Upcoming Event: Swimming & Diving versus Boston College on September 26, 2025 at 4 p.m. Diving / 5 p.m. Swimming
/
4 p.m. Diving / 5 p.m. Swimming
Swimming & Diving
vs Boston College
Blue Devils Open 2011-12 Season Saturday at Maryland
10/21/2011 12:13:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
DURHAM, N.C. - The Duke swimming and diving teams are set to kick off the 2011-12 campaign Saturday against ACC opponent Maryland in College Park, Md. The meet will get underway at 1 p.m. at the Terrapins' Eppley Recreation Center.
The Blue Devils will open the season against Maryland for the first time since 2003. In last year's meeting in Durham, the Duke men posted a 168-124 victory, while the women fell to the Terps by a score of 136-163.
Maryland is coming off of a strong 2010-11 season which saw the women's team finish fourth at the ACC Championships and in the top 25 at the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive year. On the men's side, the Terps took seventh at last season's conference meet and will look for continued improvement under the direction of several key returners.
"To have [Maryland] be the first one right out of the gate here is going to be a challenge," said head coach Dan Colella. "We're excited to get the season underway. They've been training hard for these last seven weeks and it's always exciting to finally get into competition."
Recapping the 2010-11 Season
Duke closed the 2010-11 campaign on a high note, with divers Nick McCrory and Abby Johnston each claiming national championships. McCrory won his second-straight title on the platform while Johnston captured the first diving national title for the women's program, taking first on the three-meter springboard. Swimmer Ashley Twichell also earned a trip to the 2011 NCAA Championships, earning All-America status with a fifth-place performance in the women's 1,650 free event. Fellow 2011 graduate Nick Garvy also competed at the NCAAs, breaking a pair of school records in the 50 free and the 100 fly. Both the men's and women's squads also cracked the top 20 at the NCAA Championships in the final team standings.
At the 2011 ACC Championships, the Blue Devil men notched a fifth-place finish - one spot higher than the previous season - and captured gold at the conference meet in a relay event for the first time in program history. The team finished the year with a ledger of 3-4 (1-3 ACC) after setting 16 school records and five pool records during the course of the season.
Among the returners for the Blue Devil men are All-ACC performers Ben Tuben and Ben Hwang, as well as junior Alex Harmon, who was Duke's top performer in the 500 free, 1000 free and the 1650 free last season. The program will also welcome nine newcomers to the squad, including Steven Gasparini, who transferred from Clemson, and graduate student Piotr Safronczyk, who was a Div. II national champion at the University of Bridgeport.
On the women's side, Duke closed out the 2010-11 season with a record of 3-5 (0-4 ACC). The Blue Devils took seventh at the ACC Championship and broke 12 school records and six pool records over the course of the season.
Duke returns several top performers on the women's team, including seniors Catherine Conklin, Meghan Dwyer, Steffi Niessl and Rose O'Connor. Sophomore Christine Wixted also returns after posting team-best times in the 100 breast, 200 breast and 200 IM last season. The women's roster also features five newcomers this year.
The Blue Devil diving corps will be without McCrory and Johnston, who are training for next summer's Olympic trials. However, Shawn Hoffman, Cody Kolodziejzyk, Jordan Long and Jessica Lyden all return in 2011-12 under the direction of head diving coach Drew Johansen.
Season Openers Under Colella
Colella begins his seventh year at the helm of the program in 2011-12. In his past six years with Duke, Colella has only lost one season opener - a loss to NC State that opened the 2005-06 season.
Up Next for the Blue Devils
Following Saturday's matchup with Maryland, the Blue Devils will travel to Christiansburg, Va., to face Florida State, UNC Wilmington and Virginia Tech on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 12 p.m. The meet will be held at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center, which will also be the location for the 2012 ACC Championships later this season.
Follow the Blue Devils on Twitter
Fans can stay up to date on all the latest news and results throughout the year by following Duke Swimming & Diving on Twitter: @Duke_SWIM_DIVE.
-d-u-k-e-
Players Mentioned
Distance/Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Back/Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Butterfly
/ Swimming & Diving
Back/Fly/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Distance Free/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
Sprints
/ Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
Back/Fly
/ Swimming & Diving
Distance/Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Breast/Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Butterfly
/ Swimming & DivingFreestyle
/ Swimming & Diving
Breast/IM
/ Swimming & DivingDuke Athletics: A Tour of Campus
Saturday, October 19
A Century of Blue Devil Brilliance
Saturday, October 19
Senior Social Kick: Kevin Explains Cubed Food Theory
Friday, March 10
Senior Social Kick: Brad Solves a Rubik's Cube
Friday, March 10
