The Albert Lea girls’ swimming and diving team hosted Mankato East Tuesday night and was defeated by a score of 94-88.

The Tigers swam hard, but it wasn’t quite enough to beat the Cougars.

The Tigers found themselves down 34-28 early in the match thanks to a first-place performance from Emily Taylor in the girls 50-yard freestyle. Lexie Simon took third and Lauren Bizjak took sixth in the race, respectively.

The Tigers found themselves within three points of the lead, but the Cougars pulled away thanks to a solid run in the girls 100-yard fly. They claimed a first, third and fourth place finish. Albert Lea’s Emily Jensen came in second place.

Other highlights of the meet were: Alana Skarstad taking second place in the 200-yard freestyle, Jaeda Koziolek finishing second in the 200-yard individual medley and second in the 100 backstroke, Natalie Nafzger taking first in the one meter dive, Jill Peterson claiming first place in the 500 free and Taylor winning the 100 breaststroke — 11 seconds clear of second place.