The Valparaiso women's swimming and diving team dropped a 133.5-84.5 decision to Hope on Thursday evening at the Athletics-Recreation Center.

Things opened ominously for the Crusaders, as Valpo's top 200 medley relay was disqualified. The Brown and Gold bounced back though, with Britt Nelson (Cortland, N.Y./Homer H.S.) earning a second place finish in the 1000 freestyle. The sophomore touched the wall in 11:08.40.

Leah Schneider (Sussex, Wis./Arrowhead H.S.) turned in the Crusaders top effort in the 200 free, finishing in third place with a time of 2:01.96. Amanda Gregory (Carmel, Ind./Carmel H.S.) brought Valpo back with a second place finish in the 50 free, touching the water in 26.52 seconds.

Allison Clark (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) earned the Crusaders first victory of the meet, doing so in the 400 individual medley. The freshman finished with a time of 4:49.06, 3.33 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor.

Britt King (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood H.S.) turned in Valpo's first diving effort in several years, finishing second in the 1-meter competition with a score of 91.6 points. When the swimming events resumed, Katie Urbas (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette H.S.) finished second in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:01.94. Gregory then tied for third in the 100 free (57.57).

Lauren Bambach (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman H.S.) posted a Crusader win in the 100 backstroke, touching the wall in 1:04.11, .74 seconds in front of the field. Nelson then finished second in the 500 free (5:25.31), before Valpo won its second event in three races.

Ashley Seale (Maryville, Tenn./Maryville H.S.) posted a victory in the 100 breaststroke as the Crusaders took the top three places. Clark was second (1:12.25), while Sarah Deardorff (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove H.S.) finished third (1:13.91).

The Brown and Gold concluded the meet with a second place finish with a runner-up finish in the 200 free relay as Gregory, Nelson, Clark, and Schneider touched the wall in 1:44.62.

Valpo (1-3) will return to the pool on January 16 as the Crusaders travel to Muncie, Ind. for a 5 p.m. meet at Ball State.