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, January 10
Durham, N.C.
1:00 PM
Duke University
vs
Harvard
Duke Women Take Down Harvard, South Carolina
1/10/2015 6:13:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke women turned in a solid performance wire-to-wire to top Harvard and South Carolina Saturday afternoon in the final home meet of the regular season. The Blue Devils edged the Crimson by a score of 154-146 in the first meeting between the two programs, and defeated an SEC opponent for the first time since 2011 with a 165-135 victory over the Gamecock women, improving to 7-1 on the year.
Duke's men kept it close with South Carolina but ultimately fell by a 158-136 score. The men also surrendered a dual meet loss to 19th-ranked Harvard, 199-95, moving their season ledger to 4-4.
“The women did a phenomenal job right out of the gates,” said head coach Dan Colella. “We did get a little bit relaxed in the middle, but as soon as we had a little talk about it, they once again started to apply the pressure and were able to finish it off for two big wins … We knew going in on the men's side, particularly with Harvard, that they were going to be stacked. We're always looking to learning from the experience and I think we'll do that, but I'm very proud of their performances.”
The Blue Devil swimmers started off the meet with a pair of pool records, claiming first in both 200-yard medley relays. The men's team of sophomore Kaz Takabayashi, sophomore Peter Kropp, junior David Armstrong and sophomore James Peek posted the eighth-fastest mark in program history with a 1:29.08 showing, followed by sophomore Bradley Cline, sophomore Dylan Payne, junior Kenny Ng and senior Stefan Knight in second (1:31.70). Sophomore Jessie Sutherland, sophomore Ashleigh Shanley, freshman Leah Goldman and sophomore Maddie Rusch surpassed the previous Taishoff record on the women's side with a time of 1:42.12.
Freshman MaryEllen Targonski led the women's divers in picking up key points on the boards, placing fourth on the 1-meter board and sixth in the 3-meter competition. The rookie edged all Harvard women on the 1-meter with her award of 269.70, followed by sophomore Kirby Quinn, who posted a score of 265.80.
“The women are doing really well, coming off of a little bit of a break at the holidays,” said head diving coach Nunzio Esposto. “Considering this is the first meet of this part of the season, I think they did a good job.”
Sutherland broke a third facility record in the women's 100 backstroke, tapping the wall at 54.98 for a first-place showing. Rookies Goldman and Isabella Paez also paced the women early on, with Goldman posting the ninth-fastest 200 freestyle clocking all-time at Duke (1:50.69). Paez joined her in earning a first-place finish, winning the 200 butterfly at 2:00.24. That performance led off a one-two-three finish for the Blue Devil women, as sophomores Brittany Friese (2:04.13) and Colleen Wixted (2:05.21) were just behind.
Rusch added a victory in the 50 freestyle, clocking 23.34, while Goldman was second at the 100-yard distance in 51.45. Both Paez and Goldman returned to the water to notch critical first-place finishes down the stretch, winning the 100 butterfly and the 200 individual medley, respectively. Junior Linsay Cooper came in second just behind Paez in the 100 butterfly and then led off Duke's 400 freestyle relay, which took second to secure the dual meet victories.
On the men's side, Kropp successfully defended his home pool in the 100 breaststroke, edging the field with a time of 55.23. Takabayshi was second in the 100 backstroke (49.84), as was junior Kenny Ng in an exciting 200 butterfly heat. Peek took second and third, respectively, in the 50 and 100-yard races, while freshman Matt Johnson led the distance group with a fourth-place showing in the 1,000 freestyle. His mark of 9:32.44 was good for the sixth-best all-time at Duke.
Up next, Duke resumes ACC competition Saturday, Jan. 17 in a dual meet at Georgia Tech.
Team Scores
Duke Women 165, South Carolina Women 135
Duke Women 154, Harvard Women 146
Harvard Women 154, South Carolina Women 146
South Carolina Men 158, Duke Men 136
Harvard Men 199, Duke Men 95
Harvard Men 180, South Carolina Men 120
Top Duke Finishers by Event
Women's 1-Meter Diving: MaryEllen Targonski (4th), 269.70
Women's 3-Meter Diving: MaryEllen Targonski (6th), 275.20
Women's 200-Yard Medley Relay: Jessie Sutherland, Ashleigh Shanley, Leah Goldman, Maddie Rusch (1st), 1:42.12
Men's 200-Yard Medley Relay: Kaz Takabayashi, Peter Kropp, David Armstrong, James Peek (1st), 1:29.08
Women's 1,000-Yard Freestyle: Verity Abel (3rd), 10:15.53
Men's 1,000-Yard Freestyle: Matt Johnson (4th), 9:32.44
Women's 200-Yard Freestyle: Leah Goldman (1st), 1:50.69
Men's 200-Yard Freestyle: Bradley Cline (3rd), 1:41.04
Women's 100-Yard Backstroke: Jessie Sutherland (1st), 54.98
Men's 100-Yard Backstroke: Kaz Takabayashi (2nd), 49.84
Women's 100-Yard Breaststroke: Ashleigh Shanley (2nd), 1:04.65
Men's 100-Yard Breaststroke: Peter Kropp (1st), 55.23
Women's 200-Yard Butterfly: Isabella Paez (1st), 2:00.24
Men's 200-Yard Butterfly: Kenny Ng (2nd), 1:51.11
Women's 50-Yard Freestyle: Maddie Rusch (1st), 23.34
Men's 50-Yard Freestyle: James Peek (2nd), 20.44
Women's 100-Yard Freestyle: Leah Goldman (2nd), 51.45
Men's 100-Yard Freestyle: James Peek (3rd), 45.93
Women's 200-Yard Backstroke: Liza Bragg (5th), 2:03.95
Men's 200-Yard Backstroke: Bradley Cline (4th), 1:50.19
Women's 200-Yard Breaststroke: Ashleigh Shanley (4th), 2:21.26
Men's 200-Yard Breaststroke: Peter Kropp (4th), 2:03.66
Women's 500-Yard Freestyle: Verity Abel (7th), 5:03.31
Men's 500-Yard Freestyle: Matt Johnson (7th), 4:39.63
Women's 100-Yard Butterfly: Isabella Paez (1st), 55.38
Men's 100-Yard Butterfly: David Armstrong (3rd), 49.90
Women's 200-Yard Individual Medley: Leah Goldman (1st), 2:03.17
Men's 200-Yard Individual Medley: Bradley Cline (3rd), 1:51.58
Women's 400-Yard Freestyle Relay: Linsay Cooper, Maddie Rusch, Chelsea Ye, Isabella Paez (2nd), 3:27.30
Men's 400-Yard Freestyle Relay: James Peek, Kaz Takabayashi, Alex Peña, Stefan Knight (2nd), 3:04.85
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
Mid/Dist/IM
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Fly/Free
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Back/IM
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Mid-Free/IM/Back
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Fly/Free
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Free/Fly
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Fly/IM/Back
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Mid-Free/Dist.
/ Swimming & Diving
Free/Fly
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Breast/IM
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Butterfly
/ Swimming & Diving
Fly/IM
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Breast/Fly/Sprnt
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Sprint Free
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Mid-Free/Dist/Bk
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Diving
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Sprint Free/Fly
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Breast/IM
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Back/Fly/Free
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Fly/Back
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Diving
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Mid-Free/Fly
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Sprint Free/Fly
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