After a couple of weeks of swimming as a team in practice, the Austin girls swimming and diving team was ready to mix it up with an opponent. The Packers came out ready as they opened their season with a 95-76 win over Albert Lea in Bud Higgins Pool Tuesday.

The Packers have a young squad this season as just seven of the athletes are upperclassmen. Austin sophomore Molly Garry is one of the younger swimmers and she opened her season in solid fashion as she won the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly.

“I was really nervous going into this one, but now that I’ve got one down, I feel better,” Garry said. “It gets easier once you kind of see where everyone else is.”

Garry also anchored the first place 200-yard freestyle relay team that also featured Molly Sheehan, Zoe Dolan Peterson and Shannan Kelly, who also won the 500-yard freestyle. Kelly is one of five seniors on the squad and she said it felt great to get in the pool and compete.

“It felt good to be out in the water again and competing. It really shows us what we need to work on,” Kelly said. “We have a young team and us seniors do our best to help out the younger swimmers.”

Taya Kuchera took first in the 200-yard freestyle for the Packers and Hanna Thompson took first in diving,

AUSTIN STATS

200-medley relay: Madelynn Murley, Molly Sheehan, Molly Garry, Shannan Kelly (second, 2:03.58); Zoe Dolan Peterson, Signe Fadness, Ingrid Dolan Peterson, Mackenzie Carter (third, 2:17.72)

200-freestyle: Taya Kuchera (first, 2:18.96); Zoe Dolan Peterson (2:20.01); Lucy Lagervall (fourth, 2:39.44)

200-individual medley: Shannan Kelly (second, 2:39.54); Ingrid Dolan Peterson (third, 2:56.54)

50-freestyle: Molly Garry (first, 26.91); Hanna Thompson (second, 27.56); Sierra Leichtnam (third, 28.46)

Diving: Hanna Thompson (first, 151.00); Alayna Tschann (second, 143.50); Ali Portz (third, 108.75)

100-butterfly: Molly Garry (first, 1:09.96); Molly Sheehan (second, 1:14.33)

100-freestyle: Madelynn Murley (second, 1:02.66); Sierra Leichtnam (fifth, 1:04.25); Signe Fadness (sixth, 1:04.31)

500-freestyle: Shannan Kelly (first, 6:12.28); Taya Kuchera (second, 6:26.97)

200-freestyle relay: Molly Sheehan, Zoe Dolan Peterson, Shannan Kelly, Molly Garry (first, 1:51.02); Hanna Thompson, Sierra Liechtnam, Signe Fadness, Taya Kuchera (second, 1:56.00)

100-backstroke: Madelynn Murley (second, 1:12.31); Zoe Dolan Peterson (fourth, 1:18.44); Hannah Case (fifth, 1:27.22)

100-breaststroke: Molly Sheehan (second, 1:15.70); Ingrid Dolan Peterson (third, 1:29.60); Mackenzie Carter (fifth, 1:32.24)

400-freestyle relay: Signs Fadness, Madelynn Murley, Taya Kuchera, Sierra Leichtnam (second, 4:17.55); Hanna Thompson, Lucy Lagervall, Mackenzie Carter, Zoe Dolan Peterson (third, 4:18.19)