CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - As junior Amy Armond swam the final lap of the 400 individual medley Friday night, it wasn't just her Duke teammates cheering her on to an NCAA B qualifying time.
Her ex-teammates and coaches from Florida State were screaming just as loud, as Armond took fifth place at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships with a time of 4:23.55.
"She left Florida State on very good terms," Duke coach Bob Thompson said. "She transferred to Duke because she wanted the education."
Her performance in the 400 IM made Armond the first Blue Devil to qualify for the NCAA Championships since Nancy Hogshead in 1981.
The NCAA B qualifying time means that her entrance into the championships is contingent on other swimmers' results from around the country. The NCAA A time of 4:17.50 would have guaranteed Armond entry into the national meet.
She also made the finals in the other two events that she swam-the 200 IM and the 200 backstroke-finishing eighth and fifth, respectively, in those events, with times of 2:07.31 and 2:04.42.
"We knew she was something special when she came in," Thompson said. "This meet she really mentally got it together and swam three personal bests."
Despite her blistering times, Armond has yet to set a school record. She swims the same events as Hogshead, who captured three gold medals and a silver at the 1984 Olympics.
Two school records did fall in the competition, thanks to freshman Betsy Stewart in the 100 and 200 backstroke. Stewart, who was out with mononucleosis at the beginning of the season, captured 15th place in both events, with times of 58.82 seconds and 2:07.9, respectively.
"Betsy did a fantastic job for us," Thompson said. "She also swam a great 50 [24.71 seconds in the 200 freestyle relay] and set three personal bests."
With the top 16 finishers in each event earning points for their team, the only other Duke swimmer to score was Emily Voelker, who finished 16th, directly behind Stewart, in the 200 back, with a time of 2:09.8.
One major change this year to the format of the meet was a bonus final heat which was added to the evening rounds. The 17th- through 24th-place swimmers in each event swam in the bonus final but did not score points for their school.
The bonus final allowed significantly more Duke swimmers, who traditionally fall between 16th and 24th place, to swim in the finals at night.
"It was really good because a lot more Duke kids got to come back," Thompson said. "I was the coach really pushing for it but it was clear that the other coaches were pleased with it too."
Many of the other coaches were more concerned with winning the meet as a whole, especially Virginia, the returning conference champion and North Carolina, which had held the title since 1991 to 1997.
The North Carolina fans even wore T-shirts with the phrase "Conference Titles Are Only Borrowed, Your Time Is Up," aimed at the Virginia team.
The Cavaliers took the early lead and never looked back, defeating North Carolina 818.5 to 728.5.
Clemson finished in third place with 391 points, Maryland in fourth place with 391, N.C. State in fifth place with 389 and Florida State in sixth place with 301.
Duke finished last with 172 points, but it is the only school in the conference which does not give scholarships for swimming and diving.
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