Senior captain Kevlyn Richards (Gig Harbor, Wash.) won both breaststroke events, and fellow captain Karla Ruff (Seattle, Wash.) added a victory in the 200 individual medley, but the depth of CSU Bakersfield was too much for the Redhawks, as the Roadrunners won Saturday's dual meet, 202-86, at the Hillman Aquatics Center.
Richards posted a faster time than she did in either of last weekend's meets in the 100 breaststroke, posting a mark of 1:04.59. Ruff finished in second place in 1:07.12, and Caroline Van Maren (Bellevue, Wash.) touched the wall in fourth place with a time of 1:08.77.
In the 200 breaststroke, the Redhawks claimed the top four positions, led by Richards with a season-best time of 2:18.61, just 5/100ths of a second off her collegiate best mark. Ruff finished second in 2:23.56, followed by Van Maren in third place in 2:28.28 and Dilynn D'Agostino (Gresham, Ore.) in fourth place in 2:31.24.
Ruff won the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:10.45, over a second-and-a-half ahead of her nearest competitor. That time was also almost three full seconds faster than the mark she posted just seven days ago at Idaho.
Freshman Jane Liggett (Portland, Ore.) finished second in both butterfly events, starting with a time of 2:09.47 in the 200 butterfly. Soon after touching the wall second in the 100 butterfly in 58.78 seconds, she anchored the 400 freestyle relay, joining Nicole Doi (Pleasanton, Calif.), Richards, and Melissa Randolf (Everett, Wash.) for a second place finish in 3:37.03.
Mackenzie Gant (Richland, Wash.) finished third in the 200 freestyle in 2:01.61 and then posted a lifetime-best time of 2:13.69 in the 200 backstroke for a fourth-place finish. Rachel Leighter (Eugene, Ore.) finished second in that event in 2:10.08 after a fourth-place finish in the 100 backstroke in 1:02.02.
"There were some phenomenal swims today, with so many in-season bests by the women," Seattle U head coach Craig Nisgor said. "They overcame the fact that they got into town late last night and put up some solid swims. Once again, the score does not tell the whole story about how pleased I am with today's results."
The Seattle University women's swim team will host past Redhawk swimmers in an alumni meet next Saturday, Oct. 27, at 12 p.m. at the Connolly Center. The next official competition is Saturday, Nov. 10, against long-time rival Simon Fraser, also starting at 12 p.m. at the Connolly Center.
