Duke Women Surge to Win Over North Carolina While Tar Heel Men Triumph
The North Carolina Tar Heels made the short trip north to Durham Friday to take on Duke in dual-meet action. As expected, the UNC men won big by a 205-95 margin, but Duke’s women managed a 158-142 victory in the latest installment of this rivalry.
The Duke women opened the meet with a dominant effort in the 200 medley relay. Ali Pfaff, Kaelyn Gridley, Heather White and Tatum Wall combined for a time of 1:36.02. Pfaff had the Blue Devils’ first individual win in the 100 backstroke, clocking 51.50 while teammate Tierney Lenahan made it a 1-2 finish. Gridley finished two seconds clear of anyone esle in the 100 breaststroke with her time of 59.07 while Wall dominated the freestyle sprints, going 21.94 in the 50 and 48.24 in the 100.
Pfaff again was victorious in the 200 back, touching in 1:52.49, and Gridley doubled up in the 200 breast (2:10.04). White took the win in the 100 butterfly (53.18), and Keira Lu topped 1-meter diving (331.13). Wall, Pfaff, Clare Logan and White picked up the win in the 400 free relay by more than five seconds, clocking 3:14.32.
North Carolina’s Lily Reader led the way in the 1000 free in 9:53.19. and teammate Maren Conze won a tight 200 free in 1:47.64. Mary Macaulay grabbed first in the 200 butterfly (1:56.17). The Tar Heels had a 1-2-3 finish in the 500 free, with Conze leading the way in 4:50.59, and Macaulay was the only swimmer under 2:00 in the 200 IM (1:58.79).
For the men, the UNC “B” team of Reid Miller, Xavier Ruiz, Louis Dramm and Nate Holm won the 200 medley relay in 1:27.39, just 0.14 clear of the A-squad. Josh Parent cruised to a win in the 1000 free (9:07.32), and David Quaresma led the way in the 200 free with a strong time of 1:36.43. Dramm scored first in the 100 back in 47.71, with UNC sweeping the top-four positions, and Ruiz claimed first in the 100 breast.
Ben Delmar, the breaststroker who broke out with four medals at this summer’s World University Games, had strong wins in the 200 breast (1:55.02) and 200 IM (1:47.10). Seb Lunak topped the 200 fly in 1:46.43 before Sean Setzer touched first in the 50 free (20.05) and 100 free (44.08). David Melnychuk followed with a win in the 200 back (1:45.67). Parent’s second victory came in the 500 free (4:25.21), and Dramm’s second was in the 100 fly (47.27).
Dramm, Setzer, Quaresma and Lunak completed the day with another easy win in the 400 free relay, clocking 2:55.07 while the Tar Heels again went 1-2.
The only victories for the Duke men came in Diving, with Charlie Berman winning 1-meter (316.28) and Yannis Schattman placing first on 3-meter (360.90).
