Duke Squads Remain in Front at Nike Cup

Friday, November 20

Chapel Hill, N.C.

All Day

Duke University

Day Two at Nike Cup Invitational

Duke Squads Remain in Front at Nike Cup

11/20/2015 11:17:00 PM | Swimming & Diving

By: Duke Sports Information

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The second day of the 2015 Nike Cup Invitational saw Duke place multiple swimmers and divers in the championship final of nearly every individual event to maintain the Blue Devils' leads in the men's and women's team standings. The squads also swept the 200-yard medley relays and broke four school records to cap another strong day of competition.

With one full day of events remaining, the Duke men hold a 300-point lead over NC State in second place and the Blue Devil women are in front of North Carolina by a 108-point margin.

The Blue Devils picked up right where they left off in the first event of Friday's finals session, sweeping the women's and men's 200 medley relays. Freshman Mickayla Hinkle, junior Ashleigh Shanley, sophomore Leah Goldman and junior Maddie Rusch clocked the second-fastest mark in school history at 1:38.70, while Duke's 'B' relay of junior Jessie Sutherland, freshman Alyssa Arwood, sophomore Isabella Paez and senior Chelsea Ye took third (1:40.72). On the men's side, junior Kaz Takabayashi, junior Peter Kropp, senior David Armstrong and junior James Peek combined for a season-best time of 1:25.62 – good for an NCAA provisional cut.

Goldman returned to the water to earn a first-place finish individually in the 100 butterfly, dropping time from her morning swim to go 53.21. She was joined in the championship final by Paez, who took fourth at 53.50. The men placed three Blue Devils in the 'A' final of the same event, led by Takabayashi in third overall (48.43). Armstrong followed in fourth (48.52) and junior Joey Maginnis in fifth (48.98).

Freshman Hunter Aitchison broke the school record in the 200 freestyle, racing to the wall third in the championship final with a mark of 1:47.93. She was joined in the top eight by junior Brittany Friese, who was fifth in 1:49.26. Another rookie, Sean Tate, led a trio of Blue Devils in the men's 200 freestyle 'A' final. Tate was second overall in 1:37.46, with sophomore Nick Bigot just behind him in third (1:37.60) and freshman Riley Hickman in eighth (1:40.74).

Duke claimed five of the eight lanes in the men's 100 breaststroke 'A' final, with Kropp pacing the group in second (53.26). Junior Dylan Payne (53.45), senior Victor Chen (54.36) and junior Mike Seaberg joined Kropp in surpassing the NCAA provisional standard in the event, and Howard garnered a second 'A' finals appearance after finishing fifth in the 400 IM. Shanley was the top finisher for the Blue Devils in the women's 100 breaststroke, as she tapped the wall fourth (1:03.01). A pair of freshmen in Susan Hynes and Alyssa Arwood placed fifth and eighth, respectively, in the same championship heat.

After eclipsing the school record in the 100 backstroke during preliminaries with a 53.30 performance, freshman Maddie Hess claimed third in the event championship final. Sutherland and Hinkle also represented Duke in the 'A' final before Takabayashi reset his own program record in the same event on the men's side with a 47.46 clocking.

Freshman Josh Owsiany headlined a three-four-five finish for the Blue Devils in the men's 3-meter springboard competition with a finals score of 337.50. He was followed by fellow rookies Evan Moretti and Lee Christensen, and sophomore MaryEllen Targonski paced the Duke women on the 1-meter board in sixth place (286.05).

In the final races of the evening, the Blue Devils' top relays came in third and fourth, respectively, in the women's and men's 800 freestyle relays. Sophomore Verity Abel, who was fourth in the 400 IM, teamed with Aitchison, sophomore Anna Quinn and Friese to rank second on the program's all-time performance list at 7:18.27.

The 2015 Nike Cup reaches its conclusion Saturday, with the 1,650 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle relay on tap in addition to 10-meter platform diving.

Team Scores:
Women: Duke 1267, North Carolina 1159, Yale 1074, NC State 878.5, East Carolina 485.5, Marshall 448.5, Old Dominion 384.5, Clemson 130, James Madison 49
Men: Duke 1289, NC State 988.5, North Carolina 930, U.S. Naval Academy 888, Yale 722.5, East Carolina 650, Old Dominion 397

Top Duke Finishers by Event:
Women's 200-Yard Medley Relay: Mickayla Hinkle, Ashleigh Shanley, Leah Goldman, Maddie Rusch (1st), 1:38.70
Men's 200-Yard Medley Relay: Kaz Takabayashi, Peter Kropp, David Armstrong, James Peek (1st), 1:25.62