Ocala, Fla. – The Duquesne University swimming and diving team kicked off competition at the National Invitational Championships on Thursday at the Florida Aquatics Swimming & Training facility in Ocala, Florida.
The Dukes currently sit in 22nd place with 51 total points after day one. In the combined teams scores, Queens sits at the top spot with 416.5 total points while Ohio State (376) and Kentucky (351.5) round out the top three spots.
Duquesne saw impressive performances from its swimmers during the time trials, with a pair of freshmen setting personal bests. Ashley Freel recorded a career-best time of 2:04.93 in the 200-yard IM, while her classmate Sierra Snow achieved a personal best in the 200-yard freestyle, finishing in 1:50.97. Fellow freshman Jess Burns also competed, posting a time of 24.36 in the 50-yard freestyle. Meanwhile, sophomore Lexi Sundgren delivered a strong performance in the 100-yard freestyle, clocking in at 52.42 to secure fourth place.
The finals began on Thursday with the 200-yard freestyle relay, where the team of freshman Kaitlyn Connors, Freel, freshman Rachel Howard, and senior Haley Scholer posted a time of 1:33.93, earning them 21st place out of 35 entries. Later, in the 400-yard medley relay, Scholer teamed up with junior Sydney Severini, Freel, and Connors to finish 10th with a time of 3:42.08.
Senior Orla Egan competed in the 500-yard freestyle, clocking in at 4:54.24 during the preliminaries, while Severini recorded a time of 2:04.34 in the 200-yard IM.
UP NEXT
Duquesne returns to action on Friday, March 14, for day two of competition, with the prelims scheduled for 9:30 a.m. and the finals set for 6:00 p.m.
