Duke Men Win Nike Cup, Women Take Second

Saturday, November 21

Chapel Hill, N.C.

All Day

Duke University

Day Three at Nike Cup Invitational

Duke Men Win Nike Cup, Women Take Second

11/21/2015 10:18:00 PM | Swimming & Diving

By: Duke Sports Information

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Duke men emerged victorious at the Nike Cup Invitational for the first time in program history and the women also rounded out the final team event of the fall on a high note with a second-place finish in the nine-team field.

Over the course of three days at North Carolina's Koury Natatorium, the Blue Devils broke 13 school records and claimed two facility records while collecting first-place finishes in seven individual events and five relays.

The men's squad totaled 1,721 points to remain ahead of ACC opponents NC State (1,545.50) and North Carolina (1,434) in the final team standings. After leading the women's field through the first two days, the Duke women finished second (1,769) just behind the Tar Heels (1,815).

“We couldn't be more proud of both the men and women,” said head coach Dan Colella. “For the women to be that close, they swam absolutely terrific. They did a good job this morning doing what they needed to do. To top everything off, I think this evening's session was probably the best session of the six, just in overall performances. We couldn't have asked for more. [The North Carolina women are] the No. 2 team in the nation right now, and for us to be able to do what we did is just incredible.”

Already a winner in the 500-yard freestyle earlier in the meet, sophomore Verity Abel continued to lead the distance group with a seventh-place finish in the 1,650 freestyle (16:34.93). Freshman Riley Hickman was the Blue Devils' top finisher in the men's mile with a 15:54.63 swim.

After breaking her own program record in the 100 backstroke Friday, freshman Maddie Hess eclipsed her record in the 200 backstroke twice Saturday. The Brandon, Fla., native went 1:56.10 in preliminaries before winning the championship final at 1:55.14. Fellow rookie Mickayla Hinkle notched the third-fastest mark in school history (1:57.80) to finish third and junior Liza Bragg was seventh (1:59.60). Junior Bradley Cline was second to the wall in the same event on the men's side (1:46.93).

Duke placed three swimmers in the 'A' final of the men's 100 freestyle, with senior David Armstrong coming in fifth (44.30), freshman Sean Tate sixth (44.55) and sophomore Nick Bigot eighth (44.89). Junior James Peek won the consolation final in a blistering 43.82, a time that ranked him third on the Blue Devils' all-time performance list. Sophomore Leah Goldman was under the NCAA provisional standard in a fifth-place showing in the women's 100 freestyle (49.68) while junior Maddie Rusch turned in the third-fastest mark in school history (49.59) en route to winning the consolation final.

Senior Victor Chen posted the top time in the men's 200 breaststroke preliminaries, touching at 1:56.91 to rank third in the program record books. He took second in the evening session (1:58.29), followed by freshman Judd Howard in fifth (2:00.60). Duke qualified two swimmers to the championship final of the same event on the women's side, as sophomore Abby Artmann finished fifth (2:17.28) and junior Ashleigh Shanley seventh (2:18.43).

Sophomore Isabella Paez clocked the nation's fastest time to date in the women's 200 butterfly, besting the field at 1:56.14 for an NCAA 'B' cut. She was joined in the 'A' final by sophomore Anna Quinn, who placed fifth (1:59.87). Junior Kaz Takabayashi paced the Blue Devil men with a sixth-place performance in the same event (1:48.21) and classmate Kenny Ng won the consolation final (1:49.56).

“I've been feeling better as the meet has gone along,” Paez said. “I'm really excited to see where I'm going to go at nationals. It's so great for us to all be swimming so fast so early on in the season. It's really exciting to see how much we've developed throughout the past couple of years.”

Competing earlier in the day at Duke's Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion, head diving coach Nunzio Esposto's group put forth another impressive effort. Freshman Mackenzie Willborn won the women's 10-meter platform competition with an award of 253.40, while junior Kirby Quinn (225.10) and sophomore MaryEllen Targonski (212.85) were fifth and sixth, respectively. Another freshman, Josh Owsiany, keyed a one-two finish along with Evan Moretti in the men's event. Owsiany's score of 320.65 ranked him third on the Blue Devils' all-time list.

The women's 400 freestyle relay of Hess, Rusch, senior Chelsea Ye and Goldman punctuated the evening with the final program record of the meet. The quartet combined for a mark of 3:16.37 to reset the previous record from 2014 and finish second overall behind NC State. Bigot, Armstrong, Tate and Peek also earned a spot in the Duke record books in the men's 'A' heat, ranking second on the all-time performance list and in the field with a 2:56.05 showing.

“We challenged them at the beginning of the year to really jump two feet in and be committed at a level like we've never been before,” Colella said. “They're seeing the fruits of their labor. As a coach, it's great to see them reap those things after they put all that work in.”

The Blue Devils will conclude 2015 by sending representatives to the USA Swimming Winter Nationals Dec. 2-4 in Federal Way, Wash., and the USA Diving Winter Nationals Dec. 15-20 in Indianapolis.

Final Team Scores:
Women: North Carolina 1815, Duke 1769, Yale 1519, NC State 1328.5, East Carolina 698.5, Marshall 661.5, Old Dominion 551.5, Clemson 195, James Madison 49
Men: Duke 1721, NC State 1545.5, North Carolina 1434, U.S. Naval Academy 1297, Yale 1038.5, East Carolina 905, Old Dominion 593

Top Duke Finishers by Event:
Women's 1,650-Yard Freestyle: Verity Abel (7th), 16:34.93
Men's 1,650-Yard Freestyle: Riley Hickman (18th), 15:54.63

Women's 200-Yard Backstroke: Maddie Hess (1st), 1:55.14
Men's 200-Yard Backstroke: Brad Cline (2nd), 1:46.93

Women's 100-Yard Freestyle: Leah Goldman (5th), 49.68
Men's 100-Yard Freestyle: David Armstrong (5th), 44.30

Women's 200-Yard Breaststroke: Abby Artmann (5th), 2:17.28
Men's 200-Yard Breaststroke: Victor Chen (2nd), 1:58.29

Women's 200-Yard Butterfly: Isa Paez (1st), 1:56.14
Men's 200-Yard Butterfly: Kaz Takabayashi (6th), 1:48.21

Women's 10-Meter Platform Diving: Mackenzie Willborn (1st), 253.40
Men's 10-Meter Platform Diving: Josh Owsiany (1st), 320.65

Women's 400-Yard Freestyle Relay: Maddie Hess, Maddie Rusch, Chelsea Ye, Leah Goldman (2nd), 3:16.37
Men's 400-Yard Freestyle Relay: Nick Bigot, David Armstrong, Sean Tate, James Peek (2nd), 2:56.05

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