The Hillsdale College women's swimming team stepped up with plenty of clutch performances Saturday, but was unable to come up with a win over rival Ashland University.
Despite a big win by the 400 free relay team of Mikalah Smith, Jennifer Wheeler, Emily Shallman and Rachael Kurtz, the Chargers lost a close meet to the host Eagles 106-100. This represents the last meet for the team until the GLIAC championships, which run from Feb. 11-14. The Chargers conclude the dual meet portion of their schedule with an impressive 10-4 record.
The aforementioned relay team won its race in 3:42.53, less than a second ahead of the Eagles, winning a dramatic race. However, Ashland came up with six of the 11 available first-place finishes in the races in the dual meet, barely edging the Chargers.
Junior Zoe Hopkins, enjoying her best season to date, was a double winner for Hillsdale, capturing first place in the 1000 free (10:56) and 500 free (5:20.62).
Kurtz, swimming in the final dual meet of her distinguished career, won the 50 free in 24.39 seconds, and came in second in the 100 free at 54.65.
Shallman added to her good day with a win in the 100 butterfly, touching the wall in 60.19 seconds. She also got points for Hillsdale with a second-place time of 2:00.64 in the 200 free.