Georgia Tech, Houston vs. Duke

DURHAM, North Carolina, October 30. THE Duke swimming and diving program notched a pair of signature wins on Friday evening, taking down a Georgia Tech men's team that finished 19th in the nation last season and a Houston women's team that finished the year ranked 17th . The men downed Georgia Tech by a score of 171.5 to 128.5, moving to 3-1 on the season. The women defeated both Georgia Tech and Houston to advance to 3-2 on the year.

In the previous two meets, the Blue Devils struggled to get out of the
gates quickly. However, both squads started this weekend's meet on a
high note, each taking first in the 400 medley relays.

To open the individual events, junior Ashley Twichell continued her
unbeaten streak in the 1000 free, notching first place and was followed
closely by senior Jackie Fasano who took second place with a season-best
10:13.58. On the men's side, freshman Alex Harmon led by just a half
body-length heading into the bell lap of the 1000 free before pulling
away to convincingly win the event in 9:46.71.

Just 10 minutes after taking first in the 1000, Twichell was back in the
pool to swim the 200 free. With a late surge, she claimed second place
in the event.

Freshman Cara Vogel turned in another solid meet for Duke. She posted
Duke's fastest time of the season in the 100 backstroke which was good
enough for third place. After the break, she helped Duke get back on
track by following up Meghan Dwyer's first-place finish in the 200 back
with a second place of her own in the event.

The women kept the meet close with two key performances in the 100
breaststroke. Emily Barber was out-touched at the wall but held on for
second place while Meredith Bannon took third.

Strong performances in the 200 butterfly were a key component in the
Duke win. First, in the women's heat, Shannon Beall and Elizabeth Bellew
combined for a one-two finish. Beall also picked up a first-place finish
in the 100 butterfly. And in arguably the most thrilling swim of the
evening, freshman Chris Cirllo held off two charging Yellow Jackets to
secure first place with a time of 1:54.71.

Junior Spencer Booth was clicking. Booth dominated the field in the 200
backstroke, taking first place and setting an example for freshman Ted
Minturn who claimed second place. Later, in the 100 fly, Booth looked
strong, edging teammate Nick Garvy for first place.

Duke's middle-distance freestylers returned to the pool for the 500
free. Twichell secured first place, but the most thrilling battle took
place in the middle of the pool between Fasano and Kimberly Eeson of
Houston. Fasano split a 28.74 over the final 50 yards, earning her a
second-place finish. For the men, Matt Carder and Sean Smith went
one-three, respectively, to finish out the evening's distance events.

The men capped off the meet emphatically, racing to first and second
place in the 400 freestyle relay.

Nick McCrory was back at it on the diving boards. He won both the one
and three-meter competitions, besting his own school record with a
431.50 in the three-meter event. Sophomore Abby Johnston took second
place on both the one and three-meter boards, just behind last year's
national champion Anastasia Pozdniakova of Houston.

The wins are a great step for Duke swimming and diving programs which
are on the rise.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x