PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne swimming and diving team opened the 2019-20 campaign on Saturday with a long course meters meet hosted by Pitt with Villanova and Youngstown State at Trees Pool.
The 400 medley relay team of
Audrey Steen (San Pedro, Calif. / San Pedro)
Erin Kuhn (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Allegheny),
Sophia Perez (Chapel Hill, N.C. / East Chapel Hill) and
Carson Gross (York, Pa. / York Suburban) set one of three long course meters program records on the day with a time of 4:29.76 in the event.
Lauren Devorace (Rocky River, Ohio / Rocky River) paced the 400-meter free with a school-record performance of 4:31.76 for the Dukes.
Summer Svitavsky (Willoughby, Ohio / Hawken) also set a school record in the 800 free with a mark of 9:25.68, good for second place on the day.
Kuhn added a second-place mark in the 100-meter breaststroke while
Clare Flanagan (Allison Park, Pa. / Hampton) placed third in the 100 back with a time of 1:08.20
The 400-meter freestyle relay team of Gross,
Heather Svitavsky (Willoughby, Ohio / Hawken), Devorace and
Emma Brinton (Landenberg, Pa. / Avon Grove) finished third in the event with a showing of 4:07.15.
Head coach
David Sheets: "I was pretty pleased with the way the ladies performed today at Pitt especially considering they raced less than 24 hours earlier in the Pentathlon. However, putting them in those kinds of situations will help us prepare for down the road. We also got a glimpse of what our freshman can do and the things we are going to have to work on for them to grow and develop over the course of the season. I am optimistic we are on the right path but we will have to keep improving on a daily basis."
NEXT UP
The Dukes head to Richmond for the Richmond Duals next Friday, Oct. 18 and Saturday, Oct. 19. Duquesne squares off with the host Spiders on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
