Rowan University women’s swimming team claimed their fourth consecutive victory against their conference opponent, Ramapo College, with a 207-55 victory, securing sole possession as leaders of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). 

The Profs improved to 4-1, including a 4-0 conference record, and the Roadrunners fell to 3-3, with a 1-2 conference record and ranked third in the NJAC.  

In a matchup that saw just one Roadrunner first-place finish, Rowan head coach Elise Blaschke was impressed with the energy and production they delivered with little rest. 

“They did very well,” Blaschke said. “They’re swimming very tired right now. Overall, the team atmosphere and energy that had on Saturday was tremendous, they were supporting one another, and they were competitive and fierce. The score proved we that we did a great job.” 

Freshman Jordan McChesney once again showcased her potential to become one of the program’s integral swimmers for years to come in just her first season as a Prof. 

McChesney anchored the 400 medley relay, along with juniors Abigail Brous, Emily Kopchick and senior Daria Mnich, in a winning time of 4:04.68 and finished first in the 50 and 100 freestyles, with a time of 24.71 and 55.10 respectively.  

Following three exceptional performances, McChesney was awarded an NJAC Rookie of the Week honor, a distinction she has received three times in the previous five weeks.  

McChesney credited the challenges collegiate-level swimming practices bring and the demand coaches desire from the swimmers.

“It’s really the coaches and the team,” McChesney said. “I’ve never trained at this high intensity and as frequently as we do.  But I have learned to come into practice with a certain mindset and to understand what is being asked from me and do that to the fullest extent.” 

Blaschke voiced the comparison between McChesney and senior Carlee Timmins, one of the program’s most decorated swimmers, relating their dedication and will to succeed. 

“She is naturally a hard-worker, a very similar drive to the one Carlee Timmins has. You can see that in a different way from McChesney,” Blaschke said. “In her sprint events, she’s been working really hard in the pool and wants to be better every day. Ultimately, she’s setting herself up for big success in the middle of the season and end of the year.”

McChesney and the team will have to patiently wait two weeks for their next competition when the Profs travel to Worcester, Massachusetts and participate in the annual Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Gompei Invitational meet. 

The Brown and Gold will certainly use the two weeks as recovery to prepare the team for the three-day event after the restless, busy schedule of the past month. 

“We’re tired. We need to go home, relax, and restart,” Blaschke said. “But they know what work they have to put in right now for it to reap any benefit come WPI.  So their mentality is really good and they know what they have to do, and now it’s just about going after it and doing it.” 

McChesney indicated that the main focus during the break is to re-energize their bodies, in order to be fully ready for the tournament.

“Just to refocus a little bit. Every weekend has had a meet, so it’s nice to breathe, calm down from that, and just refocus,” McChesney said. “It’s the first meet that we’ll be fully rested for, and we’ll be going in with a clear head without being sore or broken down from an earlier practice.”   

Following Saturday’s victory, both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams climbed to the 17th ranked team in the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) TYR Top 25 Division III Polls.

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