Duke Hosts Virginia Tech in Opener

Saturday, November 7

Durham, N.C.

11 A.M Diving & 2:30 P.M. Swimming

Duke University

Virginia Tech

Duke Hosts Virginia Tech in Opener

11/6/2020 12:21:00 PM | Swimming & Diving

Live Stats Diving Live Stream Swimming Live Stream Meet Program 2020-21 Media Guide

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke swimming and diving program opens the 2020-21 season as they host ACC foe Virginia Tech at Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion on Saturday.

Saturday's meet between the Blue Devils and Hokies will be divided into two sessions. The diving portion of the meet will begin at 11 a.m., followed by the swimming competition at 2:30 p.m.

KNOW THE OPPONENT
Virginia Tech enters the meet ranked in the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America poll as the men are No. 19 and the women are No. 24.

Duke and Tech are scheduled to meet for the first time since the Blue Devils' 2018 season opener when the women topped the Hokies, 172-123, and the men came up short, 178.5-121.5.

In the two program's series, the Blue Devils lead the Hokies 17-11 all-time but are in search of their first win over Virginia Tech since 1991. On the women's side, the Duke and Virginia Tech series is tied at 7-7 all-time.

FINALLY BACK
After an abrupt ending to the 2019-20 postseason, the Blue Devils return to the pool for a competitive meet for the first time since March 11 – 246 days. Duke was unable to close out the 2020 season with the cancellation of the NCAA Championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

BLACKJACK IN THE POLLS
The Duke women's team will begin the 2020-21 season ranked 21st in the country, per the October edition of the CSCAA TYR Poll. The Blue Devils finished last season ranked ninth in the poll – the highest ranking in program history.

HOW TO FOLLOW
Live stats will be updated throughout the meet HERE. Live streams will be available on ACC Network Extra. Diving will begin at 11 a.m. and can be watched HERE. Swimming begins at 2:30 p.m. and can be watched HERE.

As previously announced, all Duke home athletic events continue to be held without fans.

COMPETITION READY
In an attempt to change up the typical Blue vs. White intrasquad meet, the Duke team pitted the men against the women in a new-style scoring method. Coordinated by associate head coach Doak Finch, there were multiple opportunities to score, primarily based off reaching target times, NCAA qualifying times from last season, school records or career bests.

Throughout the meet, 57 target times were met and split 24-23 in favor of the women. In addition, a combined 52 swims earned a total of 152 points by being close to NCAA qualifying standard times.

After a fierce competition, the women ultimately took the meet, 210-112.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAINS
Earlier this fall, head coach Dan Colella announced the election of six team captains for the 2020-21 season. The six elected captains are seniors Ellie Winslow and Carly Perri and junior Lucy Callard on the women's side while junior Colson Zucker and sophomores Coleman Kredich and Nick Talati were selected for the men.

UP NEXT
Following Duke's meet against the Hokies, the Blue Devils head north to face off against Navy on Saturday, November 14 for the first time in over 26 years. The meet will begin at 11 a.m. at Lejeune Hall in Annapolis, Md. The meet between the Blue Devils and Midshipmen will be closed to the public.

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".

#GoDuke