Meet results

Manhattan, NY … The College of New Jersey women's swimming and diving team won its 17^th consecutive dual meet in dramatic fashion, narrowly defeating New York University 143-138 in Manhattan, NY.
 
The Lions (5-0) needed a second-place finish or better in the meet's final event and placed second in the 400-yard freestyle relay to stave off a talented Violets squad. The team of senior Melissa Hessler (Palmyra, NJ/Palmyra), freshman Summer Thomas (North Plainfield, NJ/Metuchen), sophomore Ashley Conroy (Toms River, NJ/Monsignor Donovan), and junior Kayleigh Shangle (Highland Park, NJ/Highland Park) earned the biggest runner-up finish of the season with a time of 3:42.69 to grab a critical four points. The third-place team from NYU (3-3) was less than four seconds behind, posting 3:46.17.
 
TCNJ has now won 17 straight dual meets, a streak that began at New York University on January 23, 2010 with a 161-137 victory. The Lions won their next two dual meets to finish the 2009-2010 season, and completed last season with a perfect 9-0 record. They have now won five straight this season.
 
Senior Laura Pierce (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West) captured three, first-place finishes along with a team first in the 200-medley relay. Pierce took top prize in the 200-yard freestyle (1:56.19), 100-free (53.42), and 100-butterfly (59.01). She joined Conroy, Shangle and senior Danielle Morrone (Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley) in the 200-medley relay to register a winning time of 1:52.75.
 
Every point counted for TCNJ in the meet. Shangle and senior Kelsey Herchenrider (Cape May, NJ/Lower Cape May Regional) finished one-two in the 100-yard breast stroke event to claim 13 points, posting times of 1:08.06 and 1:10.79.
 
Shangle and freshman Nicole Muha (Dunellen, NJ/Dunellen) repeated those results in the 200-breast. Shangle won the race in 2:27.43 and Muha came up big with a runner-up time of 2:31.66.
 
Hessler won the 500-free in 5:20.41 and freshman Brennah Ross (Paoli, PA/Cyber Charter School) earned top honors in the 200-fly. She posted a winning time of 2:14.47.
 
Sophomore Sabrina Lucchesi (Columbus, NJ/Notre Dame) and freshman Emily DeClement (Princeton, NJ/Princeton) claimed critical points in the 1- and 3-meter diving events. Lucchesi placed second in the 1-meter with a score of 260.03. She returned to win the 3-meter event with a score of 293.40. DeClement placed fourth in both events as the divers tallied 17 points on the day.
 
Conroy, sophomore Hailey Growney (Rockaway, NJ/Morris Hills), and junior Kristyn Wikoff (Shrewsbury, NJ/Red Bank Regional) took second, third, and fourth in the 200-backstroke. Senior Traci Hofer (Millville, NJ/Millville) also won the 50-meter event, but a problem with the clock operation negated the points.
 
The Lions are off until December 2 – 4 when they host TCNJ's Invitational at the Aquatic Center.