Duquesne at Atlantic 10 Championships
Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2026 to Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026
Hampton, Va. | Hampton Virginia Aquaplex

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OFF THE STARTING BLOCK
-The Duquesne University swimming and diving team returns to action when it travels to Hampton, Va. to compete at the Atlantic 10 Championships, inside the Hampton Virginia Aquaplex from Wednesday, Feb. 18 through Saturday, Feb. 21. Wednesday will start at 3:00 p.m. while prelims from Thursday through Saturday start at 10:00 a.m. with the finals beginning at 6:00 p.m.

- The Dukes are coming of a Senior Day victory where they rolled past St. Bonaventure, 156-85 inside Towers Pool. Duquesne recorded 21 top-three finishes on the day, highlighted by 10 gold medals, two silver, and nine bronze.

- Duquesne opened the meet strong in the 200 medley relay, as the team of sophomore Sierra Snow, senior Sydney Severini, sophomore Ashley Freel, and freshman Lucy Backus captured first place with a time of 1:45.17. The Dukes also earned third in the event, with freshman Norah Kotnik and sophomores Jess Burns, Rachel Howard, and Kaitlyn Connors finishing at 1:47.33.

- Momentum continued in the 200 freestyle, where Snow claimed first with a time of 1:54.03, while junior Lexi Sundgren placed third at 1:55.91. Snow went on to secure another victory in the 500 freestyle, touching the wall at 5:06.01.

- The 200 individual medley followed, with the Dukes capturing gold and bronze in the event. Severini touched the wall first at 2:07.88, while freshman Kira Schrecongost earned third with a time of 2:09.65. Severini continued her strong performance by claiming first place in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:05.49), as Burns finished second at 1:05.83.

- In the 50-yard freestyle, Backus took home gold with a time of 23.82, while Burns followed in third at 24.76. The 100-yard butterfly saw Freel capture first place with a time of 55.34, while senior Claudia Rzeznik placed third (58.26). Freel added another victory in the 100-yard backstroke, touching the wall at 56.39, as Kotnik earned bronze with a time of 58.00.

- Howard added a first-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle, while the relay team of Connors, Howard, Burns, and Backus captured gold in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:35.80. The meet concluded with the 400 freestyle relay, where Duquesne earned both first and third place. The team of Connors, Backus, Snow, and Freel claimed the top spot with a time of 3:32.78, while Howard, freshman Emily Kyre, Sundgren, and senior Katie Simpson finished third at 3:37.64.

GAME DAY LINKS
Championship Central
Tickets
Live Results
Watch (ESPN+)

The A-10 Championships – Duquesne has enjoyed sustained success at the Atlantic 10 Championships, capturing back-to-back titles in 2017-18 and 2018-19 and finishing as runner-up in 2021-22. The Dukes are coming off a bronze-medal performance at last year's meet, where they recorded the fourth-highest point total in program history with 525 points. In recent seasons, the Dukes have continued to post record-setting performances, medal-winning swims, and NCAA B Cut times while producing individual champions and major award winners. Their sustained success has been fueled by depth across events, standout relay performances, and a steady presence in championship finals, reinforcing Duquesne's reputation as a perennial contender in the Atlantic 10.

Ashley Freel made history at the A-10 Championships, becoming just the third rookie in program history to earn Most Outstanding Rookie honors. She turned in an impressive showing with three podium finishes, a personal-best swim, and a contribution to a school record. Freel highlighted her week with a silver medal in the 200-yard butterfly, touching in a personal-best 1:58.97. She also captured gold in the 100-yard butterfly, setting a new school record, and helped power the 400-yard medley relay to a silver-medal finish.

Sierra Snow added a standout performance of her own, placing second in the 200-yard backstroke with a personal-best NCAA B Cut time of 1:55.91. In the distance events, Aislinn Mooney and Lexi Sundgren both posted personal bests in the 1650-yard freestyle, with Mooney finishing in 17:03.92 and Sundgren close behind at 17:04.83. Sundgren would go on to take home silver in the 200 freestyle, psoting a time of 1:49.41.

Sydney Severini earned bronze in the 200-yard breaststroke, clocking a personal-best, school-record, and NCAA B Cut time of 2:11.92. In the 100-yard freestyle, Katie Simpson (51.90) and Rachel Howard (52.01) each recorded personal-best efforts, while Julia Sobun added a career-best 2:04.73 in the 200-yard butterfly. The meet concluded with the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Kaitlyn Connors, Simpson, Freel, and Scholer tying for fifth place with a time of 3:22.34, putting a strong finishing touch on another successful championship showing.

Posting Zone Marks – Heading into the conference championships, the Duquesne divers built strong momentum as three athletes recorded qualifying standards at Clarion (Feb. 7). In the three-meter event, sophomore Brianne Dempsey led the way with a first-place finish, totaling 279.23 points across six dives. Senior Ashley Felitsky placed fourth (251.85), followed by freshman Elly Huron in fifth (243.23). Graduate student Lola Dragosavac finished seventh with a score of 241.95, freshman Grace Hedger tallied 235.80, and junior Erin Castagnero rounded out the Dukes performances with 219.38. The Dukes carried that success into the one-meter competition, where Dragosavac, Dempsey, and Felitsky each achieved Diving Zone–qualifying scores. Dragosavac placed second with a 278.63, earning her second career Diving Zone qualification and her first in a Duquesne uniform. Dempsey followed in third at 267.63, securing her first career Zone qualification as a Duke. Felitsky finished fourth with a score of 265.58, qualifying for the Zones in the one-meter event after already earning a spot in the three-meter earlier this season. Huron (229.13) and Hedger (227.63) finished fifth and sixth, respectively, while Castagnero posted a score of 214.20 to complete the field

Scholar All-Americans - The College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) announced that the Duquesne University swimming and diving team has been named a Scholar All-America Team for the Fall 2025 semester. Under the guidance of head coach David Sheets, the Dukes posted an impressive 3.81 team GPA among 25 student-athletes during the fall semester, earning the prestigious CSCAA Scholar All-America honor. Duquesne's GPA was tied for the second-highest in the nation across both Division I men's and women's swimming programs, alongside Bowling Green and the University of Kansas. This recognition is nothing new for the Dukes, who were also named a CSCAA Scholar All-America Team last spring and have maintained a consistent presence on the list for more than a decade. Duquesne continued its academic excellence in the spring semester, recording a 3.79 team GPA among 25 student-athletes.

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