IN THE FAST LANE: Princeton High girls’ swimmer Melinda Tang heads to victory in the 100 butterfly in PHS’s 103-67 win over Manasquan in the Central Jersey Public B sectional final earlier this month. Last Sunday in the Public B championship meet against Scotch Plains-Fanwood, sophomore Tang posted wins in the 100 fly and 200 freestyle in a losing cause as PHS fell 100-70 to the Raiders. The Little Tigers ended the winter with a 15-1 record. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Tears weren’t being shed by the members of the Princeton High girls’ swimming team last Sunday afternoon on the deck of The College of New Jersey pool even though they had just lost 100-70 to Scotch Plains-Fanwood in the state Public B championship meet.

Reflecting on a magnificent campaign that saw PHS roll to its second straight Mercer County crown and win all 15 of its meets coming into the final, including a 97-73 victory over Ocean City last Wednesday in the state semis, sophomore star Melinda Tang was all smiles.

“This season has been amazing,” said Tang. “Last year we lost to Ocean City in the semis and we knew that meet was going to be really close too and we weren’t sure if we were going to win that. Once we made it over that last obstacle and we were here, it was just about having fun.”

The Little Tiger realized that Scotch Plains-Fanwood posed a formidable obstacle to their quest for a state title.

“We knew that the meet was going to be really close because our frontrunners and their frontrunners were pretty close and we all had a lot of depth,” said Tang.

The PHS frontrunners proved their mettle, winning seven of eight individual events with Tang prevailing in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly while freshman Abbey Berloco won both the 50 and 100 free races, junior Madeleine Deardorff placed first in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke, and junior Brianna Romaine was victorious in the 100 backstroke.

Tang was pleased with her individual wins. “I can never say anything about the 200 free because it is right after the (medley) relay so I just have got to finish swimming this and it is all good,” said Tang. “For the 100 fly, I was really happy because I got a best time (56.36).”

The Little Tigers finished on a high note as the quartet of Tang, Berloco, Deardorff, and Romaine won the 400 free relay, the final event of the day.

“We knew at that point that they were going to win,” recalled Tang. “We had already made it this far so we were going to go down with a fight.”

With a season of high school swimming under her belt, Tang was more emotionally invested in fighting to the end for PHS.

“This year, I have gotten a lot closer with all of my teammates because freshman year was a time of transition,” said Tang.

PHS first-year head coach Carly Misiewicz appreciated how her swimmers kept their heads up as they tasted defeat for the first time this winter.

“Why I love being a part of this team so much is that every person is so classy,” said Misiewicz, whose team posted a record of 15-1.

“They are not going to bad mouth the other team because we lost, no one is a sore loser. Every person on the team knows that we did everything that we could, they swam faster. You can’t swim faster than you are capable of swimming.”

In Misiewicz’s view, the win in the 400 free relay spoke volumes about PHS’s desire to get the most out of its ability.

“Our girls are fighters and they are not going to give up, they are not going to give them a race,” said Misiewicz, a former Rider University swimming star.

“I told them that one of my biggest things in college when I was a swimmer, the other team may win the meet but don’t let them win the last race. They put their hearts and souls into everything and it really showed. I am so happy with what we have done this year.”

Making it to the state final exceeded Misiewicz’s expectations at the beginning of the year.

“Looking and scouting when we were going to come against Manasquan (in the sectional final), it was alright here we go, this is our next hurdle and then Ocean City was our next hurdle,” said Misiewicz.

“I am just so happy and proud of them to make it to this point, so many teams would kill to be in our position. I would have never thought we would have made it this far.”

While PHS’s big four of Tang, Berloco, Deardorff, and Romaine certainly made a point with their dominance on Sunday, Misiewicz credited Scotch Plains-Fanwood for its talent across the board.

“Unfortunately you can win first in everything but not win the meet,” said Misiewicz, noting that Deardorff set a school record in the breaststroke with her time of 1:09.35.

“What it came down to today is that they were just deeper than we were but again you can’t change anybody else. You can’t affect the other team or the other swimmers. You have to worry about yourselves and that is what they all did.”

With most of its frontline swimmers returning, PHS is primed for a lot of big wins down the road.

“We do have quite a few girls coming back, which is phenomenal,” said Misiewicz.

“It just makes me even more excited for next year. I am just really excited to see where we leave off this year and where we are going to head into next year. Making it this far was huge and I couldn’t be any more proud of the girls.”

Tang, for her part, believes that PHS will be better in the future as a result of its experience on Sunday.

“If we had won, it would have been the first time since 1993 so we were all really, really excited for the meet,” said Tang. “I think this will help us because every winner needs to learn how to lose.”