Duquesne at Western PA Invite
Friday, Jan. 23, 2026 | 4:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa.

Duquesne at West Virginia / Villanova
Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026 | 11:00 a.m.
Morgantown, W.Va. | The Peak Health Aquatic Center at Mylan Park

2025 Roster | 2025 Schedule | 2025 Swim Cloud Team Page

OFF THE STARTING BLOCK
- The Duquesne University swimming and diving team hits the road for a busy weekend as they travel across town to Carnegie Mellon to participate in the Western PA Invite on Friday, Jan 23. The Dukes then travel to Morgantown, W.Va., to take part in a tri-meet against the host Mountaineers and Villanova on Saturday, Jan. 24 inside the Peak Health Aquatic Center at Mylan Park.

- Duquesne is coming off a trip to Marshall last weekend, dropping a 223-187 decision to the Thundering Herd on Friday night before competing in a tri-meet against Marshall and Bowling Green on Saturday. The Dukes fell to the Thundering Herd, 128-113, before rebounding with a 139.50-101.50 victory over the Falcons.

- The Dukes earned four individual victories and one relay win on the evening, led by a standout performance from sophomore Sierra Snow. Snow captured first place in the 200-yard freestyle, touching the wall in 1:51.98. She followed with another win in the 500 freestyle (5:01.53) before completing a sweep of the distance events by claiming gold in the 1,000 freestyle with a time of 10:21.19.

- Sophomore Jess Burns also delivered a top finish for Duquesne, winning the 200 breaststroke in 2:21.79. Senior Sydney Severini placed second in the same event, posting a time of 2:22.05. Severini added three additional runner-up finishes on the night, taking second in the 50 breaststroke (30.25) and 100 breaststroke (1:05.67), and swimming the second leg of the 200-yard medley relay, which finished second in 1:46.10.

- The 50-yard butterfly opened Friday's competition, with sophomore Rachel Howard earning a silver medal after posting a time of 26.05. Freshman Emily Kyre followed closely behind, securing third place by touching the wall at 26.16. In the 50 freestyle, freshman Lucy Backus claimed second place with a time of 23.69 and later added another silver in the 100 freestyle, clocking in at 51.76.

- Sophomore Ashley Freel delivered a pair of strong performances in the individual medley events. She finished second in the 100 IM with a time of 59.98, while freshman Kira Schrecongost earned bronze in the event at 1:00.91. Freel added another runner-up finish in the 200 IM, touching the wall at 2:05.64, before closing her night with a second-place effort in the 400 IM (4:27.27).

GAME DAY LINKS
Watch (Western PA Invite)
Live Stats (Western PA Invite)
Live Stats (West Virginia/Villanova)

Series at Western PA Invite – Last year at Carnegie Mellon, the Dukes brought home more than 22 medals over the two-day event. The meet opened with the 200-yard medley relay, where the team of sophomore Abby Philipsen and freshmen Jess Burns, Ashley Freel, and Caitlyn Connors earned a second-place finish with a time of 1:47.42. Senior Kendra Joachim secured Duquesne's first gold medal of the day by winning the 400 IM in 4:32.06, while freshman Caitlin Horning added a bronze in the same event with a time of 4:44.03. Senior Haley Scholer had a standout Saturday, capturing three gold medals. She won the 200 freestyle in 1:54.27 before taking first in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 56.79. In the same backstroke event, sophomore Julia Sobun (59.42), Philipsen (59.54), sophomore Lexi Sundgren (1:00.28), and Sydney Severini (1:00.48) all placed within the top 10. Junior Claudia Rzeznik claimed gold in the 100 butterfly with a time of 56.51, while Severini followed with another first-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke, touching the wall at 2:16.03. Duquesne also showcased depth in the 50-yard freestyle, entering nine swimmers. Freel led the group with a third-place finish (24.66), followed by Rzeznik in fifth (24.91), Sobun in seventh (24.97), and freshman Rachel Howard in eighth (24.98). The Dukes dominated the diving events, sweeping the top five spots in both the one-meter and three-meter competitions. In the one-meter dive, freshman Brianne Dempsey posted a score of 283.10 to earn gold and qualify for an NCAA Zone cut. Junior Ashley Felitsky tied Dempsey for first, while junior Kendall Nigh finished third with a score of 257.15. Freshman Josie Festa (247.50) and senior Julia Doolittle (239.35) placed fourth and fifth, respectively. The meet concluded with the 400-yard freestyle relay, where Duquesne captured both gold and silver. The quartet of Sundgren, Sobun, Scholer, and Connors won the event in 3:35.93, while juniors Katie Simpson, Howard, Freel, and Joachim followed closely with a second-place time of 3:37.74.

Scholar All-America Team - The College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) announced Tuesday that the Duquesne University swimming and diving team has been named a Scholar All-America Team for the Fall 2025 semester. Under the leadership of head coach David Sheets, the Dukes posted an outstanding 3.81 team GPA among 25 student-athletes during the fall term, earning the prestigious CSCAA Scholar All-America distinction. Duquesne's GPA was tied for the second-highest in the nation across all Division I men's and women's swimming programs, matching marks set by Bowling Green and the University of Kansas. The honor continues a long-standing tradition of academic excellence for the Dukes, who were also recognized as a CSCAA Scholar All-America Team last spring and have maintained a presence on the list for more than a decade. Duquesne carried that success into the spring semester as well, recording a 3.79 team GPA among 25 student-athletes.

FOLLOW THE DUKES
For the latest Duquesne Swimming & Diving news and updates, follow the Dukes on social media on Twitter (X) and Instagram.