On Saturday, Rowan’s men’s swim took on a familiar face in TCNJ and suffered a huge 166-96 loss; and to add fuel to the fire, it also happened to be senior day for the Profs.

Before the game, Danny Dubij, Michael Fracchiolla, Paul Riter, Alex Volin, and Jack Watson were honored as Rowan’s five seniors. Riter, Volin, and Watson made the most of the day, as they each recorded both a first and second-place finish in different events. Tobias Cahnbley also recorded a first-place finish in the 200 free, while Gavin Danze finished in second in the 1000 free.

Despite the team’s best efforts to pull out the victory, Coach Bowser already knew that they were looking defeat in the eyes before they even arrived at Tony Lisa Natatorium.

“We were gonna lose,” Bowser said. There was a brief pause that followed with laughter as he then went on into explanation. “I felt that we swam a good meet and that we put ourselves in a great situation to close out our season and maybe possibly getting ourselves into a top spot for conferences and maximize our individuals to make NCAAs.” 

One of the reasons the Profs felt that the win was far from theirs stemmed from the amount of depth that the Lions had. TCNJ had 32 swimmers on their roster compared to the 23 on Rowan’s, and most of the Lions’ swimmers were either sophomores or juniors. 

With 2023 in the rearview mirror, and 2024 being the latest thing on people’s minds, the now 3-3 swim team has shifted their focus from meet-to-meet to conference championship aspirations. Bowser has instilled the mindset of prioritizing growth over wins in his locker room so that they continue to grow through to the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championships.

“At this point, it’s [NJACs] three weeks away, and that’s all I’m thinking about,” Volin said.

The Profs aren’t fully finished with their season just yet, as they have one more meet against the Swarthmore Phoenix in Swarthmore, PA on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 1 p.m. This will serve as a chance for the team to fine-tune some things before the start of the NJAC Championships, which begin on Thursday, Feb. 15.

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