SCOTT ANDERSON/Courier-Post Amanda Waldner celebrates Cherry Hill West's 87-83 South Jersey Public A girls' swimming semifinal victory over Vineland. SCOTT ANDERSON/Courier-Post Cherry Hill West's Maureen O'Neill cheers on teammate Leigh Anne Patterson in the 200 IM in Friday's South Jersey semifinal meet against Vineland.

By CHARLIE SPRANG
Courier-Post Staff

GLOUCESTER TWP.

The streak is over.

The Cherry Hill West girls' swim team, with inspired efforts coming from up and down its lineup, snapped Vineland's 62-meet winning streak Friday night, beating the Fighting Clan 87-83 in the South Jersey Public A semifinals at Camden County Tech.

The win propels the Lions into Monday night's sectional final at Rowan Unversity against Cherry Hill East, a 85.5-84.5 winner over Mainland.

"On the bus ride down here they were so quiet," said victorious West coach Scott Sweeten. "It had me concerned because there are so many different personalities I didn't know what that meant. Once the meet started, they showed me it was a quiet intensity."

There were no shortage of heroines on this night for the Lions.

There was senior Allison Rolish, who caught and passed Vineland's Sabrina Warren on the last lap of the 200 free to win in a team record 1:56.78. She spearheaded a 1-3-4 West finish that gave it a 17-13 lead.

"That last 25, I was just kicking as hard as I could," Rolish said. "With everybody counting on everybody else, it helps you do things you don't normally expect."

Then came Amanda Waldner and Leigh Anne Patterson, who went 1-2 in the 200 IM and helped West take a 29-17 lead.

"All I kept saying to myself was I can not lose this race," Waldner said. "I got an early lead and just went as hard as I could."

After Patterson won the 100 butterfly, Vineland mounted a comeback.

Tiffany Malatesta and Stevie Anderson went 1-2 in the 100 free to cut the lead to 50-44. Then Rolish won her second race, the 500 free in 5:10.29, giving her a second team record and a 59-51 Lions lead.

When Vineland's Christina Watts, Victoria Bonifield, Warren and Anderson won the 200 free relay, the lead was cut to 65-59 before Malatesta and Brittany Giacomelli led a 1-2-5 finish in the 100 back that tied the meet, 70-70.

Into the spotlight stepped West freshman Emily Bart. She caught Bonifield on the pullout coming off the last turn in the 100 breaststroke and outraced her to the wall. The 1-4-5 finish gave West a 79-77 lead going into the 400 free relay.

"I looked at the scoreboard before the race and saw it was tied," Bart said. "I was shaking so hard. I was so nervous. I didn't want to lose. That last 25 I just wouldn't let her beat me. I went all out and swam as hard as I could."

When Sweeten saw that Vineland coach John Casadia had already split his 400 free relay, he decided to play it straight and went with his original relay order, knowing all he needed was a win to secure a trip to the sectional final.

Patterson, Maureen O'Neill, who had been sick all week and was totally exhausted after the meet, Rolish and Waldner won the by three seconds in 3:43.06.

"This is a lot off our shoulders," Rolish said. "It's so hard to believe. Everything I have worked for in high school swimming was building toward tonight. It's unbelievable."

Casadia couldn't point to any one reason for the loss.

"Every race was important," he said. "You have to finish. We lost a couple of races from the flags in. It's also about a lack of depth. We had to take a few more firsts and we didn't." Reach Charlie Sprang at (856) 486-2424 or csprang@courierpostonline.com