Upcoming Event: Swimming & Diving versus Boston College on September 26, 2025 at 4 p.m. Diving / 5 p.m. Swimming
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4 p.m. Diving / 5 p.m. Swimming
Swimming & Diving
vs Boston College
Saturday, February 25
College Park, Md.
All Day
Duke University
at
Day Four
Pearce Downs Record In Last Race As Blue Devil
2/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Another Duke men's swimming record fell in the final events of the 2006 ACC Championships Saturday, this time with senior Billy Pearce registering the top mark. Pearce won the bonus finals of the 200 backstroke with his time of 1:49.15, 0.48 seconds faster than his previous career best set during Friday's preliminary round. Pearce's time was the 10th fastest in the entire finals, but he placed 17th overall -- the highest position in the bonus heat.
Pearce threw out the old record set by 2005 graduate David Peck. Peck swam a 1:49.42 last year to set the Duke standard that lasted until Saturday. He was joined in the 200 backstroke bonus finals by junor Jacob McCafferty, who finished in 1:53.91 for 23rd overall. McCafferty's earlier 1:53.46 in the preliminaries was a season best.
Both junior Kevin Arthofer and senior Andy Storm improved their season-best times in the 200 breaststroke, with Arthofer competing in the consolation finals and Storm in the bonus. Arhofer's 2:03.19 put him in sixth place in consolation and 14th overall to score for the Blue Devils, while Storm notched a 2:05.01 for third in the bonus heat and 19th overall.
Sophomore Ryan Packer also competed Saturday evening, swimming a 46.37 in the 100 freestyle, just shy of the career-best he set in the event during the preliminaries, when he touched in 46.14.
Duke closed out the meet with a season-best performance in the 400 freestyle relay. Packer, Pearce, sophomore Matt Rinehart and sophomore Scott Champagne combined to knock five seconds off Duke's previous season-best relay, finishing ninth with a time of 3:04.95.
Pearce and Packer were two of 15 Blue Devils to beat their best marks Saturday. Every Duke contender in the 100 freestyle preliminaries Saturday morning notched a personal record. In addition to Packer, Rinehart touched in 46.87, freshman Jordan Charles in 47.4, sophomore Jesse Sandberg in 47.86, sophomore Peter Osterland in 48.4, freshman Andy Ward in 48.68 and freshman Justin Mullen in 49.32.
The 200 butterfly preliminaries also saw every Duke competitor register personal bests. Champagne swam a 1:56.14, closely tailed by Garrick Berberich in 1:56.46. Junior Jay Ashenfelter clocked 1:57.71, followed by freshmen Nick Schilling (1:58.52) and Kyle Barrett (1:59.4). Sophomore Brett Sauers also set a career best in the 200 breaststroke, finishing in 2:15.7, and freshman Adam Moody swam his best 200 backstroke in 1:55.84.
Duke ended its run in the 2006 ACC Men's Swimming and Diving Championships in 9th place out of 11 teams with 99 points. Virginia claimed its eighth consecutive ACC title, edging runner-up Florida State by just 8.5 points.
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Players Mentioned
Breast/IM/Free
/ Swimming & DivingFree/IM
/ Swimming & DivingBack/Fly
/ Swimming & DivingButterfly
/ Swimming & DivingBack/IM
/ Swimming & DivingFree/IM
/ Swimming & DivingFree/Back/Fly
/ Swimming & Diving
Free/Back
/ Swimming & DivingFreestyle
/ Swimming & DivingFreestyle
/ Swimming & DivingFree/Back
/ Swimming & DivingBackstroke
/ Swimming & DivingFree/Fly/IM
/ Swimming & DivingFreestyle
/ Swimming & DivingBreaststroke
/ Swimming & DivingButterfly
/ Swimming & DivingBreast/IM
/ Swimming & DivingFreestyle
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