It looked as if it just might happen.
Nora Stupp had just finished first in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:04.57 and had defeated her closest competitor by a 2.4 second margin. An errant fire alarm had set the Taishoff Aquatic Center ablaze with an impressive display of flashbulbs that is usually reserved for an Olympic event. And most importantly, with just two events remaining, the Duke Women's Swimming and Diving team appeared to be in prime position to upset an ACC opponent--N.C. State.
Unfortunately, despite a first-place finish from Jackie Rodriguez in the 200 breaststroke and a victory by the Duke "A" team in the 400 freestyle relay, the Blue Devils were unable to come up with the second- and third-place finishes needed to nail down the win, and lost 121-120.
"It was really disappointing to lose so close," said Rodriguez, who finished first in the 1000 freestyle and has yet to lose in the 200 breaststroke this year. "Nevertheless, this was the first time in about 20 years that we even came close to beating N.C. State."
The buzz of excitement had begun right before the 500 free, when Duke finished 1-2 in the 200 backstroke. Katie Fay finished first in the event with a time of 2:04.88, and freshman Michelle Aristeo just touched out her third-place opponent with a time of 2:07.66.
"It felt great to win, especially at such a crucial point in the meet," Fay said. "For me to win and for Michelle to come second was clutch at that time and put us in great position with a chance to win the meet....People just swam their minds out today."
The men's side of the event was not as close, and despite several impressive performances, Duke fell to the Wolfpack by a score of 146-85.
"I think that we we're pretty happy with our performance," junior Teddy Helfers said. "They're a pretty good team, they're usually very strong at ACC's. Today we were competitive in a lot of events. In the last couple of years when we've swam against this team they've blown us out, so we're definitely making progress."
Helfers' time of 9:41.69 in the 1000 freestyle accounted for one of the Blue Devils' three victories in the men's side of the event. Duke was also victorious in the 400 freestyle relay, with a time of 3:11.88, and the 200 IM, thanks to John Humphrey's 1:55.10 finish. Duke's admirable effort against N.C. State comes only two days after both the men's and women's squads defeated Davidson 151-80 and 141-100, respectively.
"We didn't expect anything spectacular in terms of times," Duke assistant coach Lynzee Sharp said. "We were tired, we lifted yesterday, and we hadn't competed in a few weeks."
The Davidson meet also marked the return sophomore standout Katie Ness, who swam for the first time since injuring her knee. Ness won in both the 100 and 200 freestyle events.
"Ness was pretty impressive," Sharp said. "It was good to see her back in the water."
The Blue Devils will continue their schedule next Saturday when they face Virginia at home.
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