Pool Records, Blue Devils Fall Against Virginia

Friday, January 22

Durham, N.C.

5:00 PM

Duke University

Virginia

Twichell Wins World?s Largest Open Water Race

Pool Records, Blue Devils Fall Against Virginia

1/22/2010 8:00:00 PM | Swimming & Diving

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – It was a packed Taishoff on Friday evening for Duke's matchup against Virginia, as numerous Duke families and a surprising number of Cavalier-faithful made the journey to Durham for this ACC contest. Unfortunately, neither the Blue Devil men nor the Duke women were able to defeat the Virginia Cavaliers, but fans were treated to an excellent meet that saw five pool records fall. The men were defeated 133-159, while the women fell 127.5-157.5.

The meet began in thrilling fashion as the Duke men edged the Cavaliers in the 200 medley relay, the first race of the evening, by just .77 seconds. Then, junior Ashley Twichell took to the pool in the 1000 freestyle, leading start-to-finish to pick up the win. In the process she broke her own pool record, bettering her previous mark by over a second.

But from there, the talent of Virginia simply became overwhelming. The Cavalier men set new pool records in two consecutive events to jump into the lead; Garrett Wren set a new pool record of 9:25.95 in the 1000 free, followed by Scot Robison who set a new Taishoff-mark in the 200 free with a time of 1:38.82.

The Blue Devils got back on track in the 100 backstroke. Freshman Cara Vogel and senior Murillo Adrados each took third in their respective races, keeping key points from the Cavaliers. David Carlson was pushed to his best time of the season in the 100 breaststroke, notching a time of 58.47 and a second-place finish.

The 200 butterfly provided the Blue Devil seniors a chance to perform in the front of the home crowd. In the men's race, Eric Ness, sandwiched by two Cavaliers, swam his way into third place, while on the women's side Shannon Beall and Elizabeth Bellew took third and fourth places.

Freshman Ben Hwang brought the crowd to a roar with a scintillating finish in the 50 freestyle. His time of 20.92 was good for the men's first victory in an individual event on the evening.

When the attention turned to diving, it was the Blue Devils who shined. Nick McCrory won both the one- and three-meter diving events, setting a new school record of 454.50 in the three-meter competition. Not to be outdone, Abby Johnston also won both of her events and bettered her school record in the three-meter contest.

Returning from the break, Ben Hwang turned in another fantastic swim, placing second in the 100 free with a time of 46.75. The Cavalier-women rewrote another Taishoff pool record in the 200 backstroke as Lauren Smart posted a time of 2:00.85. In the men's swimming of the 200 back, Spencer Booth asserted himself with a third-place finish in a time of 1:51.75.

In the 200 breaststroke, the women earned some important points as senior Meredith Bannon and freshman Emily Baber took second- and third-place, respectively. Freshman Jim Zuponeck swam his best time of the season in the 200 breast, stopping the clock in 2:11.05 which earned him third place.

In a testament to the strength of the Virginia swimmers, Twichell was held to just third place in the 500 freestyle despite a time of 4:52.60. Duke's Matt Carder had a strong swim in the 500 freestyle, recording a time of 4:42.96 which earned him claim to third place.

Shannon Beall continued her impressive meet with a second-place finish in the 100 butterfly, notching a time of 56.09. Next into the water was the men's heat which put on display junior Nick Garvy, the school-record holder in the event, who took second place in a time of 50.10.

The fifth pool-record of the day fell when Virginia's Joann Thomas posted a 4:22.83 in the 400 IM. Freshman Alex Harmon continued to be Duke's top-performer in the 400 IM this season as he took third place, registering a 4:12.13.

The meet ended on a high note for the Blue Devils as in the last swim of the evening the 200 freestyle relay of Ben Hwang, Sean Smith, David Carlson, and Spencer Booth set a new pool record with a time of 1:22.68.

Duke will wrap up its home schedule and honor its seniors on Sunday as the Blue Devils face North Carolina inside Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion. Senior recognition will get underway at 12:45 p.m.

You can follow the Blue Devils over the course of the season by visiting https://twitter.com/dukeswimming.