BY: Alexa D'Aiello

EWING, N.J. - The TCNJ women's swimming and diving team polished off a terrific weekend at their annual invitational, winning all five swimming events and securing the top three positions in two of them to cruise to the team title.

The Lions ended with a cumulative score of 1227 points, more than 400 beyond the reach of runner-up Merchant Marine (808.5). New Paltz finished third with 704.5 points and Salisbury was fourth with 497. 

Shannon Hesse led a 1-2-3 sweep in the 100 freestyle with a career-best 53.86 and was followed by teammates Rachel Hannah (54.06) and Cameron Carrazza (54.56). 

For the 200 breaststroke, Haley Crispell was able to take the top spot in the finals with a personal-best 2:28.70. Sarah Burton came in fourth with a time of 2:42.17.

The Lions claimed another 1-2-3 finish in the finals of the 200 butterfly. Zoe Chan won the event in 2:04.98, while Kori Jelinek took second (2:11.68) and Jamie Bowne third (2:12.15). Chan moved up to 7th in all of Division III with the career-best performance.

The 200 backstroke final ended with Sofia Harty winning the race in a collegiate-best 2:12.98. Megan Healey (2:14.49) and Julia Spanfelner (2:14.54) were neck-and-neck in third and fourth, respectively, while Colleen Scanlon (2:16.99) and Ren Wolstenholme (2:18.57) also placed in the top seven.

Faith Cortright finished the 1650 free with a top time of 18:27.00, a season-best by more than 45 seconds. Allison Lowry placed fourth with a 19:06.07.

Julianna Boyle finished third in the 3-meter dive with a score of 271.10 across 11 dives.

The meet closed out with the 400 freestyle relay, where TCNJ's relay team A consisting of Jamie Bowne, Hesse, Hannah, and Chan finished with a time of 3:36.08, which ranks just outside the top-30 in the nation.

TCNJ swims again at the RPI invitational on January 15th.