Blue Devils Fall Short Against Virginia Tech

Sunday, October 26

Durham, N.C.

11:00 AM

Duke University

Virgina Tech

Blue Devils Wrap Up Summer National Championships

Blue Devils Fall Short Against Virginia Tech

10/26/2014 3:04:00 PM | Swimming & Diving

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke men's and women's swimming and diving teams went back-to-back, hosting their second dual meet in as many days Sunday against ACC opponent Virginia Tech. The Hokie women came away with a 175-116 decision over the Blue Devils (2-1, 1-1 ACC) while the Duke men (1-2, 0-2 ACC) fell to the reigning ACC champions by a 180-115 score.

“We knew Virginia Tech would be great competition today,” said head coach Dan Colella. “I think we allowed ourselves to get a little bit too caught up in not winning the first few events, and when that happened it took a little bit of energy out of the group … We've got to move on and just try to capitalize somewhere else. The important thing is that we learn from it.”

The men started off the meet in record-setting fashion, eclipsing the previous facility record in the 200-yard medley relay. The team of sophomores Kaz Takabayashi and Peter Kropp, freshman Ryan Nicholson and sophomore James Peek edged the Hokies with a 1:29.27 clocking. Kropp also broke a pool record later with a 2:00.61 swim in the 200 breaststroke and doubled up with another first-place finish in the 100 breaststroke (54.22). Classmate Dylan Payne was just behind Kropp in the 100 with a season-best mark of 56.22.

Sophomore Bradley Cline (1:51.21) and Kropp (1:52.61) both recorded season-bests in a one-two finish for Duke in the 200 IM, and freshman Leah Goldman emerged victorious in the same event on the women's side (2:04.94). Sophomore Jessie Sutherland also added a win for the Blue Devils in the 100 backstroke, tapping the wall in a season-best 55.64.

Freshman Isabella Paez posted the seventh-fastest 200 butterfly time in program history, taking second at 2:00.64. Fellow rookie Matt Johnson also worked his way into Duke's all-time top-10 in the 1,000 freestyle with a 9:38.65 performance in a third-place finish.

“Afterwards we asked them, 'How many season-best swims did we have today?' And three-quarters of the group raised their hands,” Colella said. “There's always more that we can do and we want to learn from that, but had we been a little bit more excited about our performances at the front end of the meet, it probably would have allowed us to be that much better on the back end of the meet.”

In diving, freshman MaryEllen Targonski surpassed the NCAA Zones qualification standard on the 3-meter springboard with a season-best award of 282.00. Sophomore Cole Plambeck joined Targonski in earning a season-best mark with his score of 317.10 on the 3-meter.

“Virginia Tech has a lot of depth so it was a great experience for us to compete against them,” said head diving coach Nunzio Esposto. “Coming off of the UNC Wilmington meet, individually our kids did equally well on each of their dives if not better today, so I was pleased with how they did.”

The Blue Devils return to action Friday, Nov. 7 in a dual meet at William & Mary. The squads will remain in Virginia Saturday, Nov. 8 for a meet at Old Dominion.

Men's Team Score: Virginia Tech 180, Duke 115
Women's Team Score: Virginia Tech 175, Duke 116

Top Duke Finishers by Event
Women's 1-Meter Diving: Kendall McClenney (4th), 284.03
Men's 1-Meter Diving: Cole Plambeck (5th), 268.95

Women's 3-Meter Diving: MaryEllen Targonski (4th), 282.00
Men's 3-Meter Diving: Cole Plambeck (5th), 317.10

Women's 200-Yard Medley Relay: Jessie Sutherland, Ashleigh Shanley, Leah Goldman, Maddie Rusch (2nd), 1:43.93
Men's 200-Yard Medley Relay: Kaz Takabayashi, Peter Kropp, Ryan Nicholson, James Peek (1st), 1:29.27

Women's 1,000-Yard Freestyle: Verity Abel (2nd), 10:15.38
Men's 1,000-Yard Freestyle: Matt Johnson (3rd), 9:38.65

Women's 200-Yard Freestyle: Lizzie Devitt (3rd), 1:52.36
Men's 200-Yard Freestyle: Bradley Cline (2nd), 1:41.06

Women's 100-Yard Backstroke: Jessie Sutherland (1st), 55.64
Men's 100-Yard Backstroke: Kaz Takabayashi (3rd), 50.36

Women's 100-Yard Breaststroke: Ashleigh Shanley (4th), 1:05.75
Men's 100-Yard Breaststroke: Peter Kropp (1st), 54.22

Women's 200-Yard Butterfly: Isabella Paez (2nd), 2:00.64
Men's 200-Yard Butterfly: Kenny Ng (2nd), 1:51.30

Women's 50-Yard Freestyle: Maddie Rusch (2nd), 23.68
Men's 50-Yard Freestyle: James Peek (2nd), 20.77

Women's 100-Yard Freestyle: Maddie Rusch (3rd), 52.00
Men's 100-Yard Freestyle: James Peek (2nd), 46.29

Women's 200-Yard Backstroke: Maria Sheridan (2nd), 2:02.82
Men's 200-Yard Backstroke: Bradley Cline (2nd), 1:50.59

Women's 200-Yard Breaststroke: Ashleigh Shanley (5th), 2:24.58
Men's 200-Yard Breaststroke: Peter Kropp (1st), 2:00.61

Women's 500-Yard Freestyle: Verity Abel (3rd), 4:58.01
Men's 500-Yard Freestyle: Alex Peña (5th), 4:40.93

Women's 100-Yard Butterfly: Isabella Paez (3rd), 56.33
Men's 100-Yard Butterfly: David Armstrong (2nd), 50.13

Women's 200-Yard Individual Medley: Leah Goldman (1st), 2:04.94
Men's 200-Yard Individual Medley: Bradley Cline (1st), 1:51.21

Women's 400-Yard Freestyle Relay: Chelsea Ye, Jessie Sutherland, Maria Sheridan, Maddie Rusch (3rd), 3:31.89
Men's 400-Yard Freestyle Relay: David Armstrong, James Peek, Ryan Nicholson, Kaz Takabayashi (2nd), 3:04.80