Upcoming Event: Swimming & Diving versus Georgia Tech on January 17, 2026 at 10 a.m. Diving / 11 a.m. Swimming
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10 a.m. Diving / 11 a.m. Swimming
Swimming & Diving
vs Georgia Tech
Swimming & Diving Set to Host Florida State, Queens
10/22/2015 11:47:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
| FRIDAY, OCT. 23: FLORIDA STATE and QUEENS UNIVERSITY at DUKE |
| Time | Location | Links |
| 4:15 p.m. | Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion | Live Results | Twitter |
DURHAM, N.C. – After opening the season with a pair of victories over Pittsburgh, the Blue Devil men and women resume competition Friday in a tri-meet against ACC foe Florida State and in-state opponent Queens University of Charlotte. Action begins with diving at 4:15 p.m. in Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion.
Blue Devils Post Record-Breaking Performances in Season Opener
The Duke men and women broke five facility records in season-opening wins over Pittsburgh Oct. 3. Both of the Blue Devils' 200-yard medley relays reset the Taishoff standards while sophomore Leah Goldman (200 IM – 2:02.00), freshman Mickayla Hinkle (100 backstroke – 54.55) and junior Peter Kropp (100 breaststroke – 52.13) all earned individual facility records. The men dispatched the Panthers by a final score of 193-101 while the women won by a 178-115 margin.
Hinkle, Kropp Claim ACC Weekly Accolades
Hinkle and Kropp swept the ACC Female and Male Swimmer of the Week awards Oct. 6 following the dual meet victories over the Panthers. Hinkle won both women's backstroke events, with her time of 54.55 in the 100 backstroke marking the third-fastest in program history and her 200 backstroke clocking of 2:00.29 ranking her ninth overall. The rookie from Woodbury, Minn., also led off the winning 200 medley relay that set a facility record at 1:41.27. Kropp was just off the NCAA automatic standard in the 100 breaststroke and became the first male swimmer in the country to go under the two-minute mark in the 200-yard event.
Young Divers Off to Strong Start
Bolstered by the arrival of three male and two female divers, head diving coach Nunzio Esposto's group began the 2015-16 campaign on a high note. Freshman Evan Moretti led the field in the men's 1-meter competition against the Panthers, earning a score of 362.33 for an NCAA Zones qualifying mark. He was also second in the 3-meter event. On the women's side, sophomore MaryEllen Targonski and freshman Mackenzie Willborn both collected Zones qualifying scores in winning the 1-meter and 3-meter competitions, respectively.
Willborn Captures Silver at Junior Pan Ams
Willborn, who joined the Duke program this fall from Flower Mound, Texas, represented the United States earlier this month at the Junior Pan American Championships in Matanzas, Cuba. She teamed with Emily Grund in the synchronized 3-meter event in the combined 14-18 age group, totaling 262.32 points to take second overall. Willborn and Grund's silver helped the U.S. round out the four-day meet with 16 medals.
Program Supports Duke Cancer Institute at Season Opener
The Blue Devils were joined by their fans in fundraising for the Duke Cancer Institute Oct. 3 as part of a nationwide initiative of Breast Cancer Awareness POD meets. All proceeds from donations at the door and t-shirt sales benefitted the Duke Cancer Institute, to be earmarked for breast cancer research. The results of this month's nationwide competition will be announced at the conclusion of all nine breast cancer awareness meets.
A Look at Duke
The Duke women sit atop the ACC standings with the conference win over Pittsburgh while the men are tied with the Georgia Tech men for first. The Blue Devil men checked in at No. 17 in this week's CollegeSwimming.com top 50 and the women were tabbed 20th. Kropp entered the week leading the country in the 100 breaststroke and ranked fifth at the 200-yard distance (1:59.01) while also pacing all ACC men's swimmers. Junior James Peek owns the conference's top time in the 50 freestyle at 20.20. Kropp, Peek, junior Kaz Takabayashi and senior David Armstrong lead the conference and rank third nationally in the 200 medley relay after going 1:27.75 against Pittsburgh. Willborn's 3-meter score of 356.7 is tops among the ACC's female divers, while teammate Goldman is third in the league and 10th in the country in the 200 IM.
Scouting the Seminoles
The Florida State men and women split with Minnesota in their dual meet opener Oct. 3 before the women took fourth last weekend at the SMU Classic. The Seminoles were also second at the Pinch A Penny All-Florida Invitational last month, finishing behind only Florida. The men's team enters the weekend ranked 21st in the CollegeSwimming.com top 50 while the women check in at No. 27. Calvin Bryant owns the ACC's top time to date in the 1,650 freestyle (16:09.54) and teammate Connor Kalisz is the conference leader in the 200 backstroke (1:46.64). Kalisz also helped Florida State post the league's top time in the 800 freestyle relay (6:51.85). The Seminole women are also represented amongst the ACC's top performers, as Summer Finke is second in the mile (17:22.87) and fellow rookie Megan Brown is ranked second in the 200 (2:01.37) and 400 IM (4:09.82).
Scouting the Royals
The reigning Div. II national champions, the Queens men and women look to pick up where they left off last season. The women sat atop CollegeSwimming.com's Div. II top 50 this week after taking fourth at the All-North Carolina Invitational to start the season while the men were second overall following a fifth-place finish at the statewide meet. Both teams claimed the top Div. II spot at the two-day invitational. Dion Dreesens and Patricia Castro-Ortega collected Bluegrass Mountain Conference Swimmer of the Week honors for their performances, with Dreesens notching a Div. II NCAA automatic cut in the 200 freestyle.
Colella's Take
“This is a great opportunity to swim a team that has traditionally been one of the top programs in the ACC,” said head coach Dan Colella. “I think we have a great chance to get the win. It's going to take a team effort and everybody knows that – it's not on the shoulders of a few individuals. It's going to take everybody being really committed to some great performances. Queens has some spectacular athletes. Jeff Dugdale does a really great job with them. They're going to be right there in the hunt. They definitely aren't going to back down because they're swimming Division I schools. I think they're primed and excited to see what they can do against us and Florida State. The whole meet should be a pretty fierce competition.”
Esposto's Take
“This Friday will be a good meet for our Duke divers,” Esposto said. “Florida State does have some divers that did well at ACCs last year, so it will be good to see how our freshmen stack up against them. I think they'll do a good job.”
#GoDuke
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