Wixted, Safronczyk Lead Duke Against North Carolina

Friday, January 27

Durham, N.C.

5:00 PM

Duke University

North Carolina

Safronczyk Competes at Polish Swimming Nationals

Wixted, Safronczyk Lead Duke Against North Carolina

1/27/2012 9:19:00 PM | Swimming & Diving

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. - The Duke men's and women's swimming and diving teams saw two pool records fall Friday evening in a dual matchup against ACC rival North Carolina in Taishoff Aquatic Pavilion. The 13th-ranked Tar Heel men defeated Duke, 165-121, while the No. 16 North Carolina women edged the Blue Devils by a score of 178-111.

The Blue Devils picked up right where they left off in last weekend's meet against Virginia, turning in a pair of strong performances in the 400 medley relay events. Senior Meghan Dwyer, sophomore Christine Wixted, sophomore Lauren Weaver and junior Cara Vogel combined for a season-best time of 3:47.35 to finish second in the women's race. On the men's side, the team of junior Ted Minturn, graduate student Piotr Safronczyk, senior Ben Tuben and junior Adam Flur notched a time of 3:21.94 to finish just .14 seconds behind the first-place Tar Heels.

Blue Devil divers registered equally impressive performances on the boards, with senior Jessica Lyden winning the women's 3-meter competition (307.80) and placing second at the 1-meter height (179.25). Senior Cody Kolodziejzyk won the men's 3-meter event (249.95), while freshman Clay Pinckney took second on the 1-meter board in a personal-best performance (298.73).

"We're two weeks away from ACCs and the pieces are coming together," said diving coach Drew Johansen. "We're right on the verge of everybody getting into their peak as the postseason is arriving."

In the 1,000 free, senior Rose O'Connor (10:14.36) and junior Alex Harmon (9:36.94) both turned in second-place finishes, while senior Steffi Niessl recorded the first win for Duke swimmers in the women's 100 back (57.51). Wixted followed with a first-place performance in the women's 100 breast (1:03.57) and returned to the water later in the meet for another win in the 200 breast. She clocked 2:15.98 in that performance to break a pool record and achieve an NCAA 'B' qualifying standard, her sixth of the season in that event.

Safronczyk led an impressive showing by Duke in the men's 100 breast, demolishing a pool record at 55.79 for Duke's second-best performance of the season. Blue Devil swimmers edged the Tar Heels to claim the top four spots in that race, with junior Jim Zuponeck taking second (56.88), sophomore Hunter Knight third (57.10) and sophomore Tyler Fleming fourth (58.41), respectively.

Weaver posted her second-best mark of the year in the women's 50 free at 23.46 to grab a first-place finish. The Blue Devils also earned a pair of victories in the 200 back events, with Dwyer touching first in the women's race at 2:02.21 and junior Ted Minturn winning the men's event for the second consecutive meet with a time of 1:51.49.

Other individual winners included Hunter Knight in the men's 200 breast (2:04.28), Niessl in the women's 100 fly (56.75), Tuben in the men's 100 fly (50.12) and junior Evan Schwartz in the men's 200 IM (1:58.51).

Duke closed out the meet with a first-place showing in the men's 400 free relay, as senior Hunter Roux, freshman Jack Forese, Safronczyk and junior Matt Carder notched a time of 3:06.80.

"There were a lot of great performances out there," said head coach Dan Colella. "It's kind of a continuation of last Friday, with UNC and Virginia being two of the most dominant programs in the ACC in the last several years. For us, it's important to be able to stand up and race these guys and race them hard ... As we're building and getting ready for ACCs, it's only going to enhance our confidence."

The loss dropped the Blue Devil men to 4-6 overall and 1-5 in the ACC, while the women moved to 3-7 overall and 0-6 in conference action.

The Blue Devils will conclude their regular season on Saturday, Jan. 28 when they host ACC opponent Clemson and the Richmond women's swimming and diving team in Taishoff Aquatic Pavilion. Diving events are slated to begin at 10 a.m., followed by the swimming events at 11 a.m. Ten Duke seniors will also be honored prior to the start of the swimming events. Those Blue Devils who will be recognized include Catherine Conklin, Meghan Dwyer, Shawn Hoffman, Cody Kolodziejzyk, Jessica Lyden, Steffi Niessl, Rose O'Connor, Hunter Roux, Piotr Safronczyk and Ben Tuben.

A live blog of Saturday's action will be available at www.coveritlive.com.

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