Duquesne @ CMU Relays
Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026 • 10:00 a.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa. • Carnegie Mellon Swimming & Diving Pool

2026-27 Roster | 2026-27 Schedule | 2026-27 Swim Cloud Team Page

From The Blocks To The Boards
- The Duquesne swimming and diving team opens its 2026-27 season this Saturday, Oct. 3, competing at the CMU Relays, hosted by Carnegie Mellon at 10:00 a.m. inside Carnegie Mellon's Swimming & Diving Pool.

- Entering his 26th season at the helm, David Sheets has established Duquesne as a consistent contender in the Atlantic 10. A three-time A10 Coach of the Year (2015, 2018, 2019), Sheets has guided the Dukes to conference championships in 2018 and 2019, a runner-up finish in 2022 and third-place finishes in 2025 and 2026.

- Entering the 2026-27 season, Duquesne returns 18 student-athletes, including 10 incoming freshmen. The Dukes continued their success at the A10 Championships last season, recording more than 18 personal-best performances over the four-day meet while capturing 11 medals, including four gold, two silver and five bronze, and breaking three school records.

- Juniors Sierra Snow and Ashley Freel paced the way, each earning five medals at the conference championships. Snow captured individual gold in the 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard backstroke while helping the 800-yard freestyle relay take first. She also secured silver in the 100 backstroke before helping the 400-yard medley relay earn bronze.

- Freel also captured individual gold after defending her title in the 100-yard butterfly while helping the 800 freestyle relay take first. She added silver in the 200-yard butterfly and bronze in the 400-yard individual medley before helping the 400 medley relay earn bronze.

- The Dukes opened the conference championships in record fashion, breaking the school record in the 200-yard medley relay. Returners Snow, Freel and sophomore Lucy Backus helped the relay post a time of 1:40.40 to establish the new program record.

- Sophomores Norah Kotnik and Anna Klotz, along with junior Rachel Howard, return after posting personal-best performances at the A10 Championships. Kotnik recorded personal bests in the 500 freestyle and 100 backstroke, while Klotz set personal records in the 400-yard individual medley and 100-yard backstroke. Howard rounded out the trio with personal bests in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly.

- Off the diving boards, the Dukes return junior Brianne Dempsey, who represented Duquesne at the NCAA Diving Zones. She qualified for the one-meter competition for the second consecutive season, recording a final score of 223.65 to place 45th overall. Dempsey improved on her previous performance, topping her score of 208.25 from a season ago and finishing 12 spots higher.

- Duquesne also returns senior Erin Castagnero and sophomores Grace Hedger and Elly Huron, all of whom have experience competing at the A10 Championships. Castagnero finished fourth in the one-meter with a score of 204.30 at Richmond, while Hedger placed eighth in the three-meter with a score of 208.95 against St. Bonaventure. Huron added a fifth-place finish in the three-meter with a score of 243.40 against West Virginia and Villanova.

Welcome To The Bluff – This past July, head coach David Sheets announced Carolyn Bolden Santee as the newest assistant coach for the Dukes. Bolden Santee joins Duquesne after serving as a graduate assistant coach at the University of West Florida, where she helped guide one of the nation's premier NCAA Division II programs to consecutive conference championships and national success. At West Florida, Santee assisted with all aspects of the swimming & diving program. She helped the Argonauts capture back-to-back New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference (NSISC) championships in 2025 and 2026. During her tenure, West Florida produced numerous NCAA Division II All-Americans and national champions. At the 2026 NCAA Division II Championships, she helped coach nine student-athletes to a fourth-place team finish, contributing to 34 All-America performances, three national titles and three national records. As a student-athlete, Santee competed at Liberty and Millersville, specializing in middle-distance freestyle events. During her three seasons with the Marauders, she helped the program post a 19-5 dual-meet record. Santee ranks among Millersville's all-time leaders with six top-10 performances and holds the school record in the 200-yard freestyle.

26 Seasons Strong - Entering his 26th season at the helm of the Duquesne swimming and diving program, head coach David Sheets ranks 14th nationally among the 50 longest-tenured current NCAA Division I women's swimming and diving head coaches at a single institution. The national list highlights coaches who have maintained remarkable longevity at one program, with Sheets ranking among an elite group of coaches who have spent decades building their respective programs. During his tenure, Sheets has transformed Duquesne into a perennial Atlantic 10 contender, guiding the Dukes to back-to-back conference championships in 2018 and 2019 and 12 consecutive top-four finishes at the A10 Championships. A three-time A10 Coach of the Year, Sheets has also overseen 52 individual conference champions, 19 relay champions and 32 CSCAA All-America Honorable Mention selections.

Scholars In The Water – A pair of returning Dukes earned spots on the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) All-America Team, as sophomores Sierra Snow and Brianne Dempsey were each named to the All-America Second Team for the second consecutive season. A cybersecurity major, Snow maintains a 3.74 GPA and enjoyed a standout A10 Championship performance, capturing gold in the 500-yard freestyle (4:45.77) and 200-yard backstroke (1:55.15) while adding silver in the 100-yard backstroke. She also helped the 800-yard freestyle relay capture gold and the 400-yard medley relay earn bronze, while contributing to a school-record performance in the 200-yard medley relay. Snow went on to finish sixth in the 200-yard backstroke at the CSCAA National Invitational Championship. Dempsey, a physician assistant major with a perfect 4.00 GPA, qualified for NCAA Diving Zones in the one-meter dive for the second consecutive season. She placed eighth in both the one-meter and three-meter events at the A10 Championships before finishing sixth in the one-meter at the CSCAA National Invitational Championship.

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