Women’s Swimming Wins NJIT Invitational

NEWARK, N.J. -- The LIU Brooklyn women's swimming team took first place at the NJIT Highlander Invitational on Sunday, beating NEC rival Mount St. Mary's (151-69), Manhattan (154-68) and Saint Peter's (162-37) in a four-team event at the Highlander's Wellness and Events Center. It marks the first quad meet win in the four-year history of Blackbirds' program. The Blackbirds (5-0) won all eleven swimming events, even going 1-2 in three of the thirteen total events on the women's side. New Jersey Institute of Technology, which does not have a women's team went 1-2 in the competition on the men's side, facing the same three schools. LIU won both relays on the day, the 200 medley relay to open the meet in 1:51.00, to top Mount by 1.32 with a team of two sophomores, Amanda Peren and Addison Donahue along with two seniors, Mads Carrigan and Briana Vega. In the closing event, the 200 freestyle relay, the team of freshmen Lydia Amon and Amanda San Juan joined with junior Noemie Lacroix-Moreau and senior Nathalie Meyers to go 1:41.65 and win by 1.14 seconds. In individual events, San Juan won her first-ever collegiate race, going 10:51.89 in the 1000 freestyle, to take the top spot. Fellow freshman Macie Madden was third in the 1000 in 11:32.03. She would later win the 500 freestyle in 5:19.84 to win that race by 2.25 to go two-for-two in the distance races. Sophomore Jeanne Touchette-McGowan also won a pair of individual events. She easily touched first in the 200 freestyle (1:57.43), to win by 2.45 over second place and 2:50 over Lacroix-Moreau (2:00.33), who placed third. Touchette-McGowan also took gold in the final solo event of the meet, the 100 breaststroke, coming in at 11:09.34, to win by 0.88 seconds. LIU freshman Mackenzie Burnett slotted third in 1:10.89 in the same race. Vega was victorious in her two solo events, the 50 and 100 freestyle, winning the 50 in 24.37, and the 100 in 54.49, while Amon slotted second in both races, going 25.30 in the 50 race and 55.31 in the 100 freestyle. Peren also continues to compile first place results, winning the 200 individual medley in 2:12.93 and the 100 backstroke in 58.53. LIU's Carrigan was the runner-up in the 200 IM, coming in 2:14.25, while Peren's time in her second individual event, the 100 back was only 0.04 ahead of the second place mark. With a three-event limit per swimmer (including relays), Lacroix-Moreau, one of the Blackbirds co-captains this season, was pressed into sprint duty in the 100 butterfly, and came away with a win in 58.91, two seconds in front of her nearest competitor. Next up, the Blackbirds will host their second double-dual meet of the season on Saturday, October 21, with NEC foe Sacred Heart and the America East's Stony Brook coming to the LIU Pool for a 12:00 p.m. start.