The Duke women’s swimming and diving team collected a pair of victories in the regular season finale Saturday in Taishoff Aquatic Pavilion, downing Richmond, 167.5-117.5, and defeating ACC opponent Clemson by a 159-130 margin. The Blue Devil men also turned in several standout performances, but could not hold off Clemson, falling 156-144.
The Blue Devil diving corps made a clean sweep on the low boards, as senior Jessica Lyden won the 1-meter competition with a career-best score of 325.45. She also took first at the 3-meter height, scoring 357.35 to collect another NCAA Zone Diving qualifying standard. On the men’s side, freshman Clay Pinckney followed up a second-place performance on the 1-meter board in Friday’s meet against North Carolina with his first career win Saturday, earning a personal-best score of 318.50. Pinckney also placed second in the 3-meter competition, finishing just behind senior Cody Kolodziejzyk who won the event at 377.05.
"This was probably the best performance out of the group all year, which bodes really well as we’re getting ready for ACCs," said diving coach Drew Johansen. "It was a great day all-around."
Duke swimmers continued to excel in the relay events during Saturday’s meet, with the women’s 200 medley team of freshman Megan McCarroll, sophomore Christine Wixted, senior Steffi Niessl and sophomore Lauren Weaver starting things off with a first-place finish (1:43.98). The Blue Devil men followed up with a second-place showing in the event, clocking 1:30.78.
Senior Rose O’Connor opened up the individual events with a 10:14.25 performance in the 1,000 free to take first. Wixted swept the women’s breaststroke events for the second consecutive meet, winning the 100 breast with a time of 1:03.47 and swimming 2:17.37 to touch first at the 200-yard distance.
Freshman Ali Horn notched another victory for the Blue Devil women in the 200 fly (2:04.80), while senior Meghan Dwyer picked up a win in the 500 free (5:01.10). The women tied for second with Richmond in the final event of the day, the 200 free relay, to secure overall team victories over both squads and improve to 5-7 overall and 1-6 in ACC competition this season.
"On the women’s side, I think we had some super performances," said head coach Dan Colella. "These kinds of swims with the relays are definitely a lot faster than we have been in previous years. It’s the last meet of the season, so now it’s time to rest and prepare."
The Blue Devil men saw pool records fall for the second time in as many days, as graduate student Piotr Safronczyk bested his own mark in the 100 breast with a 55.73 clocking to finish first. Junior Jim Zuponeck and sophomore Tyler Fleming completed the Duke sweep, coming in second and third, respectively. Safronczyk also claimed his first victory of the year in the 200 breast, winning with a mark of 2:05.31. Sophomore Hunter Knight finished right behind Safronczyk at 2:06.25, while also taking second in the 200 IM (1:53.57).
Senior Ben Tuben collected his second-best time of the season to finish second in the 50 free (20.98), and junior Adam Flur swam a personal-best 46.31 in the 100 free to also take second. Tuben returned a few events later to post a win in the 100 fly, touching in 49.20. In a tightly contested 200 free relay, Clemson just edged the team of Flur, Safronczyk, freshman Jack Forese and Tuben, who combined for a time of 1:22.86.
The loss dropped the Duke men to 4-7 on the year and 1-6 in conference action.
"We knew that Clemson would be a very tough opponent," Colella said. "I think this is going to get us that much more hungry to perform at ACCs."
Saturday’s meet also marked Senior Day for 10 Blue Devils who will be graduating in May. Catherine Conklin, Meghan Dwyer, Shawn Hoffman, Cody Kolodziejzyk, Jessica Lyden, Steffi Niessl, Rose O’Connor, Hunter Roux, Piotr Safronczyk and Ben Tuben were recognized prior to the start of the swimming events.
"It’s sad to see the seniors finish up their career here … but they’ve been really instrumental in helping this program grow over the last four years," Colella said. "We’re excited for them, we’re going to miss them and we’re definitely looking forward to their performances in two and three weeks."
The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams return to action Feb. 15-18 for the Women’s ACC Championships and Feb. 22-25 for the Men’s ACC Championships. Both events will be hosted by Virginia Tech at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center in Christiansburg, Va.
The Clemson men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams competed twice in a span of 18 hours over the weekend during a road trip to the state of North Carolina. The Tigers experienced mixed results as a team during the stretch and posted a slew of fast times competing against conference foes N.C. State and Duke and the Richmond women’s team.
On Friday night in Raleigh, the N.C. State men’s team defeated Clemson by a score of 149-83, while the Tiger women’s team was defeated by the Wolfpack 141-98. On Saturday in Durham, the Clemson men’s team eked out a victory over Duke by a single point, 156-155. The Tigers split on the women’s side, defeating Richmond 153-141 and falling to Duke 159-130.
With the weekend’s results, the Clemson men’s team improves to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the ACC. The Tiger women’s team is now 5-5 overall and 1-4 in conference competition.
"Being two or three weeks out from our ACC Championship meets, each team in the conference prepares for the final few dual meets of the season differently," Head Coach Christopher Ip said. "The coaching staff needs to get the most performance information possible as we start the selection process for the conference team. We have set up these two back-to-back meets to give our athletes the opportunity to mimic the championship meet format of multiple-day events.
"I am very proud of our team performances today against Duke. Our goal was to close out our final ACC dual meet ever as a program with respect, and to honor all past Tigers with this final chapter. I believe six Duke pool records and a final dual meet victory for the men's team will dot the "I" for our Tiger program. We have left our names behind in both the N.C. State and Duke facilities record boards; eclipsing some of the fastest swimmers in the history of the ACC."
For the men against the Wolfpack, Eric Bruck swam a season-best 19.63 seconds in winning the 50 free. He was more than a second faster than the closest competition. Bruck also broke the pool record with his first-place swim in the 100 free with a time of 43.82 seconds.
Alex Carr won the 1000 free with a time of 9:30.33 and came in second place in the 500 free with a time of 4:40.38. Chris Dart was the winner in the 200 IM with a time of 1:51.53. He also finished in second place in the 200 back with a time of 1:50.03.
For the women, Meg Anderson set the pool record in her victory in the 50 free. Her time of 22.83 seconds was also her best of the season. Anderson later added a win in the 100 free with her time of 49.88 seconds. Tori Cervone won the 200 IM with a time of 2:05.78, and she finished second in the 200 back with a time of 2:03.27.
Sarah Bechard (2:04.95) and Kelly McGee (2:06.46) finished first and second, respectively, in the 200 fly. In diving, Cassie Self (267.22)and Brooke George (265.72) posted a 1-2 finish in the one-meter. Kristen Redmond won the 500 free with a time of 5:01.58 and finished in second place in the 200 free with a time of 1:51.20.
Against the Blue Devils, Carr swept the distance freestyle events, winning the 500 free with a time of 4:38.31 and the 1000 free for the second time in two days with a time of 9:35.11. Chris Reinke won the 200 free with a time of 1:42.51. Bruck was the winner once again in the 50 free with a time of 19.47 seconds and in the 100 free with a time of 44.56 seconds. Both swims set pool records.
Dart (49.99) and Walker Layne (51.65) finished first and second, respectively, in the 100 back. Dart also won the 200 back with a time of 1:49.05, and he won the 200 IM with a time of 1:51.86. Harry Foster won the 200 fly with a time of 1:53.73 and finished second in the 100 fly with a time of 49.37 seconds.
The 200 medley relay team of Dart, Reinke, Seth Broster, and Bruck won the event with a time of 1:30.33. The 200 free relay team of Myles Oliver, Reinke, Foster, and Bruck was victorious with a time of 1:21.08 that set a pool record.
Anderson swept the sprint freestyle events, winning the 50 free and setting a pool record for the second consecutive day with a time of 22.99 seconds. She also finished first in the 100 free with a pool record time of 50.13 seconds. Bechard (56.81) and Kelsey Krauss (57.26) finished 1-2 in the 100 fly.
Redmond was victorious in the 200 free with a time of 1:51.73. She also finished second in the 500 free with a time of 5:02.05. Tori Cervone finished second in the 200 IM with a time of 2:07.32. The 200 free relay squad of Anderson, Krauss, Bechard, and Maddie Tarantolo won the event with a time of 1:34.34, setting a pool record in the process.
The Tigers will return to the pool on Saturday, February 4, as they will host Emory University in the final dual meet in program history at 1 p.m.
"We will have our one and only, and final home meet of the season and program against Emory this Friday," Ip said. "Our Tigers will be ready."