Duke’s men’s swim team dove into the 2024-25 season against Marymount after storms postponed its previously scheduled opener against UNC-Wilmington. The Blue Devils defeated the Saints 209-52, winning every event and sweeping the podium seven times.
“I’m pretty proud of them,” head coach Brian Barnes said afterwards. “At meets, you should get up on the block and compete, which was exactly what our men did today.”
Sophomore Jack Smith made a big splash, finishing first in both the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke. His time of 56.11 in the former was exactly two-tenths off a personal best, while his 2:04.03 won the 200 by a decisive 7.4 seconds. Smith also swam on the 200-yard medley relay that kicked off the meet, teaming up with Michael Jiang, Milo Shue and Cameron Lai-Harris to post a winning 1:31.30 in the event.
Between freshman and graduate student transfers, ten swimmers competed in a Duke cap for the first time. Freshman Samir Elkassem shone in his first meet as a Blue Devil, taking two first-place finishes with a 1:52.48 in the 200-yard individual medley and a 1:51.66 in the 200-yard butterfly. Fellow freshman Ethan Mindlan followed closely behind to take second in the butterfly, while Michigan transfer Yugo Tsukikawa did the same in the medley. Tsukikawa also won the 1000-yard freestyle in 9:44.27, touching the wall nearly ten seconds ahead of teammate Austin Simpson.
As always, Milo Shue led the sprinters with a quick 20.95 in the 50-yard freestyle. Charlie Morici — another transfer from Michigan — clocked in right behind, at 21.56. In the 200-yard freestyle, Sophomore Andrew Li picked up a win with a time of 1:41.99, while freshman Colin Mikulecky grabbed second in the event with a 1:42.90.
The Blue Devils ended the swim competition with the 400-yard freestyle relay, which freshman Owen Markowitz anchored for Shue, Andrew Li and Jack Christian. The team won with a 3:09.47, while another Blue Devil relay finished less than a second later, at 3:10.32. The Blue Devil powerhouse relays were unmatched against Marymount, which touched the wall 17 seconds behind Duke’s top team.
Despite a lack of close competition from Marymount, the Blue Devils posted solid early-season times and showcased a determination in the pool that they will look to carry over into the rest of the season.
“We’re not in the middle of a building phase, so we can continue to work hard,” Barnes said. “What’s good is to put ourselves in the position of racing.”
Duke competes at home against Virginia Tech Oct. 19, when the men’s team will look to capitalize on their momentum and the women will race for the first time this season.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Abby DiSalvo is a Trinity sophomore and assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.