Courtesy: Duke Athletics
DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke swimming and diving team kicks off the new year as it heads to Charlotte, N.C., to take on Division II powerhouse Queens University of Charlotte on Saturday at 1 p.m. The meet will take place at the Levine Center on Queens’ campus.
GET TO KNOW QUEENS
The Royals have swept the Division II NCAA National Championships the last five years and have started this season strong as well. Queens will be entering the meet off short rest, as they compete at Catawba College the evening before.
In the two teams’ last meeting, Duke got the best of the Royals, topping them 163-93 in women’s competition and 142.5-118.5 over the men last January. The Blue Devils are 11-1 all-time versus Queens, with the men being 5-1 and the women 6-0.
BACK IN NORTH CAROLINA
The Blue Devils return to North Carolina after enjoying their annual training trip during the first week of the new year. Duke’s swim team traveled to Aruba to train before returning to Durham for the championship half of its 2019-20 season. The divers, led by Nunzio Esposto, trained in Puerto Rico the same week.
HISTORIC WEEKEND IN GREENSBORO
Duke gets in the pool for its first competitive meet since a record-breaking showing at the GAC Invitational in November. At the meet, the Blue Devils swam career-best times in 77 events, including 33 times that placed on the Duke All-Time Top-10 lists.
Senior Alyssa Marsh led the Blue Devils that weekend, breaking three school records in the process. Her times of 21.90 and 58.11 in the 50 and 100 freestyle, respectively, set the school record. In addition, the Davidson, N.C., native clocked a 51.05 in the 100 butterfly to add another record to her name.
In addition to Marsh’s record times, Duke posted 10 individual times in the Top-5 charts:
Kayle Park … 200 breaststroke … 2:12.47 (2nd)
Emma Shuppert … 100 backstroke … 52.80 (3rd)
Easop Lee … 1,000 freestyle … 9:49.81 (3rd)
Shayna Hollander … 50 freestyle … 22.87 (5th)
Halle Morris … 100 breaststroke … 1:01.67 (5th)
Miles Williams … 50 freestyle … 19.58 (2nd)
Nathaniel Hernandez … 3-meter diving … 418.25 (2nd)
Zach Washart … 500 freestyle … 4:24.60 (3rd)
Matthew Whelan … 200 butterfly … 1:46.86 (3rd)
HOW TO FOLLOW
The meet at Queens will be live streamed here. Live stats will be updated throughout the meet here.
UP NEXT
Duke is back on the road again next weekend as Duke will travel to Raleigh to take on NC State on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 11 a.m.
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on Duke swimming and diving, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for “DukeSwimDive”. You can also find all-access coverage of all Duke athletic programs on SnapChat by searching for “dukeathletics”.