Duquesne at Buffalo
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 | 1:00 p.m.
Buffalo, N.Y. | Alumni Arena Natatorium & Dorsi Raynolds Pool

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OFF THE STARTING BLOCK
- The Duquesne University swimming and diving team returns to action in the new calendar year, traveling to Buffalo, N.Y. to battle Buffalo in head-to-head competition.

- Before traveling to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. for its annual Winter Training Camp, freshman Lucy Backus traveled to Indianapolis to compete at the Speedo Winter Junior Championships, held inside the Indiana University Natatorium.

- Backus opened competition on Thursday in the 50-yard freestyle, competing against a field of 133 swimmers. She posted a time of 23.25, finishing 38th in the preliminaries. On Friday, Backus returned to the pool to time trial the 200-yard freestyle, where she recorded a time of 1:53.80. The freshman closed out the weekend on Saturday in the 100-yard freestyle, delivering a standout performance by setting a new personal record with a time of 51.04 while competing among 132 entries.

- Earlier in the month of December, Senior Sydney Severini and sophomore Sierra Snow traveled to Austin, Texas, to compete in the Toyota U.S. Open Championships at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center.

- Snow kicked off the meet on Friday night in the 100-yard backstroke, recording a 1:03.78 in the prelims to place 26th before improving to 22nd in the finals with a 1:03.73.

- She carried that momentum into Saturday's 200-yard backstroke, turning in a strong 2:17.86 in prelims and then surging to a ninth-place finish in the finals with an impressive 2:14.07. That finals time not only marked a personal best but also secured her qualification for the Toyota National Championships later this summer in Irvine, Calif.

- Severini jumped into action on Saturday in the 200-yard breaststroke, turning in a morning time of 2:37.55 that shattered Miriam McGeath's 14-year-old LCM team record and secured her spot in the evening finals. Returning to the pool that night, she wrapped up the event with a strong 21st-place finish, stopping the clock at 2:38.04.

BUFFALO LINKS
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The Series vs. Buffalo – It'll be the 11^th meeting between the Dukes and Bulls on Saturday as Buffalo holds an 8-2 mark in the all-time series. Duquesne has won two of the last three meetings, including a 163-137 victory inside Towers Pool last season. The Dukes captured 10 first-place finished in the victory as four different Dukes shined at the meet, each securing multiple gold medals in impressive fashion. Senior Orla Egan set the tone early, claiming the first gold of the day in the second event. She dominated the 1000-yard freestyle, touching the wall at 10:32.89, and followed up with another victory in the 500-yard freestyle, clocking in at 5:08.84. Freshman Sierra Snow also made her mark in the 1000 free, earning the bronze with a time of 10:45.78. Freshman Jess Burn showcased her prowess in the breaststroke events, taking gold in both the 100-yard breaststroke (1:06.04) and the 200-yard breaststroke (2:23.88). Her classmate, Ashley Freel, delivered standout performances in the butterfly events, posting a time of 2:04.80 in the 200 fly and 57.09 in the 100 butterfly to secure top honors in both. Freel added to her medal haul with a bronze in the 200-yard IM (2:09.98). Senior Haley Scholer added to the Dukes' success with a first-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke, clocking in at 2:03.45, and another gold in the 200 IM with a time of 2:06.66. Scholer also secured a silver medal in the 100 backstroke, recording a time of 56.59. Sophomore Lexi Sundgren and freshman Kaitlyn Connors each grabbed a gold medal as well. Sundgren claimed the top spot in the 200-yard freestyle and added two bronze medals to her tally in the 100 free (54.22) and 500 free (5:12.34). Meanwhile, Connors sprinted to victory in the 50-yard freestyle, rounding out an exceptional performance for the team.

Off The Boards vs. The Bulls - The Duquesne diving team showcased their skills in both the one-meter and three-meter events. Junior Ashley Felitsky led the way for the Dukes, earning 222.45 points to place seventh in the one-meter dive. She followed that with a strong performance in the three-meter dive, where she tallied 241.65 points to secure sixth place. Sophomore Lydia Redd also had solid outings, finishing ninth in the one-meter (199.45 points) and eighth in the three-meter (214.35 points).

WVU Invite – The last full competition the Dukes competed in was at the WVU Invite in Morgantown, W.Va. as Duquesne totaled 1,137.5 points to claim fourth. On day one, Freshman Lucy Backus and sophomore Sierra Snow each posted top-ten program times, with Backus earning a bronze medal in the 50-yard freestyle. Her time of 23.17 marked a personal best, a top-ten performance, and a CSCAA B cut. Snow also delivered a personal best and top-ten time in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing sixth with a mark of 4:55.31. Later in the evening, she added another top-ten mark to her resume, delivering a 55.02 split in the backstroke while leading off the 400-medley relay. Snow and senior Sydney Severini led the Dukes on day two of competition. Snow earned a silver medal in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 54.86, marking one of the top-10 performances in program history. She also delivered a personal best and CSCAA B-cut time of 4:25.56 in the 400 IM, placing fifth. Severini added the Dukes' second medal of the day, tying for third in the 100-yard breaststroke with a season-best CSCAA B-cut time of 1:03.19. Two additional Dukes produced top-10 program times on Friday. Ashley Freel clocked 55.50 in the 100 back during the C Final, while senior Claudia Rzeznik recorded a personal-best 54.87 in the 100-yard butterfly to finish fifth, another standout mark in program history.

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