Duquesne vs Buffalo (Women)
- January 11, 2025
- Pittsburgh, Pa.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: Duquesne Athletics
Pittsburgh, Pa. – Behind 10 first-place finishes, the Duquesne University swimming & diving team captured a 163-137 victory over Buffalo on Saturday morning inside Towers Pool.
Four different Dukes shined at the meet, each securing multiple gold medals in impressive fashion. Senior Orla Egan set the tone early, claiming the first gold of the day in the second event. She dominated the 1000-yard freestyle, touching the wall at 10:32.89, and followed up with another victory in the 500-yard freestyle, clocking in at 5:08.84. Freshman Sierra Snow also made her mark in the 1000 free, earning the bronze with a time of 10:45.78.
Freshman Jess Burn showcased her prowess in the breaststroke events, taking gold in both the 100-yard breaststroke (1:06.04) and the 200-yard breaststroke (2:23.88). Her classmate, Ashley Freel, delivered standout performances in the butterfly events, posting a time of 2:04.80 in the 200 fly and 57.09 in the 100 butterfly to secure top honors in both. Freel added to her medal haul with a bronze in the 200-yard IM (2:09.98).
Senior Haley Scholer added to the Dukes’ success with a first-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke, clocking in at 2:03.45, and another gold in the 200 IM with a time of 2:06.66. Scholer also secured a silver medal in the 100 backstroke, recording a time of 56.59.
Sophomore Lexi Sundgren and freshman Kaitlyn Connors each grabbed a gold medal as well. Sundgren claimed the top spot in the 200-yard freestyle and added two bronze medals to her tally in the 100 free (54.22) and 500 free (5:12.34). Meanwhile, Connors sprinted to victory in the 50-yard freestyle, rounding out an exceptional performance for the team.
QUOTABLE
“Matt and I were extremely happy with how the team came out and performed today,” head coach David Sheets said. “It started with the 200-medley relay and we rolled from there. The team continued to bring the energy and enthusiasm we’ve been talking about and it showed in how we raced and how we supported each other. We will enjoy today and get back to training on Monday.”
The Duquesne diving team showcased their skills in both the one-meter and three-meter events. Junior Ashley Felitsky led the way for the Dukes, earning 222.45 points to place seventh in the one-meter dive. She followed that with a strong performance in the three-meter dive, where she tallied 241.65 points to secure sixth place. Sophomore Lydia Redd also had solid outings, finishing ninth in the one-meter (199.45 points) and eighth in the three-meter (214.35 points).
On the swimming side, freshman Caitlin Horning delivered a standout performance in the 100 backstroke, taking third with a time of 58.88. Junior Sydney Severini claimed two silver medals, one in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:06.35) and another in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:24.45). Snow added to the medal count with a silver in the 200-yard backstroke.
The quartet of Haley Scholer, Sydney Severini, Ashley Freel, and Kaitlyn Connors secured silver in the 200-yard medley relay, touching the wall at 1:45.55. Closing out the day, the team of Orla Egan, sophomore Julia Sobun, Lexi Sundgren, and junior Katie Simpson earned silver in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:38.55, capping an impressive showing by the Dukes.
UP NEXT
The Dukes will be back in action next weekend when it holds a tri-meet against George Mason and Cleveland State on Saturday, Jan. 18 inside Towers Pool, beginning at 11:00 a.m. The diving team will take on the Patriots and Vikings on Friday, Jan. 17 with diving only at Carnegie Mellon, beginning at 5:00 p.m.
Courtesy: UB Athletics
PITTSBURGH, Penn – The University at Buffalo swim team traveled to Duquesne on Saturday to compete against the Dukes in a head-to-head meet. The Bulls fell to Duquesne, 163-137.
Mia Naccarella carried over her success in the backstroke events from the Bulls’ last meet at Akron. The graduate student won the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 56.21. Naccarella also finished third in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:05.69.
The graduate also began on the starting block for the 200-yard medley relay. The team of Naccarella, Grace Rider, Nicole Aguilar and Jillian Strine finished first with a time of 1:45.41. The Bulls took the final relay of the day too, winning the 400-yard freestyle (3:33.87) with a team of Naccarella, Sawyer Bosley, Amanda Jurgelon and Strine.
Strine and Jurgelon combined to earn points for the Bulls in two freestyle events. Strine finished second in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.75, as Jurgelon trailed to take fourth with a time of 25.46. Strine later won the 100-yard freestyle (53.31), with Bosley taking second (54.09) and Jurgelon in fourth (54.95).
Bosley also earned a second-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle for the Bulls with a time of 1:56.05. Abbey Gardner trailed to secure fourth (1:58.80).
Isabella Forsman continued her strong freshman campaign at Duquesne. In the 200-yard butterfly, she finished second with a time of 2:05.64, trailing the first-place finisher by just under a second. Aguilar secured third for the Bulls with a time of 2:11.92.
Forsman and Aguilar doubled back to earn more points for the Bulls in the 100-yard butterfly. The two both finished with a time of 57.37, taking second and third together. The time was a new personal record for Forsman. The freshman also finished second in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:06.98.
Rider and freshman Ava Pauly have been a strong duo for the Bulls in the breaststroke events. The two finished within half a second of each other in the 100-yard breaststroke. Rider took third with a time of 1:06.57, as Pauly finished fourth with a time of 1:07.15. Pauly also finished third in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:28.51.
Elise McCaul earned two second-place finishes in distance freestyle events. To open the individual events in the pool, McCaul placed second in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:38.84. The junior later earned second in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:11.16.
The Bulls earned an additional 32 points from their performance at the UB Diving Invite, holding Duquesne to just six. A recap of the five-team diving meet can be found here.
The Bulls swimmers and divers will take on Akron next Saturday, January 18th in the Alumni Arena Natatorium, as the program celebrates senior day. A full schedule for UB Swimming and Diving can be accessed here. The Bulls will host MACChampionships from February 26th through March 1st in the Alumni Arena Natatorium.
