On Saturday, the Hillsdale College women’s swim team lost their last dual meet of the season in a tight matchup against Ashland University, 105-100.
The swim team finished their regular season strong with a 10-4 record, and are currently ranked 5th in the GLIAC going into the championship tournament on Feb. 11-14 which will be hosted at Jenison High School near Grand Valley State University.
“It was wild that my first collegiate dual meet was at Ashland and so was my last,” senior captain Ali Bauer said. “I wish the outcome would have been different but it was still good closure for my career. The best part about finishing the regular season is the beginning of taper and the impending GLIAC meet. I’m ready to swim fast.”
After placing 1st in the 50 Free with a time of 24.39 and 2nd in the 100 Free with a time of 53.00 this weekend, senior Rachael Kurtz is currently ranked 2nd in the GLIAC for the 50 Free and 3rd in the 100 Free.
Junior Zoe Hopkins took both the 1000 Free and the 500 Free at Ashland. Hopkins now ranks 5th in the GLIAC for the 500 Free and the 1000 Free.
“Ashland is always an exciting meet with a lot of good races and that held true for Saturday. It was a fast meet because there weren’t any men’s teams so there wasn’t much time between races and my muscles were feeling it by the end,” Hopkins said. “However the team was in good spirits despite the loss. I’m excited to let my body rest and finish off a great season.”
Junior Sarah Rinaldi made an impressive showing on Saturday placing 2nd in the 200 IM with a time of 2:15.06.
Brad Monastiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations has seen multiple swim teams in his nine years at Hillsdale, and pointed out what makes this particular group of girls special.
“The team did a great job at improving its depth while getting consistent event wins from Zoe Hopkins and Rachael Kurtz. There’s a lot of balance in the short and long events, which makes them a tough team to beat in dual meet formats.”
The Chargers now look forward to the GLIAC tournament on Feb. 11-14.
