ALBION, Mich. – Albion College took first place in both relays and it scored at least eight points in eight individual events as it earned a 126-112 victory over Saginaw Valley State University in a non-league women's swimming & diving dual meet.
"Our depth won the meet for us today," Albion Head Coach Jake Taber said. "Our challenge is how to best utilize our depth as we approach the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championships."
Albion grabbed the lead right away as Anna Hargrove, Hailey Sambor, Sarah Kilbride and Madison Vaive completed the 200-yard medley relay in 1:54.95 to win the event by nearly two seconds over the Cardinals.
The Britons extended the lead by sweeping the top three places in the 200-yard freestyle and 50-yard freestyle. Laura Steavenson won the 200 in 2:04.18 with Abigail Slager and Kylene Slocum in second and third, respectively. Vaive finished the 50 in 26.40 seconds, while Molly Blank and Lauren Pawelec posted times of 26.41 and 26.43.
Albion matched the nine points Saginaw Valley scored for gaining first place in the 400 IM and 200 backstroke. Mackenzie Chesley, Haley DeFeyter and Julia DiFiore finished second, third and fourth in the IM and Slager, Jourden Burke, and Haley Wallis did likewise in the backstroke. The Britons also picked up eight points in the 200 butterfly as Kilbride finished second, Chesley third and Kara Bowers fifth.
Hargrove achieved a winning time of 56.22 seconds in the 100 freestyle to lead Albion to a 14-point haul in the event. Alex Wilkins was third and Molly Blank was fourth.
Saginaw Valley only outscored Albion 10-9 in the 500 freestyle as Steavenson finished second, followed by DeFeyter and Kaileigh Krupp in third and fourth, respectively.
Albion put the exclamation point on the victory as Slocum completed her leg of the 400 freestyle relay in 56.59 seconds and the Britons achieved a first-place time of 3:47.13.
Albion will celebrate its Senior Night Jan. 30 when it hosts Olivet College for a dual meet inside the Dean Aquatic Center. The first event is scheduled for 5 p.m.
