Duke Men Top Northwestern, Women Fall to NC State

Saturday, October 29

Durham, N.C.

11:00 AM

Duke University

NC State (W)

Duke Men Top Northwestern, Women Fall to NC State

10/29/2016 5:12:00 PM | Swimming & Diving

Photo Gallery Team Scores Results

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – The Blue Devil swimming and diving teams split a pair of dual meets in Saturday's home opener, with the men defeating Northwestern, 185-110, and the women falling to fourth-ranked NC State, 177-123.

Following Saturday's action, the Duke men improved to 3-1 overall and the women slipped to 3-1 and 1-1 in ACC competition.

“The Duke men and women swam incredibly tough and dove even tougher,” said head coach Dan Colella. “The divers just absolutely dominated the boards today and had some really great performances. For the men, we had a number of exceptional performances. In the past, sometimes when we've started getting out in front things get a little relaxed, but they competed hard from start to finish. Really proud of the women and how they competed against NC State … We knew that it was going to be really difficult to beat them today, but more than anything, our women didn't back down one iota.”

The Blue Devil divers started off the morning on a high note at Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion, sweeping all four springboard events. Senior Kirby Quinn won the women's 1-meter competition for the second consecutive week, besting the field with an award of 277.05. Freshman Nathaniel Hernandez turned in a similar result at the 1-meter height, winning with a score of 308.63 points, while teammate Evan Moretti claimed the 3-meter event at 381.90. Sophomore Mackenzie Willborn totaled 304.35 points in winning the women's 3-meter competition.

In addition, all four winning scores surpassed the NCAA Zones qualification standards.

Duke's 200-yard medley relays echoed the strong start, as the men edged the Wildcats to sweep the top three spots. The quartet of senior Kaz Takabayashi, senior Michael Seaberg, senior Michael Miller and sophomore Yusuke Legard headlined the one-two-three finish, with the mark of 1:28.38 ranking ninth on the program's all-time performance list.

Sophomore Roger Kriegl and junior Matt Johnson were second and third, respectively, in the men's 1,000 freestyle, with Kriegl's 9:27.13 clocking placing him seventh in school history. Takabayashi returned to the water to register a first-place showing in the 100 backstroke (48.58), while sophomore Maddie Hess (55.16) was second in the same event on the women's side. Takabayashi later notched his second individual win in the 100 butterfly at 49.35.

Senior Peter Kropp led a one-two-three-four effort by Duke in the men's 100 breaststroke, earning an NCAA 'B' cut at 54.58. Sophomore Judd Howard (56.47), senior Bradley Cline (57.08) and sophomore Sean Tate (57.30) followed, and senior Ashleigh Shanley logged a second-place finish in the women's 100 breaststroke (1:03.48). Kropp and Howard would go one-two again later on in the 200 breaststroke, with Seaberg finishing third.

“We competed really well,” Kropp said. “We're really excited about the results. We'll watch race videos and try to improve on the little things.”

The Blue Devils picked up additional points in the women's and men's 200 butterfly, as junior Isabella Paez (1:59.72) and Miller (1:48.75) were both first to the wall. In the women's race, junior Anna Quinn (2:02.76) and freshman Kylie Jordan (2:03.26) finished just behind Paez to complete the sweep. Legard (20.66) and Seaberg (20.95) then went one-two in the 50 freestyle to put the Duke men in front at the first break.

Senior Dylan Payne joined the Blue Devils' group of individual event winners, touching first in the 100 freestyle (45.23). Cline (45.92) and freshman Miles Williams (46.13) took second and third, respectively, before sophomore Max St. George won the 200 backstroke at 1:49.01. Freshman Alyssa Marsh had similar success in the women's 100 butterfly (53.97) and Miller rounded out the individual events with a first-place performance in the men's 200 IM (1:50.50).

Legard, Payne, Seaberg and Williams combined to take first in the men's 200 freestyle relay in the final event of the meet.

Duke resumes competition Nov. 17-19 at the NC State Invitational in Greensboro, N.C.

“Our next competition will be in three weeks when we go to Greensboro,” Colella said. “That will be prelims, finals, which they're going to be very excited for. I think our athletes performing like they did here only adds motivation to the next three weeks. We have some more hard work in front of us.”

Team Scores:
NC State Women 177, Duke Women 123
Duke Men 185, Northwestern Men 110

Top Duke Finishers by Event:
Women's 1-Meter Diving: Kirby Quinn (1st), 277.05
Men's 1-Meter Diving: Nathaniel Hernandez (1st), 308.63

Women's 3-Meter Diving: Mackenzie Willborn (1st), 304.35
Men's 3-Meter Diving: Evan Moretti (1st), 381.90

Women's 200-Yard Medley Relay: Maddie Hess, Ashleigh Shanley, Alyssa Marsh, Maddie Rusch (2nd), 1:39.82
Men's 200-Yard Medley Relay: Kaz Takabayashi, Michael Seaberg, Michael Miller, Yusuke Legard (1st), 1:28.38