Duke Begins Spring Slate with South Carolina and UNC Asheville

Saturday, January 20

Columbia, S.C.

11 a.m.

Duke University

South Carolina

Duke Begins Spring Slate with South Carolina and UNC Asheville

1/19/2024 9:35:00 AM | Swimming & Diving

DURHAM - The No. NR/17 Duke Swimming and Diving Program takes on a tri-meet this weekend in Columbia, SC against the NR/21 South Carolina and UNC Asheville. Saturday marks the first of four meets this spring, as the Blue Devils will host No. NR/20 North Carolina and No. 8/2 Texas next week at the Taishoff Aquatics Center.

NOTEABLES:

Freshman swimmer Ali Pfaff broke the school record in the 200 Backstroke with a time of 1:53.48 at the NC State Invitational. Fellow freshman Molly Donlan swam a 1:55.86 coming in fourth.
Pfaff also tallied a first-place finish in the championship final of the 100 Backstroke, touching in with a time of 52.12. Her time was the fastest of the season and earned herself a NCAA B-Cut.
Sophomore Kaelyn Gridley swam away from the competition in the 100 Breaststroke breaking her own school record in the event, besting a time of 58.76. Gridley also scored a first-place finish in the 200 Breaststroke, with a 2:06.92.
Junior diver Margo O'Meara collected a second-place finish in the 1-meter board at the Tennessee Invitational, posting a score of 315.75 in the finals.
Graduate diver Ali Watson finished in 10th during the one-meter finals, collecting a score of 261.50.
The Blue Devils 200 Medley Relay team consisting of Pfaff, Gridley, Alyena Ozkan and Tatum Wall finished second with a time of 1:36.56, the fastest of the season.
In the men's platform diving, three Blue Devils competed in the finals for the event. Seamus Harding Jr. (334.35) and Charles Berman (312.90) finished fifth and sixth in the event respectively, while Will McCollum (270.45) tallied a ninth-place finish.
For the men's team, Kalen Anbar dropped his 200 Breaststroke time by nearly a second, touching in at 1:58.16. Blake Johnson set a new season-best time in the 200 Freestyle, finishing eighth with a time of 1:36.86.