Swimming & Diving Goes 2-2 in Saturday Action

Saturday, November 5

Raleigh, N.C.

11:00 AM

Duke University

N.C. State

Swimming & Diving Goes 2-2 in Saturday Action

11/5/2011 7:54:00 PM | Swimming & Diving

By: Duke Sports Information

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Duke men's and women's swimming and diving teams traveled to Raleigh, N.C. on Saturday, going 2-2 with wins over the Savannah College of Art & Design while losing to ACC opponent NC State. The swimming events were held at the Wolfpack's Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center, while the diving competition took place at Duke's Taishoff Aquatic Pavillion.

The Blue Devil women posted a 118-16 victory over SCAD but fell to the Wolfpack, 84-56. The women's squad is now 2-4 overall and 0-4 in conference action. Meanwhile, the Duke men move to 3-3 overall and 1-3 in the ACC with their 112-26 win over SCAD and a 50-89 loss to NC State.

In the morning's diving events, senior Cody Kolodziejzyk won the men's three-meter competition with a score of 388.73, followed by junior Jordan Long in third, senior Shawn Hoffman in fifth and freshman Clay Pinckney in sixth. On the one-meter board, Long was Duke's top finisher in second place (336.23), while Kolodziejzyk took third, Pinckney fifth and Hoffman sixth. Each of the Blue Devils' scores in the three-meter competition qualified them to the NCAA Zone Diving Championships.

On the women's side, senior Jessica Lyden won the three-meter competition with a score of 323.41 and finished second on the three-meter board (315.15). In addition, Lyden's score in both events met the NCAA Zone Diving standards. Meanwhile, freshman Paige Grant made her Duke debut with a fifth-place showing in the one-meter (221.33) and three-meter competitions (221.33).

Duke opened the swimming events in Raleigh with a pair of second-place finishes in the women's and men's 200 medley relays. Senior Rose O'Connor then recorded a win for the Blue Devils in the women's 1,650 free, clocking 17:00.54. Freshman Megan McCarroll notched a second-place performance in the women's 100 back (56.68), while sophomore Steven Gasparini also took second on the men's side (50.95).

After letting NC State jump out to an early lead, Duke rallied during the second half of the meet. ACC Women's Swimming & Diving Performer of the Week Christine Wixted won the 100 breast for the third consecutive meet, tying her season-best at 1:02.05 for another NCAA 'B' cut standard. Junior Jim Zuponeck placed first in the men's 100 breast with a mark of 57.24, while sophomore Hunter Knight took third in the same event (58.29). Also turning in strong performances were sophomore Greg Hoffman and senior Hunter Roux, who finished second and third, respectively, in the 200 fly.

"We knew coming into this weekend that against NC State the past few years, it's always been an incredibly close meet," said head coach Dan Colella. "At the first break, we talked with the group about making sure that we stepped it up in the back half, and we saw some of that."

The Blue Devils also found success in the freestyle events, with sophomore Lauren Weaver winning the women's 50 free at 23.90. Junior Ben Hwang - who also garnered ACC Performer of the Week honors last week - won the 50 free on the men's side for the third time in as many meets, touching in 20.29 to edge out Joseph Martin of NC State. In the 100 free, junior Francesca Tocci notched a second-place finish with her time of 52.25, while Hwang also finished second in the men's race at 45.52.

McCarroll and junior Cara Vogel went one-two in the women's 200 back, and Wixted claimed her second victory of the day in the 200 breast (2:15.77) for another NCAA 'B' cut standard. Hunter Knight took second in the men's 100 breast (2:05.69), followed by senior Meghan Dwyer's season-best second-place showing in the women's 500 free (5:00.71). In the 100 fly, senior Steffi Niessl placed second at 57.26, while Gasparini broke the 50-second barrier on the men's side at a season-best 49.68 to also finish second. Duke closed out the individual events on a high note, with Hunter Knight winning the men's 400 IM in 4:11.69.

In the final event of the day, the Blue Devil women claimed a victory as Tocci, Weaver, Dwyer and Wixted combined for a season-best 1:35.12 clocking. The men's team of freshman Stefan Knight, freshman Jack Forese, junior Ted Minturn and Roux came in second behind NC State at 1:25.84.

"We had some really fine performances," Colella said. "There were definitely some highlights. We're disappointed, but we're not discouraged by any means. We did some really good stuff here, and it's just the beginning of the season. There's a lot more of the season to come."

Duke returns to action on Nov. 17-19 at the Nike Cup in Chapel Hill, N.C.

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