 Breaststroke. Cornell has had a breakout sophomore season at Rowan and has the potential to qualify for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships in March. 

“Seeing how she’s been swimming, and throughout the season, I know that we haven’t talked much about that goal,” Gonzalez Ruiz said. “It’s just going to come with time. But we know she’s on the right track to join that group of people that we hope we’re going to take to NCAA’s.”

Cornell hasn’t considered the possibility too much, but would be thrilled to qualify for national competition as a sophomore.

“It’s a huge goal for me that I’ve always had,” said Cornell. “I’m getting closer every single year. It’s only my sophomore year, but it would be amazing to make it.”

Ella Pennington, a three-year All-American, is almost sure to be in Indianapolis in March for the NCAA. At Gettysburg, Pennington took home wins in the 100 Free and 100 Butterfly, as well as the 200 Backstroke.

“I think as a team and with Coach [Gonzalez Ruiz], I feel like we are definitely seeing a lot of progress in the right direction,” Pennington said. “I think, not just me, everyone had really good races this weekend. I think we’re definitely seeing all the work that we put in at the beginning of the season start to pay off.”

Rowan is back in action on Friday at Kean to finish the regular season. While individual progression has been the primary focus all year, it’s a meet that Rowan is determined to win as a group.

“We want to go out there and win, I’m not going to lie to you,” said Gonzalez Ruiz. “So we are going to focus on just racing, no matter the feeling, no matter how you are feeling, how tired you are.”

Rowan is set to meet Kean in Union, New Jersey, on Friday. It’s the last of three straight weeks of meets before a two-week break before the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championships on Feb. 12.