The Albert Lea girls’ swimming and diving team may have lost 99-80 to Rochester Century Tuesday, but the Tigers had a solid start to the season.

“This is a young team full of promising prospects and this is just the first meet of the season,” Tigers head coach Jon Schmitz said.

The Tigers had several girls swim section-qualifying times including seventh-grader Lindsey Horejsi in the 200 free and the 500 free, ninth-grader Hannah Hertling in the 100 breaststroke, sophomore Kemma Bergland in the 100 free and 100 backstroke, juniors Morgan Field in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke, Galen Schulz in the 50 free and 100 free and senior Amy Horejsi in the 50 free and 100 butterfly.

“There were a lot of good swims out there,” Albert Lea assistant coach Eric Johnson said.

Schulz finished first in the 100 free with a time of 58.63 seconds against a tough Century team. Also bringing home first place finishes were Field in the 100 breaststroke and the 400 free relay team of Lindsey Horejsi, Mady Dahl, Whitney Rasmussen and Bergland.

The Tiger divers are also young and are off to a great start.

Sophomore Karli Kriewall finished first in diving with an impressive score of 178.25. Rounding out the divers Tuesday was ninth-grader Chelsea Battle in fourth and sophomore Makenna Friehl in sixth.

The girls are excited for the season especially with the influx of new and younger swimmers. “It was a good first meet,” Tigers captain Amy Horejsi said. “We will be looking even better for our next meet.”

The Albert Lea Tiger girls swim again Thursday at home againt Winona.