A bid to win a sixth state championship by the Bridgewater-Raritan High School girls’ swim team was thwarted by Montclair High School.
Bridgewater-Raritan, the second seed, was defeated by third-seeded Montclair High School, 95-75, in the NJSIAA Public Group A tournament semifinal on Tuesday, February 18, at the Gloucester County Institute of Technology in Sewell.
Bridgewater-Raritan, ranked 11th in the state, ended its dual season with a 5-6-1 record while 16th-ranked Montclair improved to 9-2 and will face top-seeded and No. 8-ranked Cherry Hill East High Schooll in the Public Group A state final at Rutgers University on Sunday, February 23.
Cherry Hill East defeated fourth-seeded and 12th-ranked East Brunswick High School, 94.5-74.5., in the other Public Group A semifinal on February 18.
Bridgewater-Raritan, led by hall-of-fame coach Chris Levin, had ripped off four straight Public Group A state championships from 2016 through 2019.
Bridgewater-Raritan had previously won its first state title in 1992.