HOUGHTON — With a rash of illness running through both teams, the Houghton Gremlins swim teams hosted Marquette on Tuesday. Both teams came up short in the end, but battled hard, despite everything.

“This has been a tough part of our schedule, but the team came out and competed hard,” said coach Erik Johnson. “We have been dealing with some illness. Trying to get everyone back into the pool and healthy has been our No. 1 goal. The team never ceases to amaze me with how they battle even the toughest of competitors.”

Johnson was especially pleased with how well his individual swimmers performed, despite not getting wins to show for it.

“We had 47 best times again today, and, with little rest, we are hoping for a similar result as we head into our last regular season meet at home on Thursday.”

The girls, who lost as a team, 141-44, did not have any individual event winners. However, Fiona Bassard did earn a U.P. Finals qualification in the 200-yard individual medley.

While the team did not have success as a group, Johnson liked what he saw from the girls in how they handled adversity.

“I was impressed with most of our swims for the girls,” he said, “and how well we bounced back when things didn’t go our way.”

The boys, who lost 106-55, had one winner in Collin Raasio, who took the 100-yard backstroke. He also qualified for U.P. Finals in the event as well.

“For the boys, I thought we left a few things out there, and didn’t focus on our finishes,” Johnson said. “We will be looking to clean that up on Thursday and going into finals.”

Johnson again reiterated his excitement over how well his swimmers performed despite the lack of individual, and team, success.

“Marquette is a really strong group again this year, so I was happy that we held our own against them,” he said. “I am hopeful we can seal the deal on a few more qualifying times on Thursday, and then the hay is in the barn heading to finals.”