Swimming and Diving to Close Out Dual Meet Season at Duke

Jan. 28, 2009

CLEMSON, SC – The Clemson men’s and women’s swimming and diving will close out the dual meet season on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. with a dual-meet against Duke at the Taishoff Aquatic Pavilion. The Clemson women enter the meet at 4-4 (3-3 ACC), while the men are 2-6 (0-5 ACC) and in search of their first conference win in order to avoid going winless in the ACC for the first time since 1991-92.

The women carry a 16-0 all-time record against the Blue Devils, who sit at 7-2 (3-1 ACC), but will match up with #10 North Carolina on Friday night. The Duke men are having a strong season and are guaranteed to finish above .500 for the first time in four seasons, going 5-2 (1-2 ACC) in the dual meet season so far with meet against UNC and Clemson still to come.

Last season, the Tigers defeated Duke on both the men’s and women’s side in McHugh Natatorium. The two squads last matched up in Durham in the 2005-06 season, with Clemson taking both decisions.

The meet will feature several races to watch, one of which is Clemson’s Katrina Obas and Duke’s Meredith Bannon in the 200 breast. The Distance events will also be a spectacle, as Duke’s Ashley Twichell, an All-American in the mile, will go head-to-head with Cassy LaRussa in both distance events.

Clemson’s duo of Tom Recko and Chris Dart will try and take down Duke’s Spencer Booth, the Devil’s top backstroke threat. Also on the men’s side, the 400 free relay figures to be a tight battle, with both teams’ season bests within a second of one another.

Following the dual meet, the Tigers and Devils will be off until the ACC Championships. The women’s championships and diving championships take place from Feb. 18-21 in College Park, MD. The men’s swimming portion will be held Feb. 25-28 at the same venue. Additionally, the Tigers divers will compete in the NCAA Zone diving competition in Knoxville on Mar. 12-15.