Duquesne @ St. Bonaventure
Friday, November 6 | 6:00 p.m.
Reilly Center Pool | Olean, N.Y.

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From The Blocks To The Boards
- The Duquesne swimming and diving team hits the road this weekend, traveling to Olean, N.Y., to battle St. Bonaventure in Atlantic 10 action inside Reilly Center Pool.

- The Dukes last competed in October at the Richmond Invitational and Richmond Duals. Duquesne captured the top spot at the Richmond Invitational with 791 points before sweeping three consecutive dual meets, defeating Richmond (168-31), George Mason (204-93) and Davidson (213-85).

- Duquesne recorded 14 medal finishes at the Richmond Invitational, including four gold, three silver and seven bronze performances, while also making its mark in the 50-yard freestyle skins competition.

- Freshman Lainey Sheets led the way with two individual gold medals, while juniors Kaitlyn Connors and Sierra Snow also captured event victories. The Dukes added podium finishes across the swimming events, relays and diving boards.

- Connors earned gold in the women's 200-yard freestyle, touching the wall in 1:52.86. Snow followed closely in 1:52.90 to give Duquesne a one-two finish. Snow added another individual victory in the 200-yard backstroke, winning in 2:01.38. Sophomore Norah Kotnik joined her on the podium with a third-place finish in 2:04.80, giving the Dukes two of the event's top three finishers.

- Freshman Anika Donovan earned silver in the women's 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:07.84. Donovan paced a strong showing for the Dukes, as freshman Maya Freeman finished fourth in 2:09.53 and sophomore Kira Schrecongost placed fifth in 2:09.65.

- On the diving boards, sophomore Elly Huron secured silver in the women's three-meter competition with a score of 228.25. Duquesne claimed two of the top three spots, as sophomore Grace Hedger earned bronze with 218.35 points. Junior Brianne Dempsey and senior Erin Castagnero added fourth- and fifth-place finishes, respectively, giving the Dukes four divers among the top five.

- Duquesne opened the meet with a bronze-medal performance in the women's 400-yard medley relay, finishing in 3:51.16. The Dukes also claimed bronze in the women's 200-yard freestyle relay, clocking in at 1:36.19 to finish third behind Richmond and George Mason.

- Junior Jess Burns contributed a pair of individual bronze medals, placing third in the women's 50-yard breaststroke (30.53) before earning another third-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:21.91). Junior Rachel Howard added another bronze medal in the women's 50-yard butterfly, finishing in 25.40.

- The Duquesne diving team turned in a strong performance at the Clarion Diving Invite highlighted by multiple top-five finishes across the one-meter and three-meter competitions. In the one-meter event, junior Brianne Dempsey led the Dukes with a second-place finish, scoring 253.35 points. Sophomore Grace Hedger followed in sixth with 216.38 points, while classmate Elly Huron placed seventh with 214.80. Senior Erin Castagnero finished eighth (213.68), and freshman Emily Setlock rounded out the group in ninth (186.98). Duquesne carried its momentum into the three-meter competition, led by Dempsey's third-place finish with 264.60 points. Huron followed in fourth (242.48), while Castagnero secured fifth with 241.28 points. Setlock placed seventh (219.98), followed by Hedger in eighth (219.75).

The Series vs. St. Bonaventure – Friday's meeting will mark the 21st all-time matchup between Duquesne and St. Bonaventure, with the Dukes holding a 12-8 advantage in the series, including nine consecutive victories. The two teams last met during the 2025-26 season, when Duquesne cruised to a 156-85 victory inside Towers Pool. The Dukes dominated the meet with 21 top-three finishes, including 10 gold, two silver and nine bronze medals. Duquesne set the tone early in the 200-yard medley relay, as the team of sophomore Sierra Snow, senior Sydney Severini, sophomore Ashley Freel and freshman Lucy Backus captured first place in 1:45.17. The Dukes also claimed third in the event, with freshman Norah Kotnik and sophomores Jess Burns, Rachel Howard and Kaitlyn Connors finishing in 1:47.33. Snow continued the strong start in the 200-yard freestyle, claiming first in 1:54.03, while junior Lexi Sundgren added a third-place finish in 1:55.91. Snow later secured another victory in the 500-yard freestyle, touching the wall in 5:06.01.

In the 200-yard individual medley, Duquesne captured both gold and bronze, with Severini taking first in 2:07.88 and freshman Kira Schrecongost placing third in 2:09.65. Severini added another victory in the 100-yard breaststroke, finishing in 1:05.49, while Burns followed closely in second at 1:05.83. Backus captured gold in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.82, while Burns added a third-place finish in 24.76. The Dukes continued to pile up victories in the remaining events. Freel claimed first in the 100-yard butterfly (55.34), while senior Claudia Rzeznik finished third (58.26). Freel added another win in the 100-yard backstroke (56.39), with Kotnik earning bronze in 58.00. Howard also secured a first-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle, while the relay team of Connors, Howard, Burns and Backus captured gold in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:35.80.

A Rookie Impression – Freshman Lainey Sheets enjoyed a standout weekend in Virginia, earning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors, as announced by the conference Tuesday. Sheets helped lead the Dukes to a successful weekend, collecting five medals, including three gold, as Duquesne captured the top spot at the Richmond Invitational on Friday with 791 points. The Dukes followed with a sweep at the Richmond Duals on Saturday, defeating host Richmond (168-31), George Mason (204-93) and Davidson (213-85). Sheets opened her impressive weekend Friday by capturing the 400-yard individual medley in 4:22.84, narrowly edging Richmond's Lena Amare, who finished in 4:23.00. The freshman returned to the top of the podium in the 100-yard freestyle, clocking 51.96 to secure her second gold medal of the meet. On Saturday, Sheets added another victory in the 200-yard backstroke, touching the wall in 2:01.81. She also recorded runner-up finishes in the 200-yard individual medley (2:04.98) and 200-yard freestyle (1:52.99) to cap an impressive two-day performance. The honor marks the first Atlantic 10 weekly award of Sheets' career.

A Clean Sweep - The Dukes recorded 18 top-three finishes at the Richmond Duals on Saturday, including six first-place, six second-place and six third-place performances. Duquesne set the tone early by capturing the women's 200-yard medley relay in 1:44.70 and carried that momentum throughout the meet behind 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), along with runner-up finishes in the 200-yard individual medley (2:04.98) and 200-yard freestyle (1:52.99). Freel claimed gold in the 200-yard butterfly (2:03.90) and finished second in the 100-yard butterfly (55.61). The Dukes also showcased their depth with multiple top-three finishes across several events. Junior Kaitlyn Connors placed third in the 200-yard freestyle (1:54.74) before finishing second in the 100-yard freestyle (52.67), where sophomore Lucy Backus took third (52.86). Backus also added a second-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle (24.06). In the 200-yard backstroke, sophomore Norah Kotnik followed Sheets with a time of 2:04.80, while freshman Libby Sheets finished sixth in 2:08.81. Freshman Anika Donovan added a bronze-medal performance in the 1,650-yard freestyle (17:50.10). Junior Jess Burns contributed a pair of third-place finishes in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:05.89) and 200-yard breaststroke (2:23.01). Classmate Surrena Luna added fourth-place finishes in both events. Freshman Maya Freeman earned bronze in the 200-yard butterfly (2:08.59) before placing fourth in the 100-yard butterfly (57.23). Duquesne capped the meet with a thrilling victory in the women's 400-yard freestyle relay, clocking in at 3:29.02 to narrowly edge host Richmond (3:29.25).

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