Do not call the Bridgewater-Raritan High School girls' swim team an underdog.
That just further fires up Hall-of-Fame head coach Chris Levin and his deep Bridgewater-Raritan team, which is ranked No. 8 overall in New Jersey but entered the postseason as the No. 3 seed in its state tournament bracket.
Under the radar with nothing to lose – just the way the reigning state sectional champion Panthers like it, especially given the pressure on a pair of heavy favorites above them to deliver.
Those teams with the targets on their backs were New Jersey’s No. 2 and No. 6 ranked teams in Hillsborough High School and Westfield High School, respectively, which were seeded second and first in Bridgewater-Raritan’s postseason bracket. Heading into their postseason debut at Hillsborough, which handed Bridgewater-Raritan a 26-point loss one month ago in the regular season and seemed destined to hoist the state championship trophy, the Panthers rallied to tie and upset the previously undefeated Raiders after the rare postseason power points criterion was invoked.
Not only did this punctuate an instant classic, but it kept Bridgewater-Raritan’s sectional title defense alive.
After eliminating one juggernaut in dramatic fashion, Bridgewater-Raritan then had recent history on its side against the top-seeded Blue Devils, who were upset by the Panthers in back-to-back postseasons heading into their state sectional finals rematch on Thursday evening.
Bridgewater-Raritan responded by answering the call – and one key question.
Why not us again?
After emerging on the right side of an epic tiebreaker in the semifinal round, third-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan (10-1) jumped out in front against top-seeded Westfield (11-2) immediately and left no doubt in the state sectional finals. For the last of seven gold medals collected by the Panthers, freshman Lily Tamedl (1:11.39) and senior Claire Hegedus (1:11.92) symbolically represented both the present and the future of Bridgewater-Raritan with the meet-clinching gold and silver medals in the 100-yard breast stroke.
Maybe the future is now for the Panthers, who then closed out a statement 93.5-76.5 victory over Westfield in the finals of the NJSIAA North New Jersey, Section 2, Group A Tournament to repeat as state sectional champions Thursday, February 12, at the Raritan Bay Area YMCA in Perth Amboy.
“It definitely shows our strength and power,” said of winning back-to-back state sectional crowns by Hegedus, whose team has now upset Westfield in the postseason three years in a row, including an 88-82 victory in last year’s state sectional finals. “The momentum and concept of being the underdog definitely make our mindset stronger. It helps us bond more as a team and gives us more confidence going into the meet. Seeing that we keep doing it over and over again helps us believe that we can continue to do that in the future, even when I am not here.”
“It’s very exciting in my eyes, because Westfield is definitely a tough team in everything.”
For now, the final ride for Hegedus and her fellow Bridgewater-Raritan seniors will extend into the depths of February, which Bridgewater-Raritan may be navigating in uncharted territory as the No. 1 seed in the state semifinals.
And what a wild ride this week alone has been for the Panthers from being an underdog on the brink of defeat to now becoming the favorite to win it all.
While it trailed by double digits after five races against Hillsborough and did not take its first lead until the penultimate race against the Raiders, Bridgewater-Raritan’s quartet of senior Kimaya Desai, freshman Mila Daniels, junior Merah DeRosa, and Tamedl opened up the sectional finals against Westfield with a 1.57 second margin of victory to win the 200-yard medley relay (1:51.24).
This sprang the Panthers out to an 8-6 lead they never relinquished.
Freshman Gia Larosa (1:59.66) then edged Westfield sophomore Lily Ricigliano by just 0.34 seconds to collect a critical gold medal in the 200-yard freestyle, as the Panthers were able to salvage a split of the race’s 16 points in a meet where points were at a premium and early momentum was the difference.
Westfield junior Jane Kavanagh then cruised in the 200-yard individual medley (2:03.52), but a freshman trio in Bridgewater-Raritan’s Daniels (2:11.83), Tamedl (2:16.74), and Valentina Zirpoli (2:20.07) tallied a 2-3-4 finish to instead double Bridgewater-Raritan’s lead to 25-21.
“I just have to remember what I know what to do that I’ve learned ever since I was a kid,” said Zirpoli after the meet by Zirpoli, who has six first-place finishes alone since the turn of the calendar to 2026: two of them against sixth-seeded Hunterdon Central Regional High School in her state playoff debut back on February 5. “I also remember that I have very good teammates and upperclassmen who can also do as much as I can do.”
“That helps me stay calm and believe in not only myself, but everyone else.”
In the high-variability 50-yard free style, while DeRosa (25.58 seconds) touched the wall first, freshman Janani Senthilkumar tied Westfield sophomore Avery Levitt for second place at (26.26 seconds), which resulted in a split of the seven total points available for second and third place. (Individual races are worth six, four, three, two, and one point in order for places one through five, while relay races are worth eight, four, and two points in order for places one through three only.)
Three and a half points apiece to head into the intermission, but Bridgewater-Raritan still had some breathing room, leading 34.5-27.5.
That cushion then became double digits after Daniels (59.17 seconds) rolled to a gold medal to highlight the Panthers’ 1-3-4 finish in the 100-yard butterfly. Even though Bridgewater-Raritan led 45.5-32.5 and appeared to be in control after this moment, it knew it was not out of the woods yet.
Especially against a Westfield team eager to erase the pain of its last two eliminations by the Panthers.
Even more, the Panthers were on the wrong side of a similar score after this race against Hillsborough in the semifinal round, but Bridgewater-Raritan’s furious comeback in the second half of that meet ultimately was the difference in forcing that tiebreaker to keep its season alive.
“It was one of the thoughts that crossed all of our minds,” revealed Levin of the Panthers’ comeback to upset Hillsborough, 86-85, three days earlier, and subsequently turning the page to get ready for Westfield. “We got an emotional victory there – one on paper that seemed borderline impossible. You always wonder how they will be feeling and how they will respond. It took about 24 hours to enjoy the victory, but on Wednesday, we met during lunch and said that this victory [over Hillsborough] was now behind us. We reset and move forward for Westfield. At this point, our girls have come up to me with lineup ideas. I have never had so many girls not only so excited about a meet, but thinking critically about how we can win a meet as a team and what lineup moves we can make.”
“Having the girls enjoy that as well is something that not a lot of teams have.”
Especially after rebounding from seeing their season on the ropes in this rematch against their rival in Hillsborough, which swept all 11 gold medals, nearly cracked the century mark in its 98-72 regular-season victory over the Panthers back on January 13.
This cemented the Raiders as the favorite to run the table in 2025-26 – until now.
Since what ended up being its lone loss of the 2025-26 season to date, one that just made its newcomers and veterans alike even stronger in the long run, Bridgewater-Raritan has not fallen.
That is especially true for the Panthers’ freshmen, including swimmers who lost individual races for their first time in their careers at Hillsborough just under one month earlier.
“I did not have as much knowledge going in as others, so I didn’t know how competitive it was at first,” reflected Zirpoli of her journey in her debut season for the Panthers. “After our first loss against Hillsborough, I realized that maybe this is harder than it seems. Our loss gave me a lot more hope and made me try way harder.”
“Seeing that we can beat them, as Coach Levin always told us that we still could, it feels great to always pull through and win.”
While nothing can top the razor-thin margin of victory Bridgewater-Raritan had against Hillsborough in its rematch, when the meet’s officials ruled that the Panthers edged out the Raiders by a mere 37 power points amongst the 7,377 total power points tallied by both squads, that momentum clearly carried over into the sectional championship against Westfield.
A meet that never seemed to be in doubt – at least in comparison to Monday afternoon.
Westfield then tallied its best finish of 10 points in the 100-yard freestyle, which saw junior Amelia Nath (55.03 seconds) edge DeRosa by just 0.32 seconds for first place to get the Blue Devils back to within single digits.
But the Blue Devils were unable to get any closer.
The race’s longest event in the 500-yard freestyle was a decisive victory by Bridgewater-Raritan, which saw Larosa (5:25.07) win by just under four and a half seconds. A third-place finish was achieved by Desai (5:35.66), but after rounding out a critical fourth-place finish in the faster 200-yard individual medley, Zirpoli (5:38.52) turned on the jets before pulling away for a coveted fourth-place finish and two more points for Bridgewater-Raritan.
Instead of a single-digit output in this race, that 11-5 mark by the Panthers set up the underdogs with a 62.5-47.5 advantage: just 23 points away from the victory with four races to go.
“It was a little scary knowing that both the ‘B’ and ‘C’ seeds had faster times than me,” revealed Zirpoli, whose resulting surge clinched her fourth-place spot by 3.32 seconds. “When I went in and saw that maybe I was falling a little bit behind, I got a little nervous, but then I knew what I could do.”
“I just tried my hardest and pulled through.”
Tamedl, Senthilkumar, Larosa, and DeRosa then responded by winning the 200-yard free style relay (1:44.22) by just 0.9 second over Westfield’s ‘A’ lane in Levitt, Nath, sophomore Allison Dubeck, and freshman Eva Lubenow to offset the Blue Devils’ otherwise second- and third-place finishes, which were capped off by freshman Elizabeth Purse, Emily Dubeck, Ricigliano, and junior Mina Pektas (1:48.27).
Notably, that third-place finish for Westfield came by just 0.09 seconds over Bridgewater-Raritan’s fourth-place lane in Hegedus, freshman Viv Blomquist, freshman Maria Stakias, and junior Diya Poleti.
While it was a touch-out that swung the game by four points in favor of the Blue Devils, it only delayed the inevitable for Bridgewater-Raritan, which still led comfortably, 70.5-53.5.
Kavanagh then rolled to a gold medal in the 100-yard back stroke (57.41 seconds) to help Westfield get to within 77.5-62.5 before Tamedl’s gold medal and Hegedus’ silver medal in the 100-yard breast stroke officially sealed the victory for Bridgewater-Raritan via a 1-2-4 finish.
This history-making race was capped by sophomore Anika Nandi (1:13.37) to extend the Panthers’ lead to 89.5-66.5.
“The freshmen that we have this year are definitely a great group of kids,” Hegedus previewed of what is a potential dynasty in the making for Bridgewater-Raritan. “I think we are all a good group of kids, but they shaped us together after losing so many seniors over the past two years.”
“Seeing someone like Lily finish [first place] makes me happy, because we know we are leaving with the team in good hands.”
Pektas, Lubenow, Kavanagh, and freshman Gemma Giordano closed out the meet by winning the 400 free style relay (3:45.32) for Westfield, but just 1.14 second behind was Bridgewater-Raritan’s middle lane in Larosa, senior Riccia Castone, Desai, and Daniels: two freshman and two seniors, as a further testament that the Panthers are in good hands both now and for the foreseeable future.
Especially given the success of Bridgewater-Raritan’s seniors, who fell in the state sectional finals their freshman year at home to Ridge High School, lost in the sectional finals to Ridge as sophomores, but now have back-to-back state sectional championships to close out their careers.
And they are not done yet.
Given that the top three teams in its North 2, Group A bracket collected the highest amount of power points amongst all of New Jersey’s Group A squads heading into the postseason, Bridgewater-Raritan will head into the state semifinals as the No. 1 seed after emerging as the last team standing in its gauntlet of a section.
While Bridgewater-Raritan will now have the target on its back after the Panthers eliminated two squads ranked in the top six overall in the Garden State to repeat as state sectional champions, they are more than prepared for their next objectives.
Win two more meets to become the queens of New Jersey.
Next up for top-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan (10-1) is a return trip to the state semifinals and a matchup against fourth-seeded East Brunswick High School (8-1), which won the Central, Group A title over Rancocas Valley Regional High School, 105-65, on Thursday evening.
The opening race for the Panthers and Bears will begin at 5 p.m. Thursday, February 19, at Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne as the first leg of Group A’s semifinal doubleheader.
Second-seeded, host school, and North 1, Group A champion Passaic Tech (10-2) will then square off in a massive top-15 matchup against third-seeded and South, Group A champion Cherry Hill High School East (9-3) at 6:30 p.m. on this date, as both teams are ranked No. 13 and No. 11 in New Jersey, respectively.
Bridgewater-Raritan already has a victory over Passaic Tech, 107-63, in both teams’ January 23 regular-season meeting in Bridgewater. The Panthers have not swum against East Brunswick or Cherry Hill East this season, but they defeated East Brunswick, 93.5-76.5, in the regular season on January 10, 2025, in Bridgewater.
The winners of these matchups will advance to the Group A state championship, which will be contested at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, February 22, at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, immediately following the 9 a.m. boys’ Group A state finals.
Bridgewater-Raritan is now the No. 1 seed in both the boys’ and girls’ Group A state semifinals, and the Panthers’ boys’ squad in New Jersey’s top-ranked boys’ team to go with its girls’ team being ranked No. 8 overall in the Garden State.
The Bridgewater-Raritan boys’ team will square off against fourth-seeded Ridgewood on Wednesday, February 18, at Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne, one day before the Panthers’ girls’ squad will return to the state semifinals at this venue.
Should the Panthers win both of their state semifinal debuts, they would therefore swim in back-to-back state finals meets to launch the eight-meet slate of state championship meets at Rutgers University on the morning of Sunday, February 22.
“In all of my years of coaching, this is the most invested team I can think of in terms of how much our girls care and what we need to do as a team together to get this victory,” praised Levin of his group, which is now two victories away from its first state title since Bridgewater-Raritan won four consecutive Group A state championships from 2017-20. “What our girls have been able to accomplish is absolutely incredible. The key that I always tell our girls is that they have to believe in themselves. They are all incredible swimmers who train incredibly hard and are right there. They have to trust themselves, believe in themselves, and have a strategy. You can’t just go into a race and swim blindly. You have to have a plan and execute, but that’s exactly what they have been doing day in and day out.”
“With each race and each meet, they believe more and more, and you see the results.”