The men's and women's swimming teams faced a tough weekend of competition in back-to-back duel meets against top-tier ACC opponents. On Saturday the swimmers traveled up to Charlottesville to take on Virginia's 11th-ranked men's team and 12th-ranked women's team. The Cavalier men swept the Blue Devils 162-118, their women by a score of 156.5-121.5. Following the meet, Duke returned home for a Sunday afternoon meet against No. 16 Maryland, which likewise swept the Blue Devils.
Despite two years of heavy recruiting that may result in the best win-loss record the swimmers have seen in years, they still lack the depth or fire-power to compete with other ACC teams. As the only team in the conference without scholarships, Duke has traditionally looked to its individual stars to put up good performances on days when the team cannot win.
"The team has kept so competitive, kept their heads in it as long as they think they have a chance
Duke had only two individual winners against Virginia Saturday. Sophomore Ryan Spoon won the 200-breaststroke (2:04.75) and freshman Allison Watson finished first in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:07.48).
Freshman Trevor Yates logged a new personal best time in the 200-yard freestyle, clocking in at 1:43.54.
For Virginia's part, the meet was mostly a quiet one. A notable exception came during the men's 1,000-yard freestyle, however, when the Cavaliers' Ian Prichard set a new ACC record with his time of 9:02.90.
The Blue Devils fared better against Maryland Sunday, grabbing the top spot in six events. Freshman Conor O'Brien won the 100-freestyle in 47.76 and freshman Travis French touched first in the 200-freestyle
On the women's side, freshman Lauren Cornet was the only swimmer to win an event, placing first in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:04.71.
The other two wins came from freshman diver Amanda Davis, who for the first time in her college career, swept both the three-meter and one-meter diving competitions.
"It was a rough weekend, but there were some bright spots," assistant coach Whitney Greene said. "To be able to go lifetime bests at this point in the season where everyone is tired and broken down is really impressive."
Despite the conference woes, Thompson only faces more of the same ahead, with a detour Saturday-a home match against Davidson.
"Our focus right now is changing from dual meets to the ACC Championship," said Thompson. "But we'll bounce back against Davidson and have a good meet this weekend."
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