Rowan honored a class of nine seniors on Saturday at the Tony Lisa Natatorium in Glassboro, and did so along with a, 219-96, win over The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). The meet spanned two days, starting on TCNJ’s campus in Ewing on Friday night for the Lions’ senior day, then in Glassboro the following day.

Kaitlyn Crouthamel, a third-year student graduating a year early, was honored as a senior in the meet, and subsequently earned New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Swimmer of the Week honors with wins in the 200 Free and 1,000 Free.

“We’re very happy with where she is right now in her season,” acting head coach Gerardo Gonzalez Ruiz said. “We understand her goals and what she’s pursuing, like getting a couple medals in the conference.

Crouthamel made a tough decision last season to graduate early, and is certainly making the most out of the shortened time she’s getting in Glassboro. 

“Deciding to be done in three years was a hard decision to make,” Crouthamel said. “I went into senior night, and felt kind of weird about it. I was just like, ‘This wasn’t the group I was expecting it to be with,’ and it felt kind of weird. Once I got there, it was better than I ever could have expected.”

Another senior, Trisha Lau, took home wins in the 200 Individual Medley (IM) with a time of 2:14.98 and 100 Backstroke, clocking a 1:01.68.

Ella Pennington, aiming at another run at a time at the NCAA Championships, won in the 50 Free. Sophomores Rhylee Cornell and Lilyanna Martin also took home wins. Martin won in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:00.57, with Cornell winning the 200 breaststroke, clocking a 2:26.66.

Rowan will travel to Pennsylvania this Saturday for a meeting with Gettysburg College. It’s the second meet in a stretch of three “meet weeks” to prepare for the NJAC Championships.

“What we want them to do is get comfortable with how they’re approaching every single race,” Gonzalez Ruiz said. “Every single race is different, and at this point in the season, they got to know how to adapt. They aren’t putting up their season’s best right now, but they’re swimming pretty fast. We’re pretty happy with where we are, and where we want to be.”

Kailey Sheehan, who earned the team’s weekly “Spicy Swimmer,” award for her commitment week in and week out, emphasized the importance of the three meets Rowan has to finish the regular season strong. 

“This is the time to practice the little things,” Sheehan said. “This is the most important and the most fun part of the year. As we get closer, these races get more and more important.”

Rowan’s meet at Gettysburg is slated for Saturday at 12 p.m. It’s the first meeting between the Profs and Bullets since 2008, the only dual meet between the two schools in history.