Huntington, W.Va. – The Duquesne University swimming and diving team returned to action Saturday morning, competing in a tri-meet against host Marshall and Bowling Green.

The Dukes fell to the Thundering Herd, 128-113, before rebounding with a 139.50-101.50 victory over the Falcons.

Duquesne recorded 13 top-three finishes on the day, highlighted by four event victories. Sophomore Ashley Freel captured the Dukes' first gold medal of the meet with a win in the 100-yard butterfly, touching the wall in 55.98. Freel also added a second-place finish in the 200 IM, posting a time of 2:07.40.

Classmate Sierra Snow earned a pair of medals, claiming first place in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:03.86 and adding a bronze medal in the 100-yard backstroke (56.80).

The Dukes secured another victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay, as the team of sophomores Kaitlyn Connors and Jess Burns, along with freshmen Emily Kyre and Lucy Backus, posted a winning time of 1:36.34. Backus also contributed two runner-up finishes individually, placing second in both the 50 freestyle (23.93) and the 100 freestyle (52.55).

OFF THE BOARDS
On the diving boards, sophomore Brianne Dempsey claimed a first-place finish in the one-meter dive, posting a score of 249.90. Senior Ashley Felitsky added a fourth-place finish in the event with a score of 235.43, while graduate student Lola Dragosavac placed sixth with a total of 234.75.

In the three-meter dive, Felitsky earned a bronze medal after scoring 250.95. Dempsey followed in fourth place with a score of 227.03. Freshman Elly Huron finished sixth with a total of 219.15, and Dragosavac placed seventh after scoring 216.00.

QUOTABLE
"I was pleased with how we competed these last two days," head coach David Sheets said. "The triple distance format on Friday proved to be a great test of our resiliency and ability to swim events over multiple distances. Our speed wasn't quite there on the shorter races but as the distances progressed, we got better. Sierra Snow had a fantastic meet winning the 200, 500, and 1000 freestyle events. On Saturday, the team did a great job of stepping back up on the blocks and competing. Our emphasis right now isn't so much how fast we are swimming but how we are executing our races to swim fast. As a team, we continue to get better with that aspect of our races, and the freshmen continue to grow and learn, which will be critical for our team success into February."

Duquesne added two more medals in the 100-yard breaststroke, as Jess Burns earned a silver medal with a time of 1:06.48, followed closely by senior Sydney Severini in third at 1:06.60.

The 200-yard medley relay opened Saturday's competition, with the team of Snow, Severini, Freel, and Kyre placing third in a time of 1:46.50. The meet concluded with the 400-yard freestyle relay, as the quartet of Connors, Freel, Snow, and Backus secured a second-place finish by touching the wall at 3:31.20.

QUOTABLE

"Over the course of the two days at Marshall, the divers showed resilience and refinement," diving coach  Alexa Gonczi said. "Friday, the six females had good finishes against Marshall, however, many points were left on the boards. Saturday, they took their chance to reflect on their performance from the previous day and lock in on key corrections. The girls displayed their improvements and attention to smaller details as the second day began against Marshall and Bowling Green. This was shown not only in their physical performance, but the scores from day to day reflected their adjustments."

UP NEXT
Duquesne returns to Pittsburgh next weekend, traveling across town to compete in the Western PA Invite hosted by Carnegie Mellon on Friday, Jan. 23 before traveling to West Virginia on Saturday, Jan. 24 to take on the Mountaineers and Villanova.