The Toyota U.S. Open is a fiery meet where the best of both collegiate and pro swimming come together from around the world to set records and fight to the finish. However, in a smaller pool and without most of the pros, this year’s contest looked quite different from years past.
To attend the U.S. Open, swimmers must achieve certain time standards set by USA Swimming, considered the fastest qualifying times behind U.S. Olympic Team Trials. This past week, ten of Duke’s underclass swimmers suited up to attend the 2024 U.S. Open in Greensboro, N.C.
This is the first time in recent years that the U.S. Open has been in a 25-yard pool — the 50-meter is the standard for most elite swimming competitions, including the Olympics. Short-course yards are often only found in the world of collegiate swimming, meaning collegiate athletes who were used to a shorter race length and more flip turns had a leg up in the meet.
In addition, the U.S. Open took place only one week before the World Aquatic Swimming Championship in Budapest. To conserve energy, most of the major players who are usually at the contest — household names like Katie Ledecky or Regan Smith — skipped out on the Open to prep for Budapest. The appeal of this meet for collegiate swimmers is that it is a rare chance to face off against the pros, but with much of team USA missing from the meet, Duke only sent its newer swimmers.
Although the Blue Devil men have struggled at recent meets, the U.S. Open showed that fresh blood may be just what the team needs to succeed. Florida Southern grad transfer Cameron Lai-Harris put on a show in the 100-yard butterfly. Lai-Harris notched a time of 48.31 and twelfth place in the preliminaries to qualify for the final. There, Lai-Harris took it a stroke further: He placed 9th overall and achieved a personal best time by .22 seconds.
Three freshman women stepped up to represent Duke at the meet. Thursday, Kate Meyerrs-Labenz and Clare Logan swam in prelims for the 50-yard freestyle, finishing at 28th (23.58) and 30th place (23.62), respectively. Both remain just outside the NCAA B-Cut of 22.58. Ava Ippoliti competed in the 100-yard breaststroke, swimming it in 1:04.98 to place 48th out of 52 swimmers. The Blue Devil women were not able to secure a spot in the finals, but the three young swimmers showed promise for the new year.
Behind Lai-Harris, Duke men’s swimming made its presence known on the pool deck with seven swimmers competing. Sophomore Kalen Anbar touched the wall at 54.70 in the 100-yard breaststroke prelims, and Jack Smith trailed behind to clock 55.04 in the same race. While not his personal best, Anbar’s performance earned him a spot as the second of the Duke swimmers to qualify for the B finals, where he placed 12th in 54.16 — a personal best by over half a second.
Freshman Samir Elkassem competed in the 100-yard butterfly. The Potomac, Md. native has stood out as a strong addition on Duke’s men's team in his short tenure. Elkassem notched a 49.80, consistent with his performance this season, where he often lands in the high end of 49 seconds. He landed in 34th place out of 39 finishers.
The Blue Devils continue to grow as a team this season, with a focus on personal bests and consistent improvement. At the U.S. Open, many improved on their performances from the Mid-Season Invitational just a few weeks ago. Looking into the new year, the Blue Devils swim against North Carolina at Koury Natatorium for a Tobacco Road Showdown Jan. 10.
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