Indianapolis, In. – Freshman Lucy Backus of the Duquesne University swimming and diving team traveled to Indianapolis to compete at the Speedo Winter Junior Championships, held inside the Indiana University Natatorium.

Backus opened competition on Thursday in the 50-yard freestyle, competing against a field of 133 swimmers. She posted a time of 23.25, finishing 38th in the preliminaries. On Friday, Backus returned to the pool to time trial the 200-yard freestyle, where she recorded a time of 1:53.80.

The freshman closed out the weekend on Saturday in the 100-yard freestyle, delivering a standout performance by setting a new pool record with a time of 51.41 while competing among 132 entries.

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 "It was a great opportunity for Lucy to compete at a meet of this level," head coach David Sheets explained. "She swam extremely well and grew from this experience."

The Texas native has put together an impressive showing in her first couple of months on the Bluff. Most recently at the WVU Invitational, she captured a third-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle, clocking a personal-best time of 23.17 that also ranked among the top 10 performances and earned a CSCAA B cut. Later that day, she anchored the 200-yard freestyle relay, helping the team post a CSCAA A cut time of 1:33.88.

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Duquesne has wrapped up the fall portion of its schedule and will travel to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for its annual Winter Training Camp from Dec. 28 through Jan. 3. The Dukes will open the new calendar year with a meet at Buffalo on Saturday, Jan. 10.