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, March 20
Lafayette, Ind.
All Day
Duke University
vs
Day Three
Twichell, Johnston Close Out NCAA Championships
3/21/2010 2:00:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
West Lafayette, Ind. – Ashley Twichell and Abby Johnston closed out their seasons on Saturday at 2010 Women's NCAA Championships, but not before pushing Duke Swimming and Diving more squarely into the national spotlight.
Last year, at the NCAA Championships, Johnston and Twichell combined to earn the Duke women's program 33rd place in the nation. Now a year later, those same individuals have led Duke to its best national finish under head coach Dan Colella. The pair accounted for 21 points which was enough to push Duke to a 28th-place finish among all teams. With the help of diving coach Drew Johansen, it seems that Colella is quickly molding Duke into a national contender just as he did with the Tennessee women between 1993 and 2005.
On Saturday, Twichell competed in the 1650 freestyle surrounded by high expectations as the sixth-fastest seed. But in the 1650 free there are no prelims and no second chances, meaning swimmers only have one shot to post the nation's top time. Seeded at a 16:02.48, a time she set at the ACC Championships, Twichell was poised to break into the top-three in the event. However, whereas at ACCs Twichell's 50 splits were all around 29-mid, her Saturday splits were closer to 29-high. Over the course of such a long race, the difference accumulated quickly and Twichell swam to a 16:09.65 finish. All said and done, the junior from Fayetteville, N.Y. took 14th place in the nation, an improvement on her 23rd-place finish last year.
Johnston wrapped up her 2010 NCAA experience on the diving platform. The sophomore posted a score of 224.20 to take 25th place in the nation. Johnston's best performances came earlier in the week, garnering All-American honors en route to a fourth-place finish on the one-meter board and a 14th-place finish in the three-meter discipline.
Next week will be the 2010 Men's NCAA Championships from Ohio State University in Columbus. Freshman diving standout Nick McCrory will be competing Thursday, March 25 through Saturday, March 27.
Players Mentioned
Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
Freestyle
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