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
Swimming Prepares for Virginia Tech and Miami
11/5/2009 4:00:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
DURHAM, N.C. – On Saturday November 7 the Blue Devil men and women will travel to Blacksburg, Va. where they will face a pair of conference foes in Virginia Tech and Miami. Action will get underway at 12:00 pm in Virginia Tech's War Memorial Pool.
The Virginia Tech Hokies have had a roller coaster of a season to date. Both the men and women stand at a record of 2-2 (0-2 ACC) after dropping meets to Virginia and North Carolina who are perennially among the best in the conference. The Virginia Tech men are led by diver Mikey McDonald, who posted two first place finishes against Penn State last weekend, and middle-distance freestyle Bryan Uncur, who notched two wins of his own at the meet. The Hokie women have a wealth of talent spread across the events. Last weekend Erika Hajnal broke the pool record en route to first place in the 500 freestyle, while Emily Ferguson registered two victories in the 50 and 100 freetstyles. The Hokies are under the direction of 12th-year head coach Ned Skinner.
The Miami Hurricanes will also be competing at Saturday's meet; however the men's squad only participates in diving. The women's program finished in the bottom-third of the ACC last season, despite a 10-7 overall record. To open the 2009-10 campaign, the women are 0-5, unable to capitalize in several close meets but are anxious for a win. They are led by Annika Saarnak and Sofia Johansson, each of whom won two events in Miami's last meet. The Hurricanes are guided by fourth-year head coach Christie Shefchunas.
This weekend, the unbeaten streaks of Nick McCrory and Ashley Twichell will be put to the test. McCrory is faced with the task of defeating fellow 2009 FINA World Championships competitor Reuben Ross of Miami. Last season Ross was the ACC Champion on both the one- and three-meter diving boards, an All-American in each of diving's three collegiate disciplines, and he took third place at the NCAA Championships on the ten-meter platform. Twichell will likely swim against previously mentioned Erika Hajnal of Virginia Tech whose time of 4:51.25 is the fastest in the conference this season.
Last weekend, the Blue Devil men were benefited by the emergence of junior Spencer Booth who won the 200 backstroke and the 100 butterfly. Freshman Ben Hwang, who quietly took second in the 100 free and third in the 50 free against Georgia Tech, will be in search of a win on Saturday. The women started the meet strong with wins in the 400 medley relay and in the 1000 freestyle and are hopeful that another fast start could be the key to victory against Virginia Tech and Miami.
The Blue Devils are off next weekend as they prepare for the Gamecock Invitational which spans three days, from Nov. 19-21.
You can follow the Blue Devils over the course of the season by visiting https://twitter.com/dukeswimming.
Players Mentioned
Free/Back/Fly
/ Swimming & Diving
Sprints
/ Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Swimming & DivingFreestyle
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