After opening the season with three meets on the road, the men's and women's swimming teams returned home to face North Carolina State and Old Dominion Saturday. The men's misfortunes continued, as they dropped both contests to fall to 0-5 and 0-3 in the ACC.
The women picked up their first win on the season with a 142-90 decision over Old Dominion, but lost 148.5-84.5 to the Wolfpack. Their record now stands at 1-4 overall and 0-3 in conference competition.
The men led off with a strong showing in the 400-yard medley relay, posting a second-place finish to N.C. State and crushing the Old Dominion competition. But the Blue Devils lost their early lead and did not post an individual victory until freshman Chris Fleizach won the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:54.45. Fleizach led the entire race and held off a surging Wolfpack swimmer in the last 25 yards.
"Some people had some good times, but some people were a little tired," said senior Sean Feeney of the team's performance. "Overall, though, we gave a good effort."
Despite the early season struggles, the team remains confident that it can pick up key wins in its next two meets before Christmas break. The Blue Devils face relatively weak opponents in the College of Charleston next Saturday and East Carolina two weeks later.
"We're all working hard now and we're going into Thanksgiving break, which is always extra-hard training," Feeney said.
With six seniors on a squad of 20, the team has a good balance of experience and young potential. Long-distance standout Chris Wise and breaststroke specialist Mark Rotblat are the team's leaders and co-captains. Promising freshmen Clint McHugh has already posted an individual win in the 50 freestyle, and Fleizach has lost only once in the 200 backstroke.
Leading the way for the women against N.C. State and Old Dominion was senior Amy Armond, who picked up individual wins in the 200 backstroke and 200 IM. Armond, one of the team's captains, led early in the backstroke and finished an astounding six seconds ahead of her closest competitor.
Armond has been sensational again this season for the Blue Devils. In only four meets, she has already won nine individual races in a wide variety of events. Having placed in the top eight in three events last year in the ACC Championships, Armond is one of the top returning swimmers in the conference.
For the women, Old Dominion was Duke's first real opportunity to add a win to its record. With a tough early season schedule behind them, the Blue Devils entered the meet against Old Dominion with one goal in mind.
"We were real excited, because Old Dominion was the first real chance we had to be competitive," Armond said. "It was the first real chance we had to pull together as a team. Overall, we were pleased with our times, but it was more about racing Old Dominion."
Joining Armond to lead the team this winter will be returning seniors Emily Voelker and Heather Winter. Both placed in the ACC Championships last year and are among the ranks of the conference's elite swimmers.
The team also has youth in sophomore Betsy Stewart and a strong freshman class including Paige Dommerich, Lindsey O'Connell and Jennifer Lee. Dommerich won in her college debut against UNC and placed second in the 200 IM against N.C. State and Old Dominion. O'Connell placed behind two N.C. State swimmers but finished ahead of all Old Dominion swimmers with a time of 2:11.71 in the 200 butterfly. Lee came up with a very important victory in the 50 freestyle Saturday.
"We're definitely looking to be competitive against College of Charleston and East Carolina," Armond said on the outlook for the rest of the season. "Then we train real hard over Christmas break and come back for the conference meets in January."
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