Saint Peter's vs. Duquesne (Swimming)
Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025 | 11:00 a.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa. | Towers Pool

Duquesne @ Clarion Fall Invite (Diving)
Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025 | 12:00 p.m.
Clarion, Pa. | Waldo S. Tippin Natatorium

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OFF THE STARTING BLOCK
- The Duquesne University swimming and diving team returns to action this weekend with a split-squad schedule. The swimmers will compete at Towers Pool for the first time this season, hosting Saint Peter's as part of Alumni Weekend, while the diving team travels to Clarion, Pa., for the Clarion Fall Invite. Both events are set for Saturday, Nov. 8.

- The Dukes are coming off an impressive performance at the Richmond Duals on Oct. 17-18, where it totaled the most points (800.5) on day one before edging the host Spiders on day two, 151-148.

- Duquesne collected 43 total medals over the two-day event, earning 17 on Friday, nine of them gold. The Dukes carried that momentum into Saturday, adding 26 more medals, including seven golds, to secure the victory over Richmond.

- In head-to-head action against Richmond, the diving team registered a dominating performance off the boards on Saturday morning, taking the top three spots in both the one-meter and three-meter dives. In the one-meter, graduate student Lola Dragosavac secured the top spot with a final score of 244.35 while senior Ashley Felitsky followed behind in second with a score of 241.70. Sophomore Brianne Dempsey registered a final score of 227.20 to finish with the bronze.

- In the three-meter, the Dukes continued its momentum, grabbing the top three spots. Felitsky captured the gold with a final score of 247.65 while Dempsey secured second with a 222.45 count. Dragosovac rounded out the top three spots by carding a score of 219.85

- Day two opened with the 200-yard medley relay, where the Duquesne team of sophomore Ashley Freel, senior Sydney Severini, sophomore Rachel Howard, and freshman Lucy Backus earned a runner-up finish with a time of 1:45.63. The Dukes also claimed third place in the event, as freshman Norah Kotnik, sophomore Jess Burns, freshman Emily Kyre, and sophomore Kaitlyn Connors touched the wall in 1:47.95.

- Sophomore Sierra Snow earned the Dukes' first gold medal of the day, winning the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 56.93. In the same event, freshman Norah Kotnik claimed the bronze at 58.22. Snow continued her standout performance in the 200-yard backstroke, capturing another gold in 2:01.68, with Kotnik close behind for silver at 2:05.54. Snow capped off her impressive outing by collecting her third gold medal of the day in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing in 5:08.21.

- In the 100 breaststroke, Burns finished in third with a time of 1:06.30 while freshman Kira Schrecongost clocked in a time of 2:12.28 in the 200 butterfly to collected a bronze medal. The 50-yard freestyle followed with Backus adding a gold to her medal haul by touching the wall at 23.76.

- On day one, sophomore Ashley Freel led the way for Duquesne, capturing three gold medals. She claimed her first victory in the 400 IM with a time of 4:24.20, then added another gold in the 50-yard backstroke at 26.30. Freel completed her sweep with a first-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly, clocking in at 2:05.10. She also helped the Dukes' 200-yard freestyle relay to a runner-up finish with a time of 1:36.44, joining freshman Lucy Backus, senior Katie Simpson, and sophomore Rachel Howard.

SAINT PETER'S LINKS
Event Schedule
Towers Pool

The Series vs. Saint Peter's – Saturday morning marks the sixth all-time meeting between the Dukes and Peacocks and the first since 2009. Duquesne has claimed victory in each of the previous five matchups, with this weekend's showdown set to be the first ever held inside Towers Pool. (Note: No results were available from the last contest.)

Previous Trip to Clarion – The last time Duquesne traveled to Clarion, Pa., the Dukes tallied 137 team points at the Clarion Fall Classic. All six divers competed, with five finishing in the top 10 of the one-meter event. Senior Ashley Felitsky led the way with a runner-up finish (258.45), followed by sophomore Brianne Dempsey in fourth (243.90), graduate student Lola Dragosavac in fifth (227.75), and junior Erin Castagnero in sixth (212.00). Freshmen Grace Hedger (198.75) and Elly Huron (182.80) impressed in their collegiate debuts, placing ninth and 11th, respectively. In the three-meter dive, four Dukes again finished in the top 10, led by Felitsky's bronze performance (243.90). Dempsey took fifth (221.35), Castagnero sixth (215.80), and Dragosavac ninth (205.65). Huron (189.95) and Hedger (188.00) rounded out the lineup in 11th and 12th among 22 competitors.

A-10 Accolades – In her debut at the Richmond Duals, freshman Lucy Backus made an immediate impact, earning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors. Backus collected eight medals across two days, helping the Dukes post the highest point total on day one and defeat Richmond on day two. She opened the meet with two golds, anchoring the Dukes' 400-yard medley relay (3:48.41) and winning the 50-yard freestyle in 23.58, the third-fastest time in the Atlantic 10 this season. Backus added another gold in the 100-yard freestyle (52.13) and helped the 200-yard freestyle relay to a runner-up finish (1:36.44). On day two, the Texas native repeated as champion in the 50 free (23.76), finished second in the 100 free (52.32), and anchored both the 200-medley relay (1:45.63) and 400 freestyle relay (3:30.15) to second-place finishes.

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