The men's and women's swimming teams capped off their fall seasons with strong showings at the Patriot Invitational the weekend of Nov. 22-24. The women finished first among over 10 other teams, in the biggest meet of first semester. The men's team took third place in an event in which Duke swimmers won a combined 18 events.
Freshman Katie Ness broke school records in the 100 butterfly (55.52) and 100 backstroke (56.58). She also took first in the individual 200 medley (2:04.08). Her results qualify her for Senior Nationals in the 100 butterfly, and her performance could earn her spots in other events. Ness was also a member of four first place relay teams.
"It was a big first semester meet," she said. "I knew I was having a good meet--I had rested for a few days. I was really excited to just go out there and swim fast."
The Blue Devils set nine meet records overall, seven of which were made by the women.
"It was such an exciting meet to win," associate head coach Whitney Greene said. "It gives our team confidence to win a meet like this. We had some great swims for this time of year."
The Blue Devil quartet of Lauren Cornet, Amy Halligan, Julia Lewis and Ness took first in the 200 free relay. This team, which also won the 200 medley relay, qualified for the Senior Nationals, which will be held April 1-5. Cornett also made cuts for Nationals in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, with Halligan and Hancock qualifying for the 200 butterfly. Cornet broke a meet record in the 200 breaststroke with her time of 2:18.03.
Another freshman who had a strong showing was Alison Sundberg, whose 52.13 seconds in the 100 freestyle earned her first place. Duke's 400 freestyle relay team of Cornet, Lewis, Nora Stupp, and Sundberg also cruised to a top-place finish with a time of 3:31.04. A team of Hancock, Ness, Stupp and Sundberg won first place in the 800 free relay, with a time of 7:41.90.
On the men's side of the pool, John Humphrey set a school record in the 400 individual medley with a time of 3:58.06, making him the first man in Duke history to swim this event in under four minutes. The sophomore also won the 200 individual medley and finished third in the 200 butterfly.
Freshman Andy Storm broke the meet record in the 200-yard breaststroke in the preliminaries, while swimming to a time of 2:04.16 in the finals of competition. Classmate Billy Pearce, along with three other swimmers from different schools, beat the existing meet record in prelims in the 200 backstroke, though Pearce's record was broken.
"All our swimmers stepped up," Greene said. "I was really proud of the freshmen, especially to be doing so well early in their careers."
The team will spend the next couple months training for the ACC Championships, which begins in February. They will spend 10 days of Christmas break in Florida, and will look for another strong performance at their next meet January 11, when Duke hosts Davidson.
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