LAWRENCE, Kan. - Five members of the Duquesne swimming and diving team will kick off the 2018-19 campaign on Saturday with the College Swimming Coaches Association of America National Collegiate Open Water Swimming Championship on Lone Star Lake.

The event, hosted by the University of Kansas for the third straight year will feature a 5,000-meter swim beginning at 8:30 a.m. CT. This is the first open water championship appearance for the Dukes, who return to competition for the first time following a historic 2017-18 season which saw Duquesne claim its first Atlantic 10 title in school history.

Among the 71 women student-athletes in the field are the five Dukes swimmers, including Lauren Devorace (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River), Carson Gross (York, Pa./York Suburban), Sydnee Karam (Nazareth, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic), as well as Heather Svitavsky (Willoughby, Ohio/Willoughby) and Summer Svitavsky (Willoughby, Ohio/Willoughby).

Devorace returns for her junior season after posting a gold-medal showing in the 500-yard freestyle at last season's A-10 championship. The A-10 All-Academic selection recorded a school-record time of 4:51.04 in the event in addition to registering a bronze medal in the 800-yard freestyle relay with teammates Gross and Heather Svitavsky with a school-record mark of 7:18.71.

Gross also earned a silver medal in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:51.78 to go with a bronze-medal performance in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:32.90).

Summer Svitavsky returns for Duquesne after finishing with a bronze medal in the 1,650-yard freestyle, recording a new school record with a time of 16:54.82. 

All told, 21 teams will be represented at the event, including Kansas, Missouri, Rice, Rutgers, TCU, Texas A&M and A-10 member George Washington. 

Following Saturday's race, the Dukes will host their annual Pentathlon/Alumni Meet on Friday, Oct. 5 before traveling to Youngstown State for a dual meet on Saturday, Oct. 13.