Duke Swimming & Diving Ready To Make Waves in 2008-09

10/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? The 2008-09 Duke swimming and diving slate gets underway this weekend with the squads' first dual meet at UNC-Wilmington on Saturday, one of several early-season tests that will serve as preparation for the championship meets that await down the road.

“This year is once again an exciting year for us, because with every new recruiting cycle the team is getting better and better,” said head coach Dan Colella. “The upperclassmen are becoming much more mature athletes and understand what it takes to go to the next level. These last two years we've been a young team, but now we're starting to get to a point where we can see the fruits of their labors. When you put that in combination with the freshmen that have joined the program, I think there's going to be some great swimming and diving this season.”

The Blue Devil men are coming off a 3-7 (0-5 ACC) finish in 2007-08, and a ninth-place finish at the ACC Championships. The women were 8-4 (2-2 ACC) and took sixth at the conference meet. The women broke 12 school records, while the men broke eight. Two current Blue Devil women ? Ashley Twichell and Shannon Beall ? earned Olympic cuts and competed in Omaha, Neb., in 2008.

Twichell finished second in the 2005 freestyle at the ACC Championships with a school-record mark of 4:45.18, which bested the 27-year-old record set in 1981 by Olympian Nancy Hogshead. The time was an NCAA ?A' cut, which qualified her for the NCAA Championships where she was the first Duke swimmer to appear since 2004. There, she placed 16th in the 1650 free, earning All-America status.

Twichell and Julie Brummond received All-ACC honors and were later named to the All-ACC Academic Women's Swimming & Diving team as well. Twichell garnered all-league honors in both the 500 and 1650 free, while Brummond was named all-conference for her performance on the three-meter board at the 2008 ACC meet. Lauren Gonzalez joined Brummond at the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships, as she reached the finals on both springboards and on the platform.

The men started off the 2007-08 with a home victory over established power UNC Wilmington. They ended up taking ninth place at the 2008 conference meet, where they broke eight school records (four individual, four relay) to go with the women's 12 for a total of 20 for the program from last year alone. Scott Champagne, Murillo Adrados, and Eric Ness were named to the All-ACC Academic men's team following the season.

The teams open With UNCW Saturday, the first of three dual meets that will give the teams a chance to gauge their progress and tune up heading into championship season. The women will then compete against ACC rivals Miami in addition to Campbell University on Oct. 25 at home, while both the men and women will take on N.C. State and Maryland in ACC action Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

“Whenever you compete against other ACC programs, you want to be at your best,” said Colella. “The women's team is becoming one that can compete against ACC programs and be in a position to compete with Virginia, Clemson, and those teams. The men have certainly closed the gap between the ACC and our team, which should put us in a position to really start to be in the mix at conference meets.”

Colella pointed to Twichell, Beall, and several freshmen as athletes to watch for this campaign, but expects strong performances across the board after a summer and fall of solid training.

Twichell came off her Olympic trials experience and turned in a solid summer of training. During that time, she improved in certain areas and is ready for even better swims in 2008-09.

“We're already seeing improvements,” said Colella. “She's way ahead of where she was a year go, so we expect that we're going to see great swimming from here.”

Colella said that Beall has matured as a swimmer, and she ? along with Meredith Bannon ? are ready to take the next step.

Freshmen Meghan Dwyer, Steffi Niessl, and Katharine Bodnar have already shown that they can compete at the collegiate level. Bodnar and Dwyer will contribute in the 200 backstroke, while Rose O'Connor adds depth in the distance corps.

On the men's side, Nick Garvy, David Hahn, Spencer Booth, Ryan Packer, and David Carlson will spearhead the campaign, while several freshmen will also be looked to to make immediate impacts.

“A lot of swimmers have learned a lot in a short period of time, and we saw the results of some of that last year at ACC's,” Colella said. “Now we're even more focused ? the environment is more focused ? and so our expectation would be to see some great things this year.”

For the freshmen, Ben Tuben adds depth to the butterfly, and will compete with Garvy all season long in the event. Nathan French will add to the distance free, as will Andrew Huff in the middle-distance. Alex Kluge gives additional strength in the IM as the team graduated standout Scott Champagne in the event.

For the divers, the women welcome back two top returnees in senior captain Lauren Gonzalez and Brummond, a junior who took second in the three-meter and fourth in platform at last year's conference meet.

The men welcome two freshman divers ? Shawn Hoffman and Cody Kolodziejzyk ? who will revitalize the Duke men's diving tradition in 2008-09.

The team's first meet of the fall comes with the Ohio State Invitational Dec. 5-7, with OSU returning as the top program in the country last year on the women's side. Other top programs for the men and women will be there, including ACC champions Miami.

“With all the top teams there, it will be a good preview of what the team can expect to see at NCAA competition,” said diving coach Drew Johansen.

Colella then pointed to the Nike Cup Invitational Nov. 20-22 in Columbia, S.C. as a good preparation for the championship meets because of its similar format. The teams will compete at the ACC Championships on Feb. 18-21 (W) and Feb. 25-28 (M).

NCAA's are March 19-21 (W) and March 26-28 (M).

“The fall will prepare us with dual meets, then culminate with the Nike Invitational,” Colella said. “We will prepare to swim fast there, but our main focus is building up to the end of the season ? ACC's and NCAA's.”

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