Upcoming Event: Swimming & Diving versus Georgia Tech on January 17, 2026 at 10 a.m. Diving / 11 a.m. Swimming
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10 a.m. Diving / 11 a.m. Swimming
Swimming & Diving
vs Georgia Tech
Swimming to Open Season Saturday Against UNCW
10/16/2009 9:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
DURHAM, N.C. - On Saturday, Oct. 17 at 2:00 p.m., the Blue Devil men's and women's swimming and diving programs will each open their seasons within the newly upgraded confines of Duke's Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion. The Blue Devils will be hosting the Seahawks of UNC Wilmington and in recent years this has been a great way for the squads to open their seasons. In the previous two campaigns, both the men and the women have posted wins against UNCW.
Duke is coming off a season in which the men went 6-3 (2-3 ACC) and the women notched a record of 7-4 (3-3 ACC). The Colella-led men broke 18 records in the 2008-09 season and finished seventh in the conference. The squad's top returning performers include seniors Nick Garvy and Eric Ness, juniors Pieter Den Hartog and Spencer Booth, and sophomores Nathan French, Alex Kluge, Cody Kolodziejzyk, and Shawn Hoffman all of whom set Duke records in individual events last year. The men augmented the depth of the squad, only losing five members of the team to graduation while bringing in 12 talented freshmen anxious to contribute in their first year on campus along with University of Washington transfer Hunter Roux.
Headlining this corps of freshmen is diver Nick McCrory who has made a name for himself long before the start of his collegiate career. As a 16-year old, McCrory competed at the 2008 U.S. Olympic trials on the 10-meter platform, taking fourth place. A few weeks later, he won the 2008 Kaiser Permanente Diving Championships on the 10-meter platform with a score of 521.70. This past summer, McCrory traveled to Rome for the FINA World Championships where he established himself as the 20th-best diver in the world, regardless of age. This weekend will be the first chance for McCrory and his fellow freshmen to prove their mettle at the collegiate level.
The women, just like the men, boast a gifted group of freshmen, many of whom will have the opportunity to set school records in just their first year on campus.
And Colella has been pleased with the program's integration of the freshman class on both sides.
"We have a very large freshmen class and it has been fun to watch them bond, train, and grow with the upperclassmen during the first six weeks of the season," said Colella.
In 2008-09, under the direction of Colella, the Blue Devil women made a name for themselves in conference which placed three teams in the top-25 at the NCAA Championships. They shattered 17 school-records, produced an ACC Champion, sent two individuals to join the contingent at the NCAA Championships, and saw the rise of a freshman to All-America status.
Over the course of the season, Ashley Twichell recorded three NCCA 'B' Standards (500 free, 1000 free, and 1650 free) and qualified for the NCAA Championships for a second straight year. However, her most notable performance came at the ACC Championships where she claimed the conference title and smashed the ACC record in the 1650 free with her time of 15:56.50. Abby Johnston erupted onto the national diving scene as a freshman, notching her first ACC title, taking fifth-place at the NCAA Championships, and earning All-America honors.
But for Colella, these accomplishments are just the beginning of what he hopes to be a long-standing tradition for the program.
"We have the ability to do some great things this season" said Colella. "Take a larger squad to Women's NCAA Championships in Lafayette, Ind. and to qualify men for the Men's NCAA's in Columbus, Ohio, something we have not accomplished in almost three decades."
Colella, who enters his fifth year as the Duke Head Coach, recognizes the talent and tradition of UNCW swimming and diving but is encouraged by what he has seen out of his Blue Devils over the course of the preseason and is optimistic heading into the weekend.
"I am most certain we will have some great performances this weekend," Colella commented. "It just remains to be seen who will step up and take advantage of the opportunity."
You can follow the Blue Devils over the course of the season by visiting https://twitter.com/dukeswimming
Players Mentioned
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Mid-Free
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