Blue Devils Shine in Spring Slate Opener at South Carolina

Saturday, January 20

Columbia, S.C.

11 a.m.

Duke University

South Carolina

Blue Devils Shine in Spring Slate Opener at South Carolina

1/20/2024 3:43:00 PM | Swimming & Diving

DURHAM – Led by strong showings on the diving boards and competitive results in both the relay's and individual events, the No. 17-ranked Duke women defeated No. 21 South Carolina, 170-130, and UNC Asheville, 244-56, on Saturday afternoon in Columbia, S.C.

NOTEABLES

Junior diver Margo O'Meara had a strong outing on the one-meter event, finishing first and producing a score of 312.30. Graduate student Ali Watson joined O'Meara on the podium, collecting a second-place finish with a score of 290.25.
O'Meara followed up her first-place finish on the three-meter board, placing second with a score of 312.15. Watson once again joined the podium with O'Meara, finishing third in the event with a score of 311.78.
In the 200 Yard Medley Relay, the combination of Ali Pfaff, Kaelyn Gridley, Aleyna Ozkan and Tatum Wall, touched in first with a time of 1:39.93.
On the men's side, the 200 Yard Medley Relay team consisting of Michael Jiang, Blake Johnson, David Chang and Milo Shue, nearly finished on the podium, clocking a time of 1:32.09.
Sophomore Audrey Portello touched in second in the 1,000 Yard Freestyle, posting a time of 10:09.85.
Junior Yixuan Chang tallied another first-place finish for the Blue Devils, pacing the field in the 200 Yard Freestyle with a time of 1:48.80.
Junior Johnson, also collected a podium in the men's 200 Yard Freestyle, touching in second with a time of 1:40.02.
A duo of freshman finished first and third in the women's 100 Yard Backstroke, as Pfaff (54.03) touched in first, while Molly Donlan (54.83) finished third.
Gridley continued her dominance in the 100 Yard Breaststroke, finishing first by nearly a full second, touching in at 1:01.96. Senior Catherine Belyakov finished third in the event, clocking a time of 1:03.62.
Sophomore Martina Peroni continued the Blue Devils surge in the 200 Yard Butterfly, finishing first with a time of 1:58.34.
On the women's side of the 50 Yard Freestyle, the Blue Devils swept the first two podium spots, as Wall (23.22) and KyAnh Truong (23.55) occupied those spots.
Pfaff doubled up on her first-place finishes in the Backstroke events, winning the 200 Yard Backstroke with a time of 1:57.90. Donlan also placed on the podium in the event with another third-place finish.
Freshman Kalen Anbar posted a third-place finish in the men's 200 Yard Breaststroke, narrowly chasing down the second-place finisher with a time of 2:05.46.
Sophomore's Austin Simpson and JC Castrillon finished second and third in the men's 500 Yard Freestyle on Saturday. Simpson clocked a time of 4:46.26, while Castrillon posted a time of 4:55.03.
Ozkan and Peroni continued to score points for the Blue Devils, this time in the 100 Yard Butterfly event. Ozkan clocked a time of 54.14, while Peroni touched in with a time of 54.26.
The Duke women swept the podium in the 200 Yard IM, as Sarah Foley (2:01.87), Belyakov (2:02.05) and Peroni (2:02.35) finished in order. Sophomore Portello was in the mix down the stretch finishing fourth in the event as well.
Jiang and Anbar followed up the women's performance with their own podium spots in the men's 200 Yard IM. Jiang finished second with a time of 1:52.02, while Anbar posted a time of 1:56.03 for third place.

UP NEXT
The Blue Devils return to the friendly confines of the Taishoff Aquatic Center this week, hosting No. NR/20 North Carolina on Friday and No. 8/2 Texas on Saturday morning. Friday's meet against North Carolina is scheduled as the Blue Devils Centennial meet, recognizing 100-years of Duke University.

#GoDuke