The Blue Devil swimming and diving teams will look to close the calendar year on a high note this weekend, returning to action Saturday in a 1 p.m. dual meet at Queens University of Charlotte.
Last Time Out
The Duke program is coming off a strong showing at November’s NC State GAC Invite, where the men and women both earned third-place finishes behind a number of career-best performances.
Junior Leah Goldman broke her own school records in the 100-yard butterfly and 200 IM while senior Brittany Friese reset the program benchmark in the 200 freestyle and classmate Maddie Rusch matched Lauren Weaver’s school record in the 100 freestyle. The Blue Devil women also broke two relay records in the 800 freestyle and 400 medley relays. For the men, senior Peter Kropp led the way with a first-place showing in the 100 breaststroke, as did sophomore Evan Moretti in the men’s 1-meter diving competition.
The meet also represented Duke’s first three-day invitational with preliminaries and finals, setting up the squad for championship season.
Moretti Tabbed ACC Male Diver of the Week
Moretti was named the ACC Male Diver of the Week for the first time in his career Nov. 22 following an outstanding performance at the NC State GAC Invite.
Moretti posted a career-best award of 365.70 in the men’s 1-meter finals to take first overall among a highly competitive field that featured three ranked teams. He improved upon his preliminaries score by over 65 points to record the fifth-highest 1-meter score in program history.
An NCAA qualifier and honorable mention All-America selection as a rookie last year, Moretti also placed top-three on the platform and surpassed the NCAA Zones qualification standards in all three events.
Both Blue Devil Squads Ranked in CSCAA Polls
Coming off of strong outings at the NC State GAC Invite, the Duke men and women were both ranked in the Nov. 23 national poll released by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). The women were ranked for the third straight time, coming in at No. 20, while the men made their first appearance of the season in the top 25 at No. 22.
The Blue Devil women were one of seven ACC squads listed among the top 25, while on the men’s side, Duke was ranked with five other ACC schools.
For a complete look at the latest CSCAA rankings, click here.
Scouting the Royals
The Queens men climbed to No. 1 in the most recent CSCAA Division II rankings while the Queens women sit at No. 2 in the country.
Both squads are coming off of collecting first-place finishes at the program’s Fall Frenzy meet, with swimmers on both sides earning NCAA provisional cuts. Royals swimmers swept the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Swimmer of the Week awards following the meet, as senior Hannah Peiffer won the 200 backstroke and set program records in that event as well as in the 100 butterfly. Peiffer also led off Queens’ record-breaking 200 medley relay and added another record as a member of the team’s 400 medley relay. Nicholas Arakelian was also honored after winning the 400 IM and the 200 breaststroke individually and helping guide the Royals’ 800 freestyle and 400 medley relays to first-place performances.
News courtesy of Duke Athletics.
