Duke’s swimmers closed out its fall slate in fashion this past weekend.
While the Blue Devil men and women each placed fourth in the four-team Janis Hape Dowd Invitational at Koury Natatorium in Chapel Hill, several individuals recorded career-highs and top program times across the three-day event.
“I didn't expect what we saw this weekend—I mean, just a number of lifetime bests,” head coach Dan Colella said Saturday. “Tonight I think is probably one of the best final sessions that we've had as a program in a long time. Just a really exciting weekend, and I think everybody contributed. The freshmen were outstanding, and it was just a really total team effort.”
Sarah Foley’s performance in the 200-yard backstroke was the highlight of the weekend, with the Philadelphia native setting a program record with a time of 2:08.96, placing third in the event. Although this was only Foley’s second collegiate meet, Colella said the freshman’s work leading up to the event allowed her to make history and become a program record-holder.
“[Sarah’s] got a tremendous work ethic. I think it absolutely paid off this weekend,” Colella said. “I think there were a lot of things learned over the course of the weekend. It was a real testament to the kind of drive she has.”
Cole Reznick led the way on the men’s side. The junior placed first in the men’s 200-meter breaststroke preliminaries Thursday before placing second in the A-final with a career-best time of 1:45.70, third-fastest in Duke history. Reznick also finished fourth in the 200-yard breaststroke Saturday with a time of 1:57.69, sixth-fastest in Blue Devil history.
Overall, Duke swimmers recorded 31 times that placed in the top 10 in program history.
With uncertainties still surrounding the rest of the season due to COVID-19, the Blue Devils don’t know when their next meet will be. Nevertheless, the team has been working on staying prepared and healthy as it gears up for whatever comes following Winter Break.
“To be honest, we don't even really know—a lot of the ACC hasn't even had an opportunity to race this fall,” Colella said. “In some ways, we've kind of been focusing more on taking care of ourselves, staying healthy and just continuing to work on the team values.”
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