Senior Kevlyn Richards (Gig Harbor, Wash.) won two events and many swimmers posted personal best times as the Seattle University women's swim team started the 2012-13 competition season with a 179-83 loss to Washington State Friday evening at Gibb Pool.
Richards won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:05.24, two-and-a-half seconds ahead of her nearest competitor. She joined with Karla Ruff (Seattle, Wash.) for a 1-2 finish in the 200 breaststroke, with Richards posting a time of 2:24.85 and Ruff touching the wall with a mark of 2:25.44.
Bethany Gehrke (Lynnwood, Wash.) earned Seattle U's other event victory in the meet, winning the 1000 freestyle with a time of 10:42.13, the fifth-fastest time in program history. In the 400 individual medley, Ruff finished second with a time of 4:39.54, and Gehrke earned a fourth-place finish in 4:44.14.
Freshman Jane Liggett (Portland, Ore.) made a good first impression, posting the program's eighth-best time in the 200 butterfly with a mark of 2:11.81, good enough for third place. Liggett also finished third in the 100 butterfly with a time of 59.31 seconds.
Nicole Doi (Pleasanton, Calif.) came close to her personal best in the 50 freestyle, finishing third in 25.02 seconds. She followed that up with a lifetime-best time of 53.93 seconds in the 100 freestyle, also finishing in third place in that event. Rachel Leighter (Eugene, Ore.) finished third in both the 100 backstroke (1:02.42) and the 200 backstroke (2:12.25).
"We were a little sluggish at the start, but after the first break, the team came out strong and posted some great times," Seattle U head coach Craig Nisgor said. "The score is not indicative of how we performed tonight. We were sloppy in some aspects, but this meet was a good snapshot of where we are at this point in time."
Seattle University (0-1) makes the short trip to Moscow, Idaho, for an afternoon meet against fellow conference member Idaho Saturday, Oct. 13, beginning at 12 noon.