Hampton, Va. – The Duquesne swimming and diving team delivered a strong performance at the Richmond Duals on Saturday, earning victories over Richmond, George Mason, and Davidson in the women's competition at the Hampton Virginia Aquaplex.

The Dukes tallied 18 top-three finishes, including six first-place, six second-place and six third-place performances. Duquesne opened the day with a 168-131 victory over host Richmond before securing a decisive 204-93 win over George Mason. The Dukes capped the sweep with a dominant 213-85 triumph over Davidson.

Duquesne set the tone early in the women's 200-yard medley relay, claiming first place in 1:44.70. The Dukes carried that momentum throughout the meet, highlighted by standout performances from junior Sierra Snow, freshman Lainey Sheets and junior Ashley Freel.

Snow captured first in both the 100-yard backstroke (56.50) and 500-yard freestyle (5:06.09). Sheets added a victory in the 200-yard backstroke (2:01.81) while also earning second place in the 200-yard individual medley (2:04.98) and the and 200-yard freestyle (1:52.99). Freel claimed first in the 200-yard butterfly (2:03.90) and finished second in the 100-yard fly (55.61).

The Dukes also showcased their depth with multiple swimmers placing among the top three in several events. In the 200-yard freestyle, junior Kaitlyn Connors finished third (1:54.74) while another strong showing in the 100-yard freestyle, where Connors placed second (52.67) and sophomore Lucy Backus finished third (52.86). Backus also added a second-place finish to her resume in the 50-yard freestyle by touching the wall at 24.06. Junior Rachel Howard also competed in the event, finishing fifth (53.30).

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"Overall, the team had a solid weekend," head coach David Sheets said. "The opportunity to compete over a mixed two-day format creates a challenge and helps us evaluate where we are and where we need to go. Walking out with three wins was nice, but the last thing we want is to be satisfied with the results and complacent with our progress. We still have so many things to improve upon if we want to be competitive in February."

In the 200-yard backstroke, sophomore Norah Kotnik followed Sheets with a time of 2:04.80, while freshman Libby Sheets secured sixth place in 2:08.81. Freshman Anika Donovan added a bronze-medal performance in the 1,650-yard freestyle, touching the wall in 17:50.10. Junior Jess Burns also delivered a pair of third-place finishes, clocking in at 1:05.89 in the 100-yard breaststroke and 2:23.01 in the 200-yard breaststroke. Classmate Surrena Luna competed in both events as well, earning fourth-place finishes in each.

Freshman Maya Freeman secured a third-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly, touching the wall in 2:08.59, before placing fourth in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 57.23. Duquesne capped the meet in impressive fashion, capturing first place in the women's 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:29.02 to narrowly edge host Richmond, which finished in 3:29.25.

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"The past two days provided valuable experience for the divers, who competed in both events on each day, helping them prepare for the championship season in February," diving coach Alexa Gonczi said. "Good performances, but much left to improve on until we are back for conference. A good place to be in for October, but we are not done." 

UP NEXT
The Duquesne swimmers return to action in November, while the divers head to Clarion for the Clarion Diving Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 17.