ALBION, Mich. – Anna Hargrove won the backstroke events, Laura Steavenson won the 200-yard freestyle and Sarah Kilbride won the 100-yard butterfly in Albion's 175-122 loss to Kalamazoo in a women's swimming & diving dual meet.
Albion Coach Jake Taber said the team scores did not reflect the competitiveness of the meet.
"Our strength is in our numbers and depth," Taber said. "We ran into a Kalamazoo team with a ton of firepower. Even the races that did not go our way, we were in them.
"We asked a lot of our first-year athletes as we'll get better as the season goes on," Taber added.
Hargrove, the defending Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association champion in the 100-yard backstroke, finished the 100 in 1:02.67 for about a second and a half victory over Christina Park. Hargrove's margin over Park in the 200 was just eight hundredths of a second.
Steavenson, who is able to train consistently after recovering from hip surgeries, finished the 200 freestyle in 2:01.16 for a 1.2-second margin over Tristyn Edsall. Steavenson added a second-place finish in the 500 free, completing the race in 5:29.37.
Kilbride won the butterfly by more than a second over Miranda Doepker. She also scored second-place points in the 200 butterfly.
"Sarah is exciting," Taber said. "She has a ton of ability. I expect her to swim with more confidence."
Kylene Slocum scored second-place points in the 100 breaststroke and third place points at the 200 distance. Hailey Sambor finished second in the 200 breaststroke and she was third in the 100.
Julia Russell was the runner-up in 1-meter diving and Meghan Meader was second in 3-meter.
Albion's next meet is Nov. 14 at Division II Hillsdale College.
