Duquesne at West Virginia, vs. Villanova
Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025 • 11:00 a.m.
Morgantown, W.Va. • The Peak Health Aquatic Center at Mylan Park

Take Your Mark … BEEP
-The Duquesne University swimming & diving team head to Morgantown, W.Va., to battle in a tri-meet against the Mountaineers and Villanova on Saturday, Jan. 11 inside The Peak Health Aquatic Center at Mylan Park at 11:00 a.m.

- The Dukes are coming off a pair of dominant performances last weekend while celebrating senior day. Duquesne held a tri-meet against Cleveland State and George Mason, defeating the Vikings 206.5-74.5 before taking down the Patriots 210.5-70.5.

- Fueled by 10 first-place finishes and three new pool records, the Duquesne swimming team delivered a dominant performance on Saturday morning.

- The meet began with the 200-yard medley relay, where the team of senior Haley Scholer, junior Sydney Severini, and freshmen Ashley Freel and Kaitlyn Connors claimed first place with an impressive time of 1:43.23.

- Ashley Freel showcased her exceptional talent, earning three additional gold medals. She secured victory in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:25.49 before triumphing in both the 200-yard butterfly (2:02.37) and 100-yard butterfly (55.56).

- Egan set two new pool records on her way to a pair of gold medals. She shattered the school record in the 200-yard freestyle, finishing at 1:50.68, and dominated the 500-yard freestyle with a record-breaking time of 4:56.30.

- Senior Haley Scholer celebrated her senior day in style, taking home four medals and setting a new pool record. She earned gold in the 100-yard backstroke (54.62) and broke her own pool record in the 200-yard backstroke with a remarkable time of 1:58.54. Scholer also earned bronze in the 100-yard butterfly (56.37), contributing to a Duquesne sweep of the top four positions in the event. Freel led the way in first place, followed by freshman Rachel Howard (55.98), Scholer in third, and junior Claudia Rzeznik (56.43) in fourth.

- In the 100-yard breaststroke, Severini clocked in a time of 1:04.32 to take the gold while freshman Jess Burns followed in second with a final time of 1:04.81. Severini also took the top spot in the 200 breaststroke (2:17.94) while Burns followed right behind with a time of 2:20.46.

- Senior Kendra Joachim captured a bronze medal in the 200 butterfly (2:04.73) before taking home a second place finish in the 500-yard free (4:59.76). Connors tallied a pair of second place finishes in the 50 freestyle (23.92) and the 100 freestyle (51.79) while sophomore Lexi Sundgren captured a pair of bronze medals in the 100 free (51.82) and the 500 free (5:01.83).

Off The Boards - The diving team kicked off the weekend on Friday night, competing against George Mason, Cleveland State, and Lafayette at Carnegie Mellon in the one-meter and three-meter dives. The highlight of the evening came in the three-meter dive, where the Dukes dominated by sweeping the top three spots. Junior Ashley Felitsky led the charge, earning gold with an impressive score of 273.00. Fellow junior Kendall Nigh secured second place with a score of 252.55, while freshman Brianne Dempsey rounded out the podium with a bronze-worthy score of 249.70. Senior Julia Doolittle also put in a strong effort, finishing seventh with a total of 228.50. The momentum carried over to the one-meter dives, where four Dukes placed in the top 10. Felitsky continued her stellar performance, capturing her second gold of the night with a score of 282.10. Nigh posted personal bests in both events, earning fifth place with a score of 226.30. Dempsey delivered another solid showing, finishing seventh with a score of 221.25, while Doolittle tied for 10th with a total of 203.30.

The Series vs. West Virginia / Villanova – Saturday morning will feature the sixth meeting between the Dukes and Mountaineers, their first matchup since the 2009-10 season. West Virginia has won all five previous contests. Additionally, the Dukes will face the Wildcats for the first time in program history.

Preseason Poll - According to a poll of Atlantic 10 coaches, the Dukes have been picked to finish fourth in the conference. Duquesne 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.

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