DURHAM, N.C. – A pair of Blue Devils swept the ACC Male and Female Swimmer of the Week awards Tuesday after leading Duke to season-opening victories over Pittsburgh Saturday at Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion. Freshman Mickayla Hinkle was named the conference's Female Swimmer of the Week while junior Peter Kropp took home Male Swimmer of the Week honors for the second time in his career.
Hinkle impressed in her collegiate debut, winning both backstroke events to help the women's team defeat the Panthers, 178-115. She broke the Blue Devils' facility record and surpassed the NCAA provisional time standard in the 100-yard backstroke with a 54.55 performance. That mark was also good for the best in the country to date and the third-fastest in program history. The Woodbury, Minn., native added a first-place finish in the 200 backstroke, with her time of 2:00.29 ranking eighth nationally and ninth in Duke's all-time record books.
At the beginning of the meet, Hinkle helped set a Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion record as the leadoff on the Blue Devils' 200 medley relay, which took first in 1:41.27.
Kropp clocked the nation's top times in the 100 and 200 breaststroke as the Duke men dispatched Pitt by a 193-101 margin. The 2015 NCAA qualifier was just off this year's automatic standard in the 100, with the 52.13 showing breaking his own facility record in the event. He then became the first male swimmer in the country to go under the two-minute mark in the 200 breaststroke this season at 1:59.01.
Kropp, who hails from Los Angeles, was also a part of a record-setting 200 medley relay. He turned in a 24.02 breaststroke leg as the returning NCAA-qualifying group of Kaz Takabayashi, Kropp, David Armstrong and James Peek reset its own Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion record at 1:27.75.
For his 100 breaststroke swim, Kropp was also recognized with Swimming World's Performance of the Week.
The Blue Devil men and women return to action Friday, Oct. 23 when they welcome Florida State and Queens University to Durham for a 5 p.m. meet.
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