RESULTS
 
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 1/2 Queens University of Charlotte men's and women's swimming teams kicked off the new year with an impressive showing against Duke University and the nationally ranked University of Tennessee Volunteers in Durham on Saturday afternoon. The Royals combined to win six events on the afternoon and the men managed to defeat the Blue Devils by a final score of 151-110 while falling just short of the Volunteers.
 
In the most recent CSCAA DII National Rankings, the Royals men checked in at No. 2 while the women are tied for the top spot accumulating 147 points. In the Division I rankings, the Volunteers men were tabbed No. 15 and the women were ranked No. 6.
 
The men's relay units were outstanding on Saturday grabbing the 200-yard medley relay and the 200-yard freestyle relay. In the medley relay, Finn Howard, Balazs Berecz, Matej Dusa, and Skyler Cook-Weeks took the top spot with a time of 1:27.85. In the freestyle relay, Skyler Cook-Weeks, Matej Dusa, Alex Kunert, Kimani Gregory teamed up to grab first place with a time of 1:19.47.
 
The Royals men saw success in the butterfly and freestyle events. In the 200-yard butterfly, Yannick Plasil finished first with a final time of 1:46.11 while teammate Alex Kunert grabbed second at 1:47.30. Kunert managed to also dominate the 100-yard butterfly and place second with a time of 48.07. In the freestyle sequence, Matej Dusa posted a first-place finish in the 50-yard event with a time of 19.76 and a second-place finish in the 100-yard at 44.00. Skyler Cook-Weeks would challenge Dusa in the 50-yard freestyle by grabbing second at 20.54.
 
Queens put together great runs in the 100-yard backstroke as Finn Howard took first place at 49.08, David Wahlen grabbed third at 49.94, and Andreas Marz finished fourth at 49.95. Rounding out the men's performance was a second place finish from Balazs Berecz in the 200-yard I.M.
 
Monica Gumina and Cece Mayer would lead the Royals women with a pair of dominant performances. In the 200-yard freestyle, Gumina finished third with a final time of 1:49.74. Fellow Royal Mia Leech would grab the fifth spot in the event at 1:53.26. Gumina would finish the afternoon with a fifth-place performance in the 100-yard freestyle. Cece Mayer would shine in the 100-yard butterfly finishing first with a time of 54.46. Mayer would proceed to finish fifth in the 50-yard freestyle despite only being a second off the leader.
 
The Royals will now turn their attention to another ACC opponent as they are scheduled to travel to Georgia Tech on Friday, Jan. 21. The meet will begin at 2:00 p.m. from Atlanta. Be sure to follow the Royals all season on Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date on all the latest news and updates. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics on social media @QueensAthletics to stay updated on all Royals sports.