The Rowan women’s swimming team faced off against U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) at Kings Point, New York on Saturday, Feb. 4. The team dropped the meet 173.4-119.5 but was able to build off of certain performances. Head Coach Elise Fisher and the swimmers are looking ahead to the Metropolitan Conference Championships (METs) which begins Feb. 16.

“I think there were a lot of areas that we realized we needed to work on before our championships next week,” Coach Fisher said. “So that could be viewed as a benefit”. 

During the meet on Saturday, senior Jordan McChesney recorded the best times in three events. McChesney had earned the top time in 50, 100 and 200 free events. 

“[McChesney] did awesome, she’s right where she needs to be headed into conference championships,” Coach Fisher said. “I think she surprised herself with her performances but I’m really excited to see what she does in the upcoming weeks.” 

McChesney knows how hard she has been working and is happy that it is shown through her performance.

“I enjoy what I do, so I am thankful for every opportunity I get to race and try to make the most out of it,” McChesney said. “So it’s nice to see my efforts reflected in the times on the board.” 

While the Profs weren’t able to pick up the victory, everyone in the swim program recognizes the importance of the meet, as it is something they participate in every season.

“I think it’s important to compete against teams that aren’t in our NJAC to mix up the competition,” sophomore Bella Stefanowicz said. “They were really fast and it was really nice to swim against some fast swimmers, it’s getting us ready for METs next week.”

Coach Fisher spoke about the USMMA meet’s impact not only on the program but on the rest of their season.

“They’re very competitive and they really came to win last weekend,” Coach Fisher said. “So I think our competition against them is a great indicator of what we need to work on going into METs.” 

The Profs will see USMMA again at METs, their conference championship meet, which gives the players extra motivation to win.

“METs is between Montclair [University], USMMA, and TCNJ [The College of New Jersey],” McChesney said. “Those are great teams and we have rivalries and that sort of relationship with all those teams so it’s always exciting when you get to race them.”

Stefanowicz also spoke about seeing USMMA again.

“I think some of the variables weren’t in our control [on Saturday],” Stefanowicz said. “But we kind of have to push past those and perform like we know how to perform at Mets.” 

Coach Fisher believes facing USMMA a week before the championship is a great chance to see everyone race.

“Not a lot of schools do a meet so close to conference championships. I think it’s one last shot to see where we are in the season,” Coach Fisher said. “Also, one last opportunity to race and practice how we strategize our races.”

As the meet is right around the corner, the Profs will be spending this week preparing and getting into the right mindset.

“I think we’re just enjoying what we’re doing,” McChensey said. “We’re just enjoying our last practices together. The energy is already up so we’re just trying to translate that to our swimming and to our practices.” 

The energy is really something that many of the Profs are focusing on as they head toward METs.

“We have a really exciting attitude toward METs this year because we’ve been working really hard this season,” Stefanowicz said. “This season was a lot harder than last season so I think that we are uber-ly prepared for METs and it’s going to be a hard meet.”

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