PITTSBURGH - The Dukes host the Thundering Herd of Marshall in the first of two consecutive home meets at Towers Pool to open the 2020 slate on Saturday at 11 a.m. The diving portion of the meet will begin at 10 a.m. at Carnegie Mellon University.

The Dukes and Thundering Herd last squared off in 2015, with Marshall claiming a 167-94 victory. This snapped a three-meet winning streak for Duquesne against the Herd, as the Dukes earned three consecutive wins in 2007, '13 and '14. 

Duquesne returns to action for the first time in 2020 following its annual Florida Training Trip. The Dukes' swimmers trained in Pompano Beach, Fla. and the divers in Coral Springs, Fla. 

Junior Emma Brinton recorded an Olympic Trial cut time in the 200 long course meters individual medley at the 2019 Toyota U.S. Open Championship being held at Georgia Tech's McAuley Aquatic Center in early December. Brinton registered a time of 2:16.88 in the prelims to best the standard qualifying time of 2:17.39. Brinton's performance was good for 26th place out of 176 total participants.

The Dukes last competed in dual meet action at the Atlantic 10 Classic, where they posted a 4-0 ledger with victories over George Mason, La Salle, Saint Louis and St. Bonaventure. Duquesne paced all teams in three events on the day, as Sophia Perez topped all teams in the 100-yard butterfly (58.11), Emma Menzer bested all opponents in the 1,650-yard freestyle (17:43.62) and Sidney O'Donnell defeated foes from all four teams in the 1-meter dive (250.5).

The Duquesne divers posted a strong showing their last time out, as Sawyer Weitzel set a new school record in the one-meter dive with a score of 260.55, good for second place in the event. Adrienne White, who previously held that one-meter school record of 257.55, placed first in the three-meter dive with a score of 259.45 for the Dukes.  

Marshall head coach Ian Walsh swam for Duquesne from 2006-10 for head coach David Sheets. Walsh won the 100-yard breaststroke at the 2009 Atlantic 10 Championship with a time of 55.87. The Thundering Herd comes into Saturday's meet with a 1-3 mark in dual meet action this season.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS 
Event 1 - 200 Medley Relay
Event 2 - 500 Freestyle
Event 3 - 50 Butterfly
Event 4 - 100 Freestyle
Event 5 - 50 Backstroke
Event 6 - 200 Freestyle 
Event 7 - 50 Breaststroke
Event 8 - 1 mtr Diving
Event 9 - 400 IM
Event 10 - 100 Backstroke
Event 11 - 200 Freestyle Relay
Event 12 - 400 Medley Relay
Event 13 - 1000 Freestyle
Event 14 - 200 Butterfly
Event 15 - 100 Breaststroke
Event 16 - 200 Backstroke
Event 17 - 100 Butterfly
Event 18 - 200 Breaststroke
Event 19 - 100 Freestyle
Event 20 - 3 mtr Diving
Event 21 - 100 IM
Event 22 - 400 Freestyle Relay

NEXT UP 
Duquesne will welcome Saint Francis U to The Bluff next Saturday, Jan. 18.