Meet results

Senior Day insert

Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey women's swimming and diving team raced its way to their sixth consecutive New Jersey Athletic Championship, defeating Rowan University 184-115 in TCNJ's Aquatic Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions are a perfect 24-0 in conference dual meets since swimming and diving were re-established as an NJAC sport in 2008-09. TCNJ now stands at 5-2 overall this season while Profs dropped to 8-2 and 2-1 in the conference.

Freestyle events were the key match-ups in the meet and the Lions came up huge in those races. Juniors Brennah Ross (Paoli, PA/PA Cyber Charter School) and Summer Thomas (North Plainfield, NJ/Metuchen) led the charge winning all four sprint and distance free events.

In the 200-free, Thomas, Lauren Rothstein (Mullica Hill, NJ/Clearview), and senior Nina Sabatini (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) swept the top three spots to dash Rowan's hopes of an upset. Thomas also won the 500-free with a finish of 5:23.11.

Ross took top honors in the 50- and 100-free. She posted a finish of 24.47 followed by Sabatini, who placed third in the event (26.11) in the final home meet of her career. In the 100-free, TCNJ swept again as Ross (54.31), Rothstein (55.73), and Erin Perna (56.74) finished one-two-three.

Senior Amy Schurer (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown) made her final 200-butterfly race at TCNJ a successful one as she touched the wall in 2:21.24 to win the event. Sophomore Sarah Richards (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks East) finished runner-up in 2:23.78. Ross and Richards team up to place one-two in the 200-fly, registering times of 1:00.97 and 1:03.81.

In the 100- and 200-backstroke events, senior Hailey Growney (Rockaway, NJMorris Hills) reached back for a pair of blue ribbons followed by freshman teammate Brenna Strollo (Long Branch, NJ/Biotechnology). Growney won the 100- in 1:01.33 and the 200-back in 2:12.55. Strollo was runner-up with times of 1:01.74 and 2:13.11. The talented rookie returned to the water to win the 200-individual medley in 2:16.48.

The Lions also swept the relay events as Growney, Rothstein, Sabatini, and Perna won the 200-medley in 1:55.54. Rothstein, Perna, Thomas, and Ross won the 400-free relay in 3L45.81.

Never to be forgotten at the opposite end of the aquatic center is the performance of senior Sabrina Lucchesi (Columbus, NJ/Notre Dame). Lucchesi won both the 1-meter (255.75) and 3-meter (302.40) in convincing fashion to tally 18 points for TCNJ.

Prior to this current run of six straight, the Lions won the previous four championships from 1999-00 through 2002-03 before the sport was dropped by the conference. Rowan captured its last title in 1998-99.

The Lions remain idle until the 2014 Metropolitan Conference Championships, held at Rutgers University. The MET championships open on Friday, February 14.