Even though the swim teams don't have another meet until Jan. 15, the time away from competition won't be easy. The Blue Devils will get a break from the pool after a tough pre-finals week of practice, but then they'll head to Fort Lauderdale for almost two weeks of high-yardage workouts.
The Duke men have posted a 1-6 record thus far, while the women are 3-4 and winners of three straight meets. Overall, however, the swimmers have been pleased with their times.
"We're right on target for this part of the season," senior Heather Winter said. "We rested some for the meet on Saturday and swam fast. A lot of people are close to their times when they were shaved and tapered last year."
Winter picked up her first two victories of the season Saturday when she captured the 200-yard breaststroke and butterfly. Amy Armond continued her stellar senior campaign with wins in the 1000 freestyle and 200 individual medley. She has placed first in 10 races-and five different events-in seven meets.
As the only non-scholarship program in the ACC, the Blue Devils try to focus more on individual times than team scores. But the three most recent meets have been particularly enjoyable, Winter said.
"They really bring the team together," she said. "Everyone gets excited and is cheering. It's great to be in a competitive meet."
For the men, senior Mark Rotblat has shone in his speciality, the 200 breaststroke, which he has already won three times. In the 200 breaststroke, freshman Chris Fleizach has quickly proven to be a force, with four victories already in his young career. And senior Chris Wise has captured the 1000 freestyle twice and the 500 freestyle once.
In the relays, the 400 freestyle team of junior Clint McHugh, sophomore Jack Newhouse, junior Brendan McGill and sophomore Matt Lynch has racked up three first-place finishes, including one that clinched the men's only win against College of Charleston.
After the break, Duke will have about a month and a half to prepare for the focal point of its season, the ACC Championships in late February. The goal of the difficult practices this week and in Florida is for the Blue Devils to have their fastest times at the conference meet.
"Everyone wants to do their best times at ACCs so we'll keep looking ahead at that," Winter said. "At our meets we're going to try to be competitive, but we'll also look toward ACCs."
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