Duke Splits Meet with Georgia Tech

Saturday, November 6

Durham, N.C.

11 A.M.

Duke University

Georgia Tech

Duke Splits Meet with Georgia Tech

11/6/2021 9:40:00 PM | Swimming & Diving

RESULTS

DURHAM – The Duke swimming and diving team split meets with Georgia Tech on Saturday at Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion. The 24th-ranked Duke women beat the Yellow Jackets 199-101 while the men came up short to No. 19 Georgia Tech, 127-173.

The Duke women improved to 4-0 to start the 2021-22 season, its best start since the 2015-16 season. It is just the fifth time Duke has opened the season 4-0 since 1980.

"We were very proud of how we competed today," head coach Dan Colella said. "This was the third straight week of racing and they have improved every week. We needed individuals to really step up today and they responded well. This was true team effort. They have set themselves up very nicely heading into the fall invitational in two weeks."

Freshman Yixuan Chang continued her impressive form, taking first in all three individual events she competed in. Chang clocked a career-best 1:48.01 in the 200 freestyle, while touching in 4:54.22 in the 500 freestyle. Sophomore Catherine Purnell placed second in the 500 freestyle (4:58.78). In the 200 individual medley, Chang led a sweep of the top three spots with a time of 2:02.62 while sophomore Catherine Belyakov and Purnell recorded marks of 2:03.90 and 2:05.63, respectively.

Belyakov took the top spot in two other events in addition to her second place finish in the 200 individual medley. The Gaithersburg, Md., native touched first in the 100 (1:02.82) and 200 breaststroke (2:17.28). Purnell placed first in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:58.76.

The Duke tandem of junior Emma Shuppert and sophomore Emily Lenihan controlled the backstroke events. Shuppert took first in the 100 backstroke (55.04) and second in the 200 backstroke (2:03.61), while Lenihan placed second in the 100 and first in the 200 with times of 56.05 and 2:01.06, respectively.

Freshman McKenna Smith won two individual events for the Blue Devils, taking the 50 and 100 freestyle and touching in 23.69 and 50.95, respectively. In the 50 freestyle, Smith led a sweep of the top three spots in the event, followed by sophomore Sarah Snyder (23.71) and freshman KyAnh Truong (23.73).

Rookie Margo O'Meara once again showed her skills on the springboards, recording the top scores on both the one- and three-meter boards against an experienced Georgia Tech diving squad. The St. Louis, Mo., native scored 319.50 on the one-meter board and 348.98 in the three-meter event.

Duke also took the top spot in both relay events. Duke opened the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay behind the quartet of Shuppert, Belyakov, Truong and Smith with a time of 1:40.08. In the 400 freestyle, Duke's team of Chang, graduate student Alicia Harrison, Purnell and Smith placed in 3:25.94.

On the men's side, Duke opened the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay. Sophomore David Chang, senior Cole Reznick, junior Charlie Gingrich and senior Matthew Whelan took the top spot in the event with a time of 1:28.94.

Gingrich recorded the top Duke time in both the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly. He placed first in the 50 freestyle (20.84) to lead the Blue Devils to a strong sweep of the top three spots. Junior Brad Sanford placed second in the event with a time of 20.87 while junior Coleman Kredich touched third in 20.90. Gingrich and Sanford also placed second and third in the 100 butterfly with times of 49.12 and 49.69, respectively.

Senior David Hallaron notched a pair of second place finishes for Duke. He recorded marks of 1:39.58 in the 200 freestyle and 1:48.73 in the 200 backstroke. Senior Cole Reznick was the top Duke finisher in the 100 and 200 breaststroke as he placed second in each event with times of 54.93 and 2:02.24, respectively.

Other Blue Devils that placed second in their respective events in the pool were Chang (100 backstroke, 49.40), sophomore Brendan Driscoll (1,650 freestyle, 15:56.82) and sophomore Chris Dalla Valle (200 butterfly, 1:51.04)

Senior Harel Anolick took second and rookie Will McCollum took third in both the diving events. In the one-meter competition, Anolick scored 318.68 while McCollum followed with 317.40. Anolick recorded a 350.63 in the three-meter event as McCollum scored 320.33.

Duke returns to action Thursday, November 18 as the Blue Devils travel to the Greensboro Aquatic Center for the NC State/GAC Invitational. The three-day meet will be an invitational and feature some of the strongest collegiate programs in the nation.

Team Scores:
#24 Duke women 199, Georgia Tech women 101
#19 Georgia Tech men 173, Duke men 127

Top Duke Finishers by Event:
Women's One-Meter: Margo O'Meara (1st), 319.50
Men's One-Meter: Harel Anolick (2nd), 318.68
Women's Three-Meter: Margo O'Meara (1st), 348.98
Men's Three-Meter: Harel Anolick (2nd), 350.63
Women's 200-Yard Medley Relay: Emma Shuppert, Catherine Belyakov, KyAnh Truong, McKenna Smith (1st), 1:40.08
Men's 200-Yard Medley Relay: David Chang, Cole Reznick, Charlie Gingrich, Matthew Whelan (1st), 1:28.94
Women's 1,650-Yard Freestyle: Lucy Callard (3rd), 17:43.32
Men's 1,650-Yard Freestyle: Brendan Driscoll (2nd), 15:56.82
Women's 200-Yard Freestyle: Yixuan Chang (1st), 1:48.01
Men's 200-Yard Freestyle: David Hallaron (2nd), 1:39.58
Women's 100-Yard Backstroke: Emma Shuppert (1st), 55.04
Men's 100-Yard Backstroke: David Chang (2nd), 49.40
Women's 100-Yard Breaststroke: Catherine Belyakov (1st), 1:02.82
Men's 100-Yard Breaststroke: Cole Reznick (2nd), 54.93
Women's 200-Yard Butterfly: Cabell Whitlow (1st), 1:58.76
Men's 200-Yard Butterfly: Chris Dalla Valle (2nd), 1:51.04
Women's 50-Yard Freestyle: McKenna Smith (1st), 23.69
Men's 50-Yard Freestyle: Charlie Gingrich (1st), 20.84
Women's 100-Yard Freestyle: McKenna Smith (1st), 50.95
Men's 100-Yard Freestyle: Coleman Kredich (3rd), 45.22
Women's 200-Yard Backstroke: Emily Lenihan (1st), 2:01.06
Men's 200-Yard Backstroke: David Hallaron (2nd), 1:48.73
Women's 200-Yard Breaststroke: Catherine Belyakov (1st), 2:17.28
Men's 200-Yard Breaststroke: Cole Reznick (2nd), 2:02.24
Women's 500-Yard Freestyle: Yixuan Chang (1st), 4:54.22
Men's 500-Yard Freestyle: Brendan Driscoll (3rd), 4:35.43
Women's 100-Yard Butterfly: KyAnh Truong (2nd), 55.32
Men's 100-Yard Butterfly: Charlie Gingrich (2nd), 49.12
Women's 200-Yard Individual Medley: Yixuan Chang (1st), 2:02.62
Men's 200-Yard Individual Medley: Cole Reznick (3rd), 1:50.83
Women's 400-Yard Freestyle Relay: Yixuan Chang, Alicia Harrison, Catherine Purnell, McKenna Smith (1st), 3:25.94
Men's 400-Yard Freestyle Relay: Coleman Kredich, Charlie Gingrich, Brad Sanford, Zach McIntyre (2nd), 2:59.92

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