GENEVA, Ohio – The Duquesne swimming and diving team secured its second consecutive Atlantic 10 Championship on Saturday night, recording a school-record 580.5 points across the four-day event as the Dukes earned their second conference crown in program history.
Duquesne was followed by George Washington in second with a score of 562, Fordham in third at 507.5, Richmond fourth at 505 and UMass fifth at 333.
The Dukes held the lead after each of the four days of competition, taking home 11 medals and recording points on the diving side at the A-10 Championship for the first time since the 1997-98 season.
Head coach David Sheets was named the A-10 Women's Coach of the Year for the second straight season while freshman Audrey Steen earned Most Outstanding Rookie Performer for her standout showing at the championship meet. She becomes the second Duke in as many seasons to win that award as Emma Brinton collected Most Outstanding Rookie honors last season.
The Dukes added three more medals on Saturday, beginning with Brinton earning her fifth medal of the A-10 championship as she collected her silver in the 200-yard backstroke with a school-record time of 1:57.67. Clare Flanagan placed fifth in the finals of the 200 back for the Dukes with a mark of 2:00.99.
Abigail Stauffer won gold in the 200-yard breaststroke with a school-record time of 2:13.57 with Erin Kuhn registering a fourth-place finish in the event at 2:16.19.
Morgan Smith racked up another medal for Duquesne with a bronze showing in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:01.82 followed by Sophia Perez in fourth at 2:01.92.
Hanna Everhart (50.65) and Carson Gross (50.93) placed fourth and fifth in the 100-yard freestyle, respectively.
Adrienne White paced the Dukes divers with a score of 254.60 on the 3-meter boards on Saturday, good for an 11th-place finish. White and teammate Sawyer Weitzel become the first Duquesne divers to earn points at the A-10 Championship since Dawn Fleissner in 1998 after the diving program was reinstated prior to last season.
Sheets, in his 17th season at the helm of the program, earns his third career A-10 Coach of the Year nod. Steen set a school record in the 100-yard backstroke Friday and took home a silver medal in the event, one of her three medal-winning performances as the freshman collected Most Outstanding Rookie accolades.
The Dukes' 580.5 points bested their previous school record score of 567 points set at last year's championship.
Saturday Results
200-yard backstroke
2. Emma Brinton (1:57.67)
5. Clare Flanagan (2:00.99)
100-yard freestyle
4. Hanna Everhart (50.65)
6. Carson Gross (50.93)
12. Lauren Devorace (51.89)
16. Heather Svitavsky (52.13)
200-yard breaststroke
1. Abigail Stauffer (2:13.57)
4. Erin Kuhn (2:16.19)
13. Kirsten Hillsley (2:21.19)
200-yard butterfly
3. Morgan Smith (2:01.82)
4. Sophia Perez (2:01.92)
3-meter diving
11. Adrienne White (254.60)
400-yard freestyle relay
6. Carson Gross, Hanna Everhart, Emma Brinton, Audrey Steen (3:26.84)
