Dukes Open 2025-26 Slate This Weekend

Duquesne @ Pitt Relays (Swimming)

Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025 • 11:00 a.m.

Pittsburgh, Pa. • Trees Pool

Duquesne @ Clarion Diving Fall Classic (Diving)

Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025 • 12:00 p.m.

Clarion, Pa. • Waldo S. Tippin Natatorium

OFF THE STARTING BLOCK

– The Duquesne University swimming and diving crew opens its 2025-26 season this weekend with a split-squad begin to the yr. The swimmers open the season on the Pitt Relay, whereas the divers head to the Clarion Diving Fall Classic on Saturday, Oct. 11.

– Duquesne is led by longtime head coach David Sheets, who will enter his twenty fifth season on the helm in 2025-26. A 3-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year (2015, 2018, 2019), Sheets has guided the Dukes to sustained success, highlighted by back-to-back A-10 championships in 2018 and 2019, a runner-up end in 2022, and a third-place exhibiting this previous season.

– Entering the 2025-26 marketing campaign, the Dukes return 16 student-athletes, bolstered by eight incoming freshmen and one switch. Duquesne showcased its depth ultimately season’s A-10 Championships, amassing 13 medals, setting seven faculty data, posting 5 NCAA B-cut occasions, and celebrating one Atlantic 10 Most Outstanding Rookie.

– That honor went to sophomore Ashley Freel, who turned simply the third freshman in program historical past to obtain the award. Freel delivered a formidable championship debut, securing three podium finishes, posting a private greatest, and serving to the Dukes set up a brand new faculty file.

– The Dukes excelled within the 200-yard backstroke, sweeping the highest two spots in a record-breaking efficiency. Sophomore Sierra Snow earned silver with a personal-best and NCAA B-cut time of 1:55.91.

– Junior Lexi Sundgren additionally returns after securing silver within the 200-yard freestyle, clocking 1:49.41, whereas senior Sydney Severini is again following a standout swim within the 200-yard breaststroke. Severini claimed bronze with a personal-best 2:11.92, a mark that doubled as a college file and NCAA B-cut time.

– Off the dicing board, the Dukes return a pair of divers who certified for the NCAA Diving Zones this previous season. Senior Ashley Felitsky and sophomore Brianne Dempsey trying to tempo Duquesne this season.

– Felitsky delivered a formidable efficiency on the NCAA Diving Zones final season, ending thirty first within the one-meter dive with a ultimate rating of 239.75 throughout six dives. Among all Atlantic 10 opponents, she emerged as the highest finisher. On Monday, she additionally competed within the three-meter dive, incomes a rating of 194.95. It marked the third time at zones for the one-meter dive and her first for the three-meter.

– Dempsey, competing in her first NCAA Diving Zones, made a powerful debut within the one-meter dive. She completed 56th out of 81 divers, posting a ultimate rating of 208.25 over six dives. Notably, she outperformed a number of divers from Power Five applications

 

Preseason Poll – According to a ballot of Atlantic 10 coaches, the Duquesne University swimming & diving crew has been picked to complete third within the convention for the 2025-26 season. The Dukes amassed 83 factors within the ballot with one first-place vote. George Washington was the chosen because the preseason favourite with seven first-place tallies and 97 complete factors. Richmond was tabbed second with two first-place votes and 83 factors whereas Duquesne, Davidson (59), and Fordham (57) rounded out the highest 5. George Mason was chosen to complete sixth with 51 factors, adopted by La Salle, St. Bonaventure, Rhode Island, and Saint Louis rounding out the ballot.

New Face On The Bluff – This previous August, head coach David Sheets introduced the hiring of Alexa Gonczi as the brand new diving coach for the Dukes. Gonczi, a local of Monaca, Pa., arrives on the Bluff to launch her teaching profession following an distinctive collegiate diving journey. A six-time All-American and four-time NCAA qualifier at PennWest Clarion, she made her mark as one of many program’s most adorned athletes. In her junior yr with the Golden Eagles, Gonczi turned the sixtieth NCAA champion in Clarion’s storied swimming and diving historical past, claiming the three-meter title on the NCAA Championships. Competing in her first profession finals, she delivered a standout efficiency, ending with a rating of 505.00 throughout six dives in a aggressive discipline of 21 divers. She was named a three-time All-American by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). Her standout performances culminated in being honored because the CSCAA Women’s Diver of the Year in 2024.

75 Greatest – Head coach David Sheets has earned a spot on the “75 Greatest Male Athletes” record introduced by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) in celebration of its seventy fifth anniversary. Sheets, a 1994 Clarion University graduate and 2017 Hall of Fame inductee, was a 20-time NCAA Division II All-American and nine-time PSAC champion. An excellent backstroke and particular person medley specialist, he starred for the Golden Eagles males’s swimming and diving program from 1990-93 beneath legendary coach Bill Miller, incomes recognition as each a pacesetter within the pool and as crew captain his senior yr. The 1992 season was a historic one for Sheets, as he swept the PSAC titles in each the 100 and 200 backstroke whereas main Clarion to the convention championship and a exceptional runner-up end on the NCAA Championships, the very best nationwide end in program historical past. 

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