It’s called “being a swammer.” Defining the play-on word simply means your swimming career has finished, and it’s become past-tense. Beyond that, it’s the transition from the sport that has taken over daily schedules every day, suddenly, being a thing of the past.
After spending a week in Indianapolis for the NCAA Championships, the swimming careers of Ella Pennington and Kaitlyn Crouthamel are over, and a life that involves swimming, but not dominated by it, continues.
As Crouthamel took in the scene at Indiana University’s natatorium, the site of the event, she then realized how much she truly wanted to be there. She had watched heroes like Cody Miller and Lily King swim at the pool growing up, and now it was her standing on that pool deck, competing in that water.
“Throughout my three years, my ultimate goal was to make it to NCAA’s,” Crouthamel said. “Even after NJAC’s this year, when I thought I didn’t have a chance to go, I was honestly okay with it, I was fulfilled. I knew that I had done everything I could, and I was proud of myself.”
“I didn’t realize how badly I truly wanted to be there until I was there. After I swam my last race, I felt like ‘Wow, I’m really done,’” said Crouthamel.
Crouthamel competed in the 500 free preliminaries, clocking a time of 5:12.63. She also swam a 4:30.14 in the 400-yard individual medley, just three seconds off the personal best she set at NJAC Championships earlier this season.
Before Crouthamel could even celebrate the unexpected phone call from head coach Elise Fisher, informing her of a ticket punched to NCAA’s, she was nervous to compete on the national stage.
“I’m so used to having to step up and try to be the best and try to win,” Crouthamel said. “At first, I was really nervous because I was thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, I haven’t swam in two weeks. I hope I don’t embarrass myself.’ As soon as I got to practice that next week and got back in the pool, I realized this is the opportunity I’ve been wanting, just the ability to swim with no pressure. I was seeded last in the [500 free] … I really just saw it as an opportunity to just soak everything in and be proud of all the hard work I’ve done. Once I got there, I was like ‘This is really cool, I’m so glad I did this.’”
Swimming in Indiana’s pool meant something special to Ella Pennington, too. In fact, it wasn’t the first time the scoreboard displayed the last name, “Pennington.”
“My sister is on the Paralympic national team, and she had a meet at that pool a couple of months before we did,” Pennington said. “So, I had seen the pool and watched my sister compete in the pool, which was really cool.”
Pennington’s highlight from the week was a fourth-place finish in the 100 backstroke, two tenths of a second off her personal best, and four tenths of a second off the gold medal finish. Pennington also competed in the 100 butterfly, 100 backstroke, and 200 backstroke.
“I felt like it was a really good note to go out on,” said Pennington. “Placing fourth in the [100 backstroke], I jumped up several places. I just feel like that really shows how well structured the program was this year, and the growth that Rowan is capable of over time.”
Soon, a college career for both Pennington and her sister will begin.
Pennington’s sister, who swam in Indiana a few months before her, committed in January to Loyola University in Maryland. Cara Pennington, a senior at Elkton High School, has an amputated left leg and competed on the 2025 U.S. Paralympic National Team, winning three silver medals and a bronze in Boise, Idaho, last summer.
In January, Ella Pennington was chosen for the 2026 roster as well.
“She is just one of the most incredible athletes I’ve ever seen,” Pennington said. “I’m just so excited to watch how the sport changes her. I’m really excited to watch her grow throughout her college career.”
As for Ella, she won’t be going far, continuing her education at Rowan with a master’s program in translational orthopedic device engineering. Eventually, Pennington wants to be a pediatric orthopedic surgeon.
It’s what she wanted to do since she was a child.
“My sister, I grew up watching a lot of her health issues,” Pennington said. “I saw, from a very young age, what kind of impact a good doctor can have. Seeing how one good diagnosis, one good treatment plan can really change the outlook from being super dark and scary into your sister being on the Paralympic national team, there’s a lot there. I think that fundamentally changed how I see the world.”
The impact that Crouthamel and Ella Pennington made as swimmers, fittingly ending on the highest stage, has changed the way the world sees them, too.
Rowan women’s swimming officially closes out the 2026 season with a 3-5 record in dual meets, two national qualifiers, and a third-place finish at NJAC Championships.
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