The Albert Lea boys’ swim and dive team traveled to Rochester on Saturday to compete at the Big Nine Conference meet.

The young Tigers team went up against many tough competitors as it struggled to gain ground on the other teams.

The Tigers only brought five swimmers to take part in the meet and they opened the competition with their best finish of the day.

Senior Alec Wendelboe, sophomores Adam Fitzlaff and Sonny Ortega-Roseli, and freshman William Taylor took ninth place in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 2:06.32.

Wendelboe would compete in two individual events as well. He finished 31st in the 200-yard individual medley and 25th in the 100-yard breaststroke.

Taylor also swam in two individual events, taking 32nd and 27th in the 200-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle respectively.

Ortega-Roseli took 38th in the 50-yard freestyle and 40th in the 100-yard freestyle.

Fitzlaff finished 33rd in both of his individual events: the 100-yard butterfly and the 100-yard backstroke.

The final event saw the team of Taylor, Fitzlaff, Wendelboe and eighth-grader Jakob Malakowsky  take 12th place in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

The Tigers will be back in the pool Feb. 21 for the first day of the Section 1A meet.