WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – In their first meet of 2020, the Long Island University women's swim team had a strong showing, beating both Monmouth and Saint Peter's handily. The Sharks defeated host Monmouth, 151-110, and beat Saint Peter's, 185-73.
 
The Sharks opened up the day with one of the closest finishes of the meet. In the 400 medley relay, the LIU squad of Amanda Peren, Tara Cabiling, Jacqueline Grabowski and Noemie Lacroix-Moreau came in second, by just two hundredths of a second. Monmouth won the event in 4:03.37, with LIU hitting the wall in 4:03.39.
 
Distance free was a strong suit for the Sharks Saturday. Sophomore Maja Uduc won the 1000 free in 11:08.30, with sophomore Macie Madden coming in third in 11:20.49. LIU also had two of the top three finishers in the 500 free, as junior Emily Shoup won the event (5:27.58), and sophomore Mackenzie Burnett came in third in 5:37.49.
 
Junior Amanda Peren won the 100 back (58.13) in another close finish, beating her second place finisher by just five hundredths of a second. Peren also won the 200 back, but this time, by nearly five seconds, winning the even in 2:06.06. And in the 200 IM, Peren won by nearly 10 seconds, with a time of 2:09.96.
 
Freshman Tara Cabiling was another multiple winner for LIU, as she won the 100 breaststroke (1:10.06), while teammate Amanda San Juan took third (1:11.30). And Cabiling also won the 200 breaststroke in 2:33.43, as a part of a Shark sweep. Junior Kyleigh Barao and San Juan went 2-3, with times of 2:33.63 and 2:38.12.
Senior Noemie Lacroix-Moreau came in second in the 50 free with a time of 25.41. LIU also took second and third in the 200 free, with freshman Reyna Iwamoto in second (2:01.80) and Shoup in third (2:04.80). The Sharks also went 2-3 in the 100 free, with Jeanne Touchette-McGowan and San Juan coming in in 56.23 and 56.60 respectively.
 
And the Sharks capped the day by winning the last event of the meet, the 400 free relay, as Grabowski, Lydia Amon, Touchette-McGowan and Lacroix-Moreau won in 3:45.11.
 
Up next, the Sharks will head to Wagner for a Northeast Conference dual meet, Saturday, January 25 at 1 p.m.