Duke Women Move Up to Fifth at ACCs

Thursday, February 18

Greensboro, N.C.

All Day

Duke University

Day Two at Women's ACC Championship

Duke Women Move Up to Fifth at ACCs

2/18/2016 10:49:00 PM | Swimming & Diving

Live Results Watch Friday's Finals on ESPN3 Results

By: Duke Sports Information

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Duke women moved up two spots to fifth in the team standings Thursday at the 2016 ACC Women's Swimming and Diving Championship. The Blue Devils had five swimmers back for the finals session, including two in championship finals, to give the squad momentum heading into the third day of competition at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.

“We were able to put together a morning session that enabled us to complete the evening in fifth place,” said head coach Dan Colella. “In terms of points, we are way ahead of where we were at this point last year. We had some really great swims today, but our depth comes in the next two days. We are excited to see what happens tomorrow morning in prelims.”

In the opening event of the night, Duke featured a pair of swimmers in the 500 freestyle finals, with sophomore Verity Abel taking 16th (4:48.76) and freshman Hunter Aitchison 24th (4:56.07). Both Blue Devils posted personal-best times in the morning session, as Abel touched in 4:45.40 for an NCAA provisional standard and Aitchison went 4:51.79.

A year after advancing to the 200 IM consolation final, sophomore Leah Goldman earned a spot in the event championship final with a 1:59.41 preliminaries performance. The Burlingame, Calif., native turned in a time of 2:00.64 Thursday evening to place eighth overall.

Duke was also represented in the 50 freestyle championship final, as freshman Maddie Hess advanced after placing eighth in preliminaries. Hess dropped time in her finals swim, racing to the wall in 22.42 for a sixth-place finish and an NCAA provisional cut. Junior Maddie Rusch competed in the consolation final, matching her morning performance with a 22.58 clocking to take third in the heat and 11th overall.

Hess and Rusch were then joined by teammates Chelsea Ye and Goldman on the Blue Devils' 200 freestyle relay. The group combined for a time of 1:30.09 to come in fifth and rank third on the program's all-time performance list. In addition, Hess led off the relay with a 22.51 50 freestyle split.

“I try not to think about who I am racing because obviously there are big names,” Hess said. “I'm more focused on the racing than a time or anything—it helps me go faster. I think about doing it for the team … I was really happy with my [leadoff swim]. My best time coming into the meet was 22.60, so I swam three best times in one day. I'm happy about those swims and I'm excited for tomorrow.”

Following a fifth-place showing in Wednesday's 3-meter springboard competition, freshman Evan Moretti returned to the boards to lead the Duke men once again Thursday. He took 18th in preliminaries with an award of 292.10 while Josh Owsiany also scored in 20th place (284.75). Lee Christensen totaled 258.70 points to come in 28th.

Friday's events in Greensboro include preliminaries and finals of the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and women's 3-meter diving as well as the 400 medley relay. Swimming preliminaries begin at 10 a.m., followed by diving preliminaries at 12 p.m. and finals at 6 p.m. The finals session will be broadcast on ESPN3.

Team Scores:
1) Virginia 486.5, 2) NC State 441.5, 3) Louisville 395.5, 4) North Carolina 334, 5) Duke 242, 6) Notre Dame 219, 7) Virginia Tech 203, 8) Miami 200, 9) Pitt 171, 10) Florida State 151, 11) Georgia Tech 125.5, 12) Boston College 90, 13) Clemson 28

Top Duke Finishers by Event:
Women's 500-Yard Freestyle: Verity Abel (16th), 4:48.76

Women's 200-Yard Individual Medley: Leah Goldman (8th), 2:00.64

Women's 50-Yard Freestyle: Maddie Hess (6th), 22.42

Women's 200-Yard Freestyle Relay: Maddie Hess, Maddie Rusch, Chelsea Ye, Leah Goldman (5th), 1:30.09

Men's 1-Meter Diving: Evan Moretti (18th), 292.10

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