Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University swimming and diving team traveled across town Friday evening to open competition at the Western PA Invite, hosted by Carnegie Mellon.

The Dukes totaled 416 points across eight women's events, placing second in the team standings. Host Carnegie Mellon leads the field with 600 points, while Grove City College sits in third with 259.5. Duquesne collected eight medals on the opening day of competition, including five gold finishes.

The 200 freestyle relay opened the meet, as the team of sophomores Sierra Sown, Kaitlyn Connors, Rachel Howard, and freshman Lucy Backus captured first place with a time of 1:36.40.

The Dukes followed with a strong showing in the 200 IM, placing four swimmers in the top five. Senior Sydney Severini claimed gold with a time of 2:05.89, while Snow finished second after touching the wall at 2:08.63. Sophomore Jess Burns placed fourth in 2:10.24, and Connors rounded out the top five with a time of 2:13.09.

Sophomore Ashley Freel added another top finish for Duquesne in the 200-yard backstroke, winning the event with a time of 2:02.51. Severini earned a fifth-place finish at 2:09.73. Freel continued her standout performance in the 100 freestyle, touching the wall at 52.64 to secure first place. Backus followed closely behind to take silver with a time of 52.74.

In the 500-yard freestyle, freshman Norah Kotnik placed sixth with a time of 5:18.66, while classmate Emily Kyre finished eighth in the 100-yard breaststroke after touching the wall at 1:08.14.

The 400-yard medley relay closed out Friday night's competition, with Duquesne claiming the top two spots. The quartet of Sown, Burns, Howard, and Connors captured gold with a time of 3:51.60, while Kotnik, sophomore Surrena Luna, Freel, and Backus secured silver in 3:55.47.

UP NEXT
Duquesne returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 24, traveling to West Virginia for a tri-meet against the Mountaineers and Villanova. Competition is set to begin at 11 a.m.