DURHAM, N.C. – After downing a pair of South Carolina squads last weekend, the Blue Devil men and women will take their unbeaten dual meet records to Atlanta Saturday as they face Indiana, Michigan and host Georgia Tech in a quad meet.
Duke Squads Remain Unbeaten in Head-to-Head Action
The Blue Devil women boast a 6-0 record for the best start to a season in program history … The men own a matching 6-0 ledger for their best start since 1971 … Both Duke teams remain tied with Virginia Tech atop the ACC standings with 2-0 marks in conference action … The men’s squad came in at No. 22 in the most recent national poll released by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) while the women’s team continues to receive votes after being ranked earlier this season.
Blue Devil Women Sign Six for 2016-17 Campaign
Head coach Dan Colella and the Duke coaching staff announced Monday the signing of six female student-athletes for the 2016-17 campaign … Suzanne Dolan, Kylie Jordan, Brittany Kampfer, Alyssa Marsh and Kira Page will bolster the Blue Devils’ swimming roster next fall while Jaina Gaudette will join the group overseen by head diving coach Nunzio Esposto … To learn more about the women in the recruiting class, click here.
Last Time Out
In their first action of the new year, the men’s and women’s teams dispatched South Carolina on the road to remain undefeated in dual meets this season … The 22nd-ranked Duke men came from behind to take down the 19th-ranked Gamecocks by a 154-146 tally … The Blue Devils trailed heading into the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, but swept the first and second spots for the win … The women posted a 187-113 victory behind two individual wins each from freshmen Maddie Hess (200 freestyle, 100 butterfly) and Mickayla Hinkle (100 and 200 backstroke) … Juniors James Peek (50 and 100 freestyle) and Kaz Takabayashi (100 backstroke, 100 butterfly) claimed two events each for the men and freshman Josh Owsiany was second in the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard diving competitions.
A Look at Duke
Junior Peter Kropp continues to rank among the national leaders in the men’s 100-yard breaststroke with his season-opening clocking of 52.13, while senior Victor Chen is third in the ACC at the 200-yard distance. Kropp and 400 medley relay teammates Takabayashi, David Armstrong and Peek are second in the league with their 3:09.20 showing at the Nike Cup Invitational, as are Mike Seaberg, Armstrong, Dylan Payne and Peek in the 200 freestyle relay. The women’s 200 and 400 freestyle relays both rank among the top 10 in the country, and junior Maddie Rusch is 10th nationally and third in the ACC in the 50 freestyle (19.79) following the Nike Cup.
Scouting the Yellow Jackets
The Duke men hold a 24-19 advantage in the all-time series with Georgia Tech, though the Yellow Jackets have won three of the last four meetings … The women are 2-1 historically against Georgia Tech after claiming last year’s dual meet by a 196-104 score … The Yellow Jacket men are currently 5-1 (1-0 ACC) and the women 3-4 (0-1) after sweeping Cincinnati and Florida Atlantic before the winter holidays … Youssef Hammoud ranks top 20 nationally in the 100 freestyle (43.26) and the men’s 800 freestyle (6:30.53) and 400 medley (3:12.41) relays own the third-fastest marks in the ACC … Brad Hornza leads the Georgia Tech divers, ranking third in the conference on the 1-meter board (370.88), while Shannon Lumbra is seventh at the 1-meter height (295.65) for the women.
Scouting the Hoosiers
The Indiana women are 5-5 and the men 4-6 entering Saturday’s action in Atlanta … The squads hosted the Hoosierland Invitational Dec. 3-5 in their last outing … Both teams are ranked within the top 20 of the latest CSCAA polls, with the men coming in at No. 11 and the women at No. 16 … The Hoosiers boast the reigning NCAA champion in platform diving in Jessica Parratto and last year’s runner-up on the men’s side, James Connor … Duke will go up against the Indiana men and women for the first time in program history.
Scouting the Wolverines
Michigan’s men are ranked sixth in the country with a 45-meet unbeaten streak that dates back to 2010 … The Wolverines boast a pair of swimmers ranked among the top 10 nationally in their events, as PJ Ransford is fifth in the 1,650 freestyle (14:47.77) and Paul Powers sixth in the 50 freestyle (19.37) … The women’s squad was tabbed eighth in the latest CSCAA rankings with a 3-1 ledger … Distance specialist Gillian Ryan is top-10 nationally in the 1,650 (15:58.54) and 500 freestyle (4:39.88) … The Blue Devils will face the Michigan teams head-to-head for the first time in program history.
Colella’s Take
“Georgia Tech has had some great swimming going on this year, particularly on the men’s side,” Colella said. “Indiana and Michigan are two very, very strong programs. For us, what we want to be able to do is go down and compete at the highest level. We’re going to be racing some potential NCAA champions this weekend. We always tell them, instead of being nervous you should be excited to swim the best – and it should only bring out the best in you. It’s all in their approach. I think they have a great mindset. With the way they’ve performed all year and last weekend, it should be another great meet for us.”
Swimming news courtesy of Duke Swimming & Diving.