Diving Shines in Meet Versus UNC Wilmington

Saturday, February 6

Durham, N.C.

11 A.M.

Duke University

UNC Wilmington (Diving Only)

Diving Shines in Meet Versus UNC Wilmington

2/6/2021 2:00:00 PM | Swimming & Diving

Full Results Photo Gallery Photo Gallery

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke diving team closed out its 2021 regular season with a diving meet against UNC Wilmington Saturday afternoon at Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion.

"It was a nice opportunity to be able to compete just with everything going on this year," diving coach Nunzio Esposto said. "The divers were consistent. A lot of them took things that we have been working on in practice and relayed them into the meet today. I'm really happy about how things went."

Prior to the meet, the Blue Devils honored senior Ellie Winslow for Senior Day. Winslow, a native of Upper Arlington, Ohio, is a two-time CSCAA Scholar All-America selection and competed in all three events at the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships in 2019 and 2020.

"Ellie has improved every single year," Esposto continued. "She went from being kind of a quiet teammate as a freshman to being captain her senior year. This was a great way for her to end her dual meet career, with a personal-best on both the three-meter and platform. She has meant so much to me and has been a big help in leading the men's and women's swimming & diving team."

Duke took the top three spots over the Seahawks in both of the three-meter events to kick off the meet. Winslow scored a career-best 321.98 to lead the Blue Devils, moving up to eighth on the all-time chart. Sophomore Kate Mullin (308.55) and freshman Emily Rakestraw (298.05) were not far behind in second and third, respectively.

The Blue Devil men also started strong, led by sophomore Jonah Cagley's score of 361.95. Junior Harel Anolick and freshman Seamus Harding Jr. followed with scores of 352.88 and 347.55, respectively. Harding Jr.'s score of 347.55 was a career best.

On the one-meter boards, junior Maddi Pullinger and Mullin took the top two spots in the women's event. Pullinger recorded a 308.63 while Mullin scored a career-best 295.50. Mullin's time improved her sixth-place standing in the Duke record book.

Anolick led the men in the one meter, scoring 328.43 as the top finisher. Cagley followed in second place with a career-best score of 306.30.

Three Duke women competed in platform diving, the first time the Blue Devils have done so this season. All three divers recorded career-best scores that placed in the top-10 in program history. Sophomore Ali Watson led the way with a 282.68 (fourth in Duke history), closely followed by Rakestraw's 266.40 (seventh all-time) and Winslow's 256.20 (10^th all-time).

Harding Jr. was the lone competitor to compete in the platform event for the men. In his first appearance in the event at Duke, the Hillsborough, N.J., native scored a 357.08 to place fourth all-time in the Duke record book.

Duke now fixes its gaze on the ACC Championships. The diving portion of the conference meet will run throughout the Women's ACC Championships, Feb. 17-20.

#GoDuke

Top Duke Finishers by Event:
Women's Three-Meter Diving: Ellie Winslow (1st), 321.98
Men's Three-Meter Diving: Jonah Cagley (1st), 361.95
Women's One-Meter Diving: Maddi Pullinger (1st), 308.63
Men's One-Meter Diving: Harel Anolick (1st), 328.43
Women's Platform Diving: Ali Watson (1st), 282.68
Men's Platform Diving: Seamus Harding Jr. (1st), 357.08