Duke Women, UNC-Wilmington Men Prevail in Intrastate Dual
In the Blue Devils’ home opener Friday against UNC-Wilmington, the Duke women cruised to a 188-104 win over the Seahawks while the UNCW men earned a hard-fought 152.5-145.5 win over Duke in a battle that came down to the final relay.
The women’s meet was one-sided, with the Blue Devils winning every event. Kailyn Gridley paced Duke with a pair of breaststroke wins, touching first in the 100 (1:00.61) and 200 (2:14.49). Freshman Ali Pfaff was also a double winner, claiming the 100 backstroke (54.16) and 100 freestyle (50.84). The team of Pfaff, Gridley, Aleyna Ozkan and Tatum Wall dominated the 200 medley relay with a 1:40.11 mark, and Wall earned an individual win of her own in the 50 free (23.40).
Catherine Purnell topped the 1000 freestyle in 10:08.81, with teammate Emily Gjertsen making it a 1-2 finish, and Yi Xuan Chang led a 1-2-3 sweep for Duke in the 200 free as she touched in 1:49.99. Chang became the third double winner for Duke on the day as she was the only swimmer to break 5:00 in the 500 free (4:59.00).
Catherine Belyakov beat the field in the 200 butterfly by close to four seconds as she touched in 2:02.86. Molly Donlan topped the 200 back (1:59.06), and Martina Peroni won the 100 fly (54.37). Veteran Sarah Foley cruised in the 400 IM (4:20.72), and after the disqualification of Duke’s 200 free relay A-team, Foley anchored the B-team that also included Emily Lenihan, Chang and Purnell to a 1:35.38 victory. Duke also had diving wins from Margo Omeara on 1-meter (339.75) and Josie Zillig on 3-meter (335.18).
The men’s meet, however, was hotly contested, and it was UNC-Wilmington’s sprint and relay success that proved decisive. The team of Will Goldey, Dylan Citta, Kyle Johnson and Mac Russell set the tone for the day with a half-second win in the 200 medley relay. In the 100 breast, Mason Hetzell took the win in 56.01, with Citta and John Martin McGee helping UNCW to a 1-2-3 finish, and in the 200 breast, the duo of Aidan Duffy (2:04.01) and Citta (2:06.99) swept the top-two spots. Russell edged out Duke’s Milo Shue in the 50 free, 20.90 to 20.95, and Jacob Duracinsky came home first in the 100 free (45.56).
The momentum started turning further toward UNC-Wilmington when William Carrico dominated the 500 free with his time of 4:34.54 and fellow freshman Logan Adley held off Duke’s JC Castrillon for second, 4:39.10 to 4:39.33. After a 2-3-4-5 finish in the 100 fly, Carrico won again in the 400 IM, touching in 4:01.20, while Duffy’s sizzling breaststroke leg helped him place second (4:04.12).
Finally, the A-teams from Duke and UNC-Wilmington tied in the final relay, and combined with the UNCW B-team placing second, that was enough to secure the seven-point win for the Seahawks. The teams of UNCW’s Noah Sipowski, Duracinsky, Russell and Kenneth Lowe and Duke’s Shue, Johnson, Colton McGrady and Jack Christian both recorded times of 1:22.34.
Duke’s first win came from Castrillon in the 1000 free (9:33.86), and that was followed by Blake Johnson’s first-place result in the 200 free (1:39.26) and David Chang’s top finish in the 100 back (49.36). Andrew Li grabbed first place n the 200 fly (1:53.58), and Michael Jiang won the 200 back (1:48.17). Chang won again in the 100 fly (49.45).