Alyssa Marsh Hits 22.5 Fly Split, 48.7 100 Free as Duke Ends Big Road Trip

DARTMOUTH V. DUKE V. BOSTON COLLEGE V. UCONN

• Saturday, November 9, 2019
• Cambridge, MA
• Results

WOMEN’S MEET

• Duke 209, Harvard 91

Alyssa Marsh was excellent on Saturday, swimming three individuals and leading the Duke women to a defeat of Harvard.

Marsh, one of the best sprinters in the country right now, started things off on the 200 medley relay to erupt for a 22.58 fly leg. She out-split the other flyers in the field as well as every other freestyle anchor, including Duke’s A anchor, freshman Sarah Snyder (22.88). Freshman Emma Shuppert was 24.57 leading off, a great time for the rookie, and Duke went 1-2 with their A clocking a 1:38.13. The Blue Devils had all three relay breaststrokers split 28-lows, and their A’s time now ranks sixth in the nation.

Marsh popped a 22.54 to win the 50 free, a 48.79 to win the 100 free, and finally a 52.25 to dominate the 100 fly with fellow senior Kylie Jordan not far back (53.44).

Sophomore Melissa Pish grabbed an early win in the 200 free, posting a 1:47.00 with teammate Quinn Scannell in second (1:48.14) just ahead of Harvard’s Samantha Shelton (1:48.32). That win came right after Easop Lee‘s dominant victory in the 1000 free (9:49.81). Pish went on to win the 500 free (4:49.95) and she was 49.74 leading off Duke’s winning 400 free relay (3:20.65).

Freshmen Shuppert and Kayle Park chipped in a win, each, for the Blue Devils. Shuppert grabbed the 100 back win with a 53.82, while Park was 1:02.24 ahead of teammate Connie Dean (1:02.42). Dean returned to win a close one in the 200 breast, going 2:14.44 to touch out Park (2:14.58).

Harvard freshman Felicia Pasadyn was a double winner for the Crimson, going 1:57.41 in the 200 back and 2:01.29 in the 200 IM. She was also 22.92 anchoring Harvard’s A medley relay and 1:49.08 to take fifth in the 200 free. Miki Dahlke, meanwhile, was 1:58.85 t0 snag a victory in the 200 fly over Duke’s Jordan (1:59.16).

MEN’S MEET

• Duke 172, Harvard 128
• Duke 163, Harvard 137
• Texas A&M 167.50, Harvard 132.50

Duke ended its road trip with big wins over Harvard and Texas A&M, impressive victories considering Harvard (8th) and A&M (17th) finished well ahead of Duke (31st) at NCAAs last season.

The Blue Devils got started with a win in the 200 medley relay, nipping A&M with Miles Williams‘ 19.38 anchor leg. Harvard’s Umitcan Gures had the best fly split in the field (21.12), while A&M’s Shaine Casas (22.24) and Benjamin Walker (24.70) were best on back and breast, respectively. Duke kept rolling, taking the 1000 free with Zach Washart (9:09.28) and then the 200 free with Sheldon Boboff (1:37.69).

Casas put a stop to the Blue Devil streak in the 100 back, dropping a 47.68 with a 24.50 second 50. The Aggies pushed on, with Benjamin Walker and freshman Andres Puente going 1-2, 54.99 and 55.65, respectively, in the 100 breast. Freshman Jace Brown had a heroic finish in the subsequent 200 fly, pulling out a 28.51 final 50 to steal the win from Harvard’s Jake Johnson, 1:48.29 to 1:48.33, with Duke freshman Christopher Dallavalle just behind at 1:48.45.

Adam Koster took a tight win in the 50 free, clocking a 20.10 to get by Duke’s Williams (20.14). Williams finished four-hundredths on the right side, edging Koster 44.12 to 44.16 in the 100 free out of the diving break.

Casas would return for a 1:44.08 win in the 200 back, though, and Puente (1:59.07) and Walker (1:59.21) claimed first and second, respectively in the 200 breast. Duke’s Washart put the Blue Devils back in the W category with a first-place effort in the 500 free (4:26.88) to follow up his 1000 win.

Harvard finished first in the final two individual races, with Gures going 47.68 to sneak ahead of Casas (47.74) while Michael Zarian‘s 1:49.37 was enough to get by Duke’s Cole Reznick (1:49.81). Duke and A&M went at it in the 400 free relay, as Williams and Koster popped 43-highs to lead off. Duke finished first in 2:57.43 to A&M’s 2:57.64, holding off Mark Theall‘s 44.08 anchor for the Aggies.