UNCW vs Duke
- October 27, 2023
- Durham, N.C.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: UNCW Athletics
DURHAM, N.C. – UNCW rallied over the final four races of the meet to surge past Duke in men’s swimming diving action for a 152.5-145.5 win on Friday at the Taishoff Aquatic Center.
The Seahawks improved to 4-1 with the win on the men’s side while the Blue Devils won the women’s meet, 188-104, to move to 1-1 on the young season.
The victory gave the men wins over programs from the SEC and ACC in the same season for the first time in program history.
Trailing 125-114 going into the 500 Freestyle, UNCW freshmen William Carrico and Adley Logan finished first and second, respectively, and Silas Crosby took fourth. The Seahawks took the lead by outscoring the Blue Devils, 13-4, in the race.
Carrico added a win in the 400 IM and Aidan Duffy was second as the Seahawks held off Duke.
In diving, Tatum Church won the 1-meter board and Katie Knorr captured the 400 IM on the women’s side.
UNCW closes out the fall semester when they compete at the Gamecock Invitational on Nov. 15-17.
Event Winners
Men’s 200 Medley Relay, Mason Hetzell (100 Breast), Mac Russell (50 Free), Jacob Duracinsky (100 Free), Aidan Duffey (200 Breast), William Carrico (500 Free, 400 IM), Katie Knorr (400 IM), Women’s 200 Free Relay, Men’s200 Free Relay
Courtesy: Duke Athletics
DURHAM – Duke swimming and diving split the home opener with UNCW on Friday afternoon at the Taishoff Aquatic Center. The Blue Devils’ women defeated the Seahawks 188-104, while the men narrowly fell to UNCW 152.5-145.5.
Junior diver Margo O’Meara broke the pool record on the 1-meter diving board, posting a score of 345.38.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Blue Devils began the afternoon quick, taking the top two spots on the podium in the 200-Yard Medley Relay. Duke’s A-Team of Ali Pfaff, Kaelyn Gridley, Aleyna Ozkan and Tatum Wall clocked in with a time of 1:40.11, while Duke’s B-Team of Molly Donlan, Sarah Foley, Martina Peroni and Claire McLean finished second with a time of 1:43.52.
- In the men’s 1000-Freestyle, JC Castrillon dropped nearly 26 seconds off his previous season-best, placing first on the podium with a time of 9:33.86. Austin Simpson finished second in the event, clocking a time of 9:48.99.
- Seniors Catherine Purnell and Emily Gjertsen finished one and two in the 1000-Freestyle, clocking times of 10:08.81 and 10:16.97 respectively.
- The Blue Devils swept the 200-Freestyle event on the women’s side, as YiXuan Chang, Molly Donlan and Martina Peroni finished on the podium.
- Junior Blake Johnson finished first in the 200-Freestyle event, giving the Blue Devils another first-place finish, clocking in with a time of 1:39.26.
- In the 100-Backstroke, Pfaff and Emily Lenihan finished first and second to score points for the Blue Devils. Pfaff won her second backstroke event this season, while Lenihan dropper her time nearly two seconds to 55.99.
- Kaelyn Gridley collected a NCAA B-Cut in the 100-Breaststroke, finishing first in the event with a time of 1:00.61.
- Freshman Andrew Li finished first in the 200-Butterfly, clocking a time of 1:53.58. He was joined on the podium by Austin Simpson who finished with a time of 1:56. 52.
- Gridley collected another first place finish in the 200-Breaststroke, shaving three seconds off her time at Virginia Tech, posting a 2:14.49 mark.
- Duke’s women swept the 3-meter diving event, as Josie Zillig (335.18), Emily Rakestraw (327.90) and Ali Watson (310.73) finished on the podium.
- The Blue Devils continued their dominance on the diving boards, as Will McCollum (346.65), Yannis Schattman (331.05) and Seamus Harding Jr. (327.90), swept the 1-meter dive during the first session.
QUOTES
“We saw a lot of everything tonight. There were a ton of ups and downs. I saw a team that made every event matter, and they fought all night long. It was exciting and I am particularly proud of our men’s team. They had not quit in them all the way up until the end of the meet. It came down to the very end and they didn’t even come up short, they tied the final event and so that was an interesting way to end a meet. Our divers were unbelievable today. Margo O’Meara ended up breaking a pool record in the 1-meter dive after returning from injury.” – Head coach Brian Barnes on his overall thoughts after the match.
“It was really cool to see Margo break the pool record in the 1-meter dive in her first meet back since returning from surgery. She will be back on the 3-meter board very soon and we are all excited for that. For the other women, we have deep squad, so it is nice to see us place well tonight. I think with us being able to sweep early in the match with the parent and alumni in attendance, it allowed our athletes to generate a lot of momentum and was awesome to see.” – Head diving coach Nunzio Esposito on how the divers fared in the first home meet of the season.
UP NEXT
Duke returns to action on Nov. 3 as they travel to Raleigh, N.C., for a tri-meet with No. 4/4 NC State and No. 9/13 Georgia.
