Duquesne @ Buffalo with Marshall
Friday, Jan. 12, 2024 • 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024 • 10:30 a.m.
Alumni Arena Natatorium & Dorsi Raynolds Pool • Buffalo, N.Y.
 
Beyond The Breakers
-The Duquesne University swimming & diving team opens its 2023-24 spring portion of its schedule with a tri-meet at Buffalo with Marshall this weekend in Buffalo, N.Y. The teams will compete head-to-head with the results of the meet counting as official wins and losses on the season at the Alumni Arena Natatorium.

- The Dukes finished the fall with a 2-2 overall mark while capturing a pair of victories at the Atlantic 10 Classic this past October. Duquesne secured a 214-138 win over La Salle before tallying a 188-164 triumph over George Mason.

- Competing in a pair of sessions, junior Orla Egan claimed gold in the 400-yard intermediate in the morning as the Dukes took home three of the top four places. Earning bronze was grad student Madeline Marks at 4:41.02, while senior Reagan Linkous finished fourth by touching the wall at 4:41.56.

- Egan came back in the afternoon session to claim her second gold of the day, winning the 1,650-yard freestyle in a time of 17:56.70. She outlasted sophomore teammate Aislinn Mooney, who finished with a time of 17:59.24.

- Also claiming multiple victories for the Dukes was junior Haley Scholer, including one in each session. In the 100-yard backstroke she finished first with a time of 57.04 seconds before earning a triumph in the 200-yard backstroke by touching the wall at 2:03.28. Scholer also earned silver in the 200-yard freestyle, closing at 1:54.32.

- On the boards, sophomore Ashley Felitsky scored 236.60 points to win the one-meter dive as Duquesne had five of the top eight performers in the event. Junior Julia Doolittle finished fourth (206.95), sophomore Kendall Nigh (198.95) claimed sixth and junior Morgan Doolittle (193.90) earned seventh. Freshman Lydia Redd notched a score of 190.30 to finish eighth.

- Also in the water, Marks picked up silver for the Dukes in the 200-yard butterfly thanks to a time of 2:07.29. Senior Molly Brennan, meanwhile, finished fourth in the 200-yard freestyle at 1:56.63, giving Duquesne three of the top four performers in the event.

- The Dukes are led by David Sheets, who is in his 23rd season in 2023-24. Sheets is a three-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year (2015, 2018, 2019) and led Duquesne to back-to-back A-10 championships in 2018 and 2019. The Dukes have finished in the top four at the Atlantic 10 Championships each of the last nine seasons.

- Duquesne returns to Pittsburgh to celebrate Senior Day when it welcomes Saint Francis for its next meet on Saturday, Jan. 1, inside Towers Pool.

Preseason Rankings – According to a poll of conference head coaches, the Duquesne swimming & diving team was picked to finish third in the Atlantic 10 in 2023-24. The Dukes accumulated 96 points in the poll, with George Washington being tabbed as the preseason favorite with all 11 first-place votes and 121 points. Richmond (109) was picked to finish second, with Fordham (76) and George Mason (73) trailing Duquesne and rounding out the top five.

Olympic Trials – Haley Scholer qualified for the USA Swimming Olympic Trials in August in the 200-yard backstroke thanks to a time of 2:13.41 in Buffalo, N.Y., at the Eastern Senior Zone Championships. Scholer won first place in the event, topping a 52-swimmer field, with her personal-best time. The Olympic trials qualifying time for the 200 back is 2:13.59. The rising junior owns the school record in the 200 back, which was set last season with a bronze medal finish at the A-10 Championships. The last Duke to qualify for the Olympic trials was Emma Brinton in 2020 swimming the 200 IM.

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