Ocala, Fla. – The Duquesne University swimming and diving team concluded competition at the National Invitational Championships on Saturday in Ocala, Florida inside the Florida Aquatics Swimming & Training facility.

The Dukes secured a 16th-place finish in the women's team standings, earning a total of 210 points. Akron claimed the top spot with 650 points, followed closely by Kentucky in second with 629 points and Rice in third with 599.

Individually, several Dukes delivered standout performances. Freshman Rachel Howard capped off the competition with a personal best in the 200-yard butterfly time trial. After entering with a seeding time of 2:12.14, she significantly improved to clock a final time of 2:05.86.

In the 200-yard backstroke, senior Haley Scholer also made strides, finishing fourth after improving her prelims time of 1:57.51 to a final mark of 1:56.22. Freshman Sierra Snow also competed in the event, posting a time of 1:58.31 to secure a ninth-place finish.

Junior Sydney Severini made an impact in the 200-yard breaststroke, recording a time of 2:13.37 to place fourth. The competition concluded with the 400-yard freestyle relay, where the team of freshman Kaitlyn Connors, Freel, Snow, and Scholer posted a time of 3:25.77, finishing 24th out of 35 entries.

Freshman Jess Burns competed in the 200-yard breaststroke, clocking in a time of 2:14.20 while Connors clocked in a time of 52.25 in the 100 freestyle.

QUOTABLE
"This was a great end of the year national championship meet for us and a rewarding way to finish the season," head coach David Sheets said. "It was also a fitting way for Haley and Orla to wrap up their illustrious careers. We came down here with several goals for the meet and hit all but one of them. We will enjoy a few weeks off before getting back in the water."