Ewing, NJ – The Montclair State University Women's Swimming & Diving team (6-2) and The College of New Jersey (1-4) battled closely with each other, but the Red Hawks snuck past the Lions with a 153.5 to 144.5 decision on Saturday.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The meet kicked off with TCNJ taking the top spot in the 200 medley relay, but Montclair earned six points with second and third-place finishes. The quartet of TESSA DEVONE, Penny Curran, MADELINE ROGERS, and ROURKE PERALTA placed second with a time of 1:53.28, while the mashup of ABBY PANZARELLA, ANA VENLA SAGUILLO LEPPANEN, RACHEL YUSHAN, and Leticia Laynez placed third with a team time of 1:58.06.
• AMELIA FANNING and Peralta each nabbed third in the 1000 free and 200 free events, respectively. Fanning clocked a 11:08.50, while Peralta finished with a time of 2:01.04.
• In the 100 back, Devone was the runner-up with a time of 1:02.49. She was followed by Panzarella, who clocked in a 1:02.62.
• The first win of the meet came from MARIANNE TASSINARI in the 100 breast. She outraced the competition with a time of 1:09.76.
• The Red Hawks made up ground in points, securing the top-three placements in the 200 fly. Rogers led the way at 2:16.97. She was followed by CATTY GEYER (2:22.24) and KACIE GADZINSKI (2:26.64).
• Peralta and Devone kept the momentum going with the top-two placements in the 50 free. Peralta touched the wall first with a time of 24.52, with Devone nabbing second at 25.50.
• AUDREY HITCHENS was the lone diver for the Red Hawks. She placed fourth with a score of 195.00 in six dives from one meter.
• Swimming resumed with Montclair taking the top three spots in the 100 free. Peralta led the pack (54.66), while MADDY WISHNOW took second place (56.08). Geyer tied for third with TCNJ's Mary Kate Owens, with both swimmers clocking 56.37.
• Panzarella and Laynez took second and third, respectively in the 200 back. Panzarella finished with a time of 2:14.93, while Laynez clocked a 2:19.27.
• Tassinari notched her second win of the day when she outraced the competition with a time of 2:28.64. Curran placed right behind her in second with a time of 2:33.03.
• Fanning earned herself a win in the 500 free, finishing with a time of 5:25.80.
• In the 100 fly, Rogers took home first with a time of 59.89. Wishnow touched the wall third in the same event with a time of 1:02.60.
• The Red Hawks took the top three spots in the 200 IM. Tassinari capped off her dominant day with a first-place finish of 2:15.05. She was trailed by Panzarella (2:18.69), who placed second, and SADIE CRISPELL (2:21.22), who took third.
• The meet was capped off with the 400 free relay. While the team of Wishnow, Geyer, Rogers, and Tassinari placed second (3:16.13), Montclair secured enough points to walk away with the win.

FROM THE POOL

• "We had to dig ourselves out of a hole after TCNJ won the first four events of the afternoon. There are too many women to mention who stepped up today, but AMELIA FANNING was outstanding. Our team is both relieved and happy making for a nice ride back to campus." Head Coach Brian McLaughlin

UP NEXT

• Montclair hits the road for its final regular-season meet of the season. They travel to take on Roger Williams and host Coast Guard.