Duquesne @ Richmond Duals
Friday, Oct. 11, 2024 • 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 12, 2023 • 10:00 a.m.
Hampton Virginia Aquaplex • Hampton, Va.
 
Take Your Mark … BEEP
- The Duquesne University swimming and diving team kicks off its 2024-25 season this weekend at the Richmond Duals in Hampton, Va., hosted at the Hampton Virginia Aquaplex. On Friday, the Dukes will compete against Davidson, George Mason, and Richmond. Following this, the top two teams from the invitational will compete against each other on Saturday, while the bottom two teams will face off as well, according to the new format.

- Duquesne is led by David Sheets, who enters his 24th season at the helm in 2024-25. A three-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year (2015, 2018, 2019), Sheets led Duquesne to back-to-back A-10 championships in 2018 and 2019 while securing a runner-up finish in 2022. The Dukes have finished in the top four at the Atlantic 10 Championships each of the last 10 seasons.

- Entering the 2024-25 campaign, the Dukes bring back 15 returners, including 10 freshmen and one transfer. Duquesne collected three medals at the A-10 Championships last season, with most of the veterans returning this coming year.

- Senior Haley Scholer captured the lone gold in the 200-yard backstroke while setting a new school record with a time of 1:55.48. Scholer competed in the United States Olympic Team Trials this past June, where she competed in the 200 backstroke inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.

- A pair of Dukes earned College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) honors this past January. Senior Haley Scholer and junior Ashley Felitsky were named to the second team for Duquesne.

- The 800-yard freestyle relay team of sophomore Lexi Sundgren, senior Orla Egan, and Scholer captured the silver medal after touching the wall at 7:14.11, which was also a new Duquesne record. Junior Sydney Severini secured the bronze medal after posting a time of 2:14.03 in the 200-yard breaststroke. In the 1650 freestyle, Egan broke the school record after recording a time of 16:42.68 while setting a new Duquesne record in the 500-yard freestyle by posting a time of 4:48.97.

- Sundgren returns for the Dukes after capturing three Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors in 2023-24. She registered a pair of new pool records in the 200-yard freestyle, which marked the 11th best time in the A-10 last season while being a member of the 400 freestyle relay team that edged out the previous pool record by less than a second.

- Duquesne returns to Pittsburgh for its first home meet of the season when it welcomes Marshall on Friday, Oct. 18 at 5:00 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 19 at 11:00 a.m. inside Towers Pool.

RICHMOND DUALS LINKS
- Meet Information
- Order of Events
- Hampton Virginia Aquaplex

The Richmond Duals – This weekend marks the fifth time in the last seven years Duquesne is competing in the Richmond Duals. Last season at the event, Sydney Severini paced the Dukes in the two day event. She finished first in three races, including the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke as well as the 200-yard IM. In the 100-yard breaststroke, Severini closed with a time of 1:05.74, outpacing Ainsley Toews of George Mason, who finished at 1:08.96. Also claiming multiple victories Friday for Duquesne was Ashley Felitsky in the dives. She finished with a score of 230.20 in the one-meter as well compiling 234.20 in the three-meter. In the 200-yard freestyle, Lexi Sundgren earned gold in her NCAA Division I debut, recording a time of 1:54.54 to outlast Orla Egan (1:55.36). Egan finished first in the 500-yard freestyle thanks to a touch at 5:09.16, a race that saw Sundgren garner second at 5:14.21.

In the final day, Sundgren capped a solid weekend in her first NCAA Division I competition Saturday, taking home a trio of top three finishes. Having won the 200-yard freestyle Friday against George Mason, Sundgren did it again against the Wildcats, closing at 1:55.19. Haley Scholer earned a pair of first-place finishes against Davidson, winning both the 100-yard (56.81) and 200-yard (2:06.06) backstroke. She also finished second in the 400-yard IM, hitting the wall at 4:36.36. Ashley Felitsky, meanwhile, added another pair of top marks in the dives. In the one-meter she registered a score of 230.20, while in the three-meter she finished at 237.05. Orla Egan finished second in both the 500-yard and 1,650. She posted a time of 5:16.23 in the 500 while clocking in at 17:46.70 in the 1,650. Elsewhere in the 500-yard freestyle, Aislinn Mooney claimed fourth at 5:19.27.

Preseason Poll - According to a poll of Atlantic 10 coaches, the Duquesne University swimming & diving team has been picked to finish fourth in the conference in 2024-25. The Dukes accumulated 89 points in the poll, with George Washington being selected as the preseason favorite with 10 first-place votes and 120 points. Richmond was tabbed second with one first-place vote and 105 total points, with Fordham (96), Duquesne, and Davidson (72) rounding out the top five. George Mason was selected to finish sixth, followed by Massachusetts and St. Bonaventure. La Salle, Rhode Island, and Saint Louis round out the poll.

Welcome To The Bluff – This past July, head coach David Sheets announced the hiring of Matt Brinton as assistant coach for the Dukes. Brinton joins the swimming & diving team after spending the last three seasons as the head coach at Division II Frostburg State. Under his tutelage, Brinton led the women's swimming team to three consecutive Mountain East Conference titles (2022, 2023, 2024) while leading the men's team to back-to-back MEC Championships (2023, 2024). On the women's side, he coached 26 individual conference champions while tallying 12 on the men's team, including an NCAA consideration qualifier. In his final season, he featured the MEC Men's Swimmer of the Year before headlining both the men's and women's Swimmer of the Year as well as the MEC Women's Rookie of the Year in 2023. Brinton has been awarded the MEC Coach of the Year four total times, winning the prestigious honor back-to-back seasons on both the men's and women's side (2023, 2024).

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