GENEVA, Ohio - The Duquesne women's swimming and diving team began the 2020 Atlantic 10 Championship on Wednesday night, taking home a pair of medals to begin its quest for a third straight title. The Dukes sit in second place through three events with a score of 94. George Washington paces the field with 106 with UMass in third at 77.
Freshman diver
Sidney O'Donnell (Solon, Ohio / Solon) earned a bronze medal in the 1-meter dive for Duquesne, posting a score of 262.05 for the Dukes in the finals. The two-time A-10 Rookie of the Week becomes the first Duquesne diver to medal at the A-10 Championship since the 1996 season when Dawn Fleissner took home silver on the 1-meter boards.
The Dukes' 800-yard freestyle relay team closed out the first night of competition with school-record showing and win in the event for the second consecutive season by
Emma Brinton (Landenberg, Pa. / Avon Grove),
Carson Gross (York, Pa. / York Suburban),
Lauren Devorace (Rocky River, Ohio / Rocky River) and
Hanna Everhart (Bloomsburg, Pa. / Bloomsburg Area) with a time of 7:15.54. The Duquesne relay team shattered its own record in the event of 7:15.69 set at last year's championship.
The Dukes began Wednesday night with a sixth-place performance in the 200-yard medley relay with a mark of 1:42.46 by
Sydney Sherman (Erie, Pa. / Villa Maria Academy),
Erin Kuhn (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Allegheny),
Audrey Steen (San Pedro, Calif. / San Pedro) and Everhart.
Duquesne returns to action with day two of the 2020 A-10 Championship tomorrow at the SPIRE Institute. Prelims begin at 10 a.m. with finals starting at 6:30 p.m. Tomorrow's events include the 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free and 200 free relay.
