Meet results

Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey women's swimming and diving team picked up where they left off a season ago as they opened the season with a dominant effort against New Jersey Athletic Conference opponent Ramapo College.
 
The Lions (1-0, 1-0 NJAC), who posted a perfect 9-0 and  a program-best fifth-place finish at the NCAA championships, outscored the visiting Roadrunners (0-1, 0-1 NJAC) 168-88 in the meet.
 
If their opening day competition is any indication of the make-up of their squad, depth in talent appears to be a promising characteristic for TCNJ. The Lions won all 12 individual events as 10 different swimmers took first-place finishes. Senior Laura Pierce (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West) and freshman Brennah Ross (Paoli, PA/PA Cyber Charter School) were the lone competitors to claim multiple individual events.
 
Pierce placed first in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 11:13.98 and returned to the waters later to take top prize in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing in 58.17. Pierce also joined forces with freshman Bethanie Loffredo (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial), senior Courtney Fuhro (Hasbrouck Heights, NJ/Immaculate Heart Academy), and sophomore Hailey Growney (Rockaway, NJ/Morris Hills) to win the 400-yard freestyle relay race with a time of 3:51.37.
 
Ross had a banner day in her first collegiate competition winning the 100-yard free (55.20) and the 200-yard individual medley (2:16.02).
 
Sophomore Ashley Conroy (Toms River, NJ/Monsignor Donovan) won the 100-yard backstroke, touching the wall in 1:01.59. She also raced for the 200-yard medley relay winning team along with seniors Danielle Morrone (Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley), Melissa Hessler (Palmyra, NJ/Palmyra), and junior Kayleigh Shangle (Highland Park, NJ/Highland Park). They combined for a winning time of 1:53.71. Hessler also placed first in the 200-yard fly, clocking a finish of 2:15.65.
 
TCNJ is back in action next Friday when they visit Montclair State University for their second NJAC contest. They return to TCNJ's Aquatic Center on Saturday, November 5 when they host Southern Connecticut State University. 

Note: Seniors Laura Pierce, Kelsey Herchenrider, and Courtney Fuhro are leading the Lions' swimming and diving teams in the fight against breast cancer. On Family Day, the team sold pink caps and t-shirts to raise money for breast cancer awareness.

"Each year we choose a cause that we want to support as a team. This year, the captains decided to raise money in support of breast cancer research. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer as well as the second highest cancer to claim lives.
 
 This disease has affected too many lives and we want to do our small part to help in the fight against breast cancer. We are selling swim caps and T-shirts and donating all proceeds to either Susan G. Koman or American Cancer Society. Both the men's and women's teams will be sporting the caps at our October meets, where the T-shirts will be sold to the non-swimmer spectators. The cap and T-shirt read "TCNJ Swimming and Diving Supports Breast Cancer Awareness".
 
The caps and shirts are $10 each. We have also reached out to several other swim teams to participate in this event – so far Elizabethtown College and Eastern Express have placed cap orders. We have pre-ordered 150 caps and 75 shirts, but hopefully with the help of the TCNJ and Ewing Community, we can surpass this number to raise more money." - L. Pierce  
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