Lexi Duffy ’24, a senior swimmer from North Kingstown, R.I., celebrated her senior night with a dominant 204-55 win over Franklin and Marshall College last Saturday at Ware Pool. Swarthmore women’s swimming finished their regular season with a perfect dual-meet record for the third-consecutive season and swept Centennial Conference play for the fourth-straight year. Duffy was integral to Swarthmore’s success over the weekend, winning two events to highlight seven individual winners. Duffy swam her personal best in the 100 meter backstroke with a time of 57.98, moving into third all-time in program history. Duffy later led a top-three sweep in the 200 meter backstroke with a time of 2:05.34. The Garnet currently boast 31-consecutive conference victories and 29-consecutive dual-meet wins. Duffy and the team will return to action at the Swarthmore Invitational this Friday and Saturday, before competing in the Centennial Conference Championships at the end of February.
Sophia Vesely: Can you tell us about the team’s success this weekend?
Lexi Duffy: Everyone swam well, which was a very exciting way to end our dual-meet season. As usual, the energy on deck was really good, and everyone was super supportive of each other. We are always excited to watch each other race and cheer each other on, which was definitely a major factor in our success this weekend!
SV: How did it feel to finish the regular season with a perfect dual-meet record for the third-straight season?
LD: It’s really exciting! Everyone on our team works so hard, and we are all so supportive of each other, so to end our season this way was very rewarding. I think it highlights how much effort we all put into being as successful as we can be and also how hard our coaches work to get us to this success.
SV: How did it feel to win two events on your senior night?
LD: I honestly just wanted to enjoy my last two races at Ware Pool and happened to get my best times in both events, which was more special to me than winning. The 200 meter backstroke has always been my favorite event, so it was really nice to get to race it one more time here on senior night with my teammates that always support me and push me in practice.
SV: What are some of the team’s goals for the rest of the season?
LD: We are hoping to win our Conference Championship again this year and send as many people as possible to NCAAs. But overall, we have all been working on different things in practice that we want to execute at our championship meets and hopefully drop time!
SV: What are some of your personal goals for the rest of the season?
LD: This is the end of my swim career, so I really just want to enjoy the rest of my time on the team and perform well at conferences!
SV: Do you have any pre- or post-meet rituals?
LD: Not really. Sometimes, I rewatch some of my previous races to mentally prepare
myself for the meet but that’s about it.
SV: Why did you choose Swarthmore, and what are you studying?
LD: I really liked the team and all of the classes that I attended when I visited on my recruiting trip. I thought the campus was beautiful, and everyone I met seemed to enjoy being here! I’m studying biology and economics and will be starting medical school this summer.
SV: What is your favorite Dining Center bar?
LD: The ice cream bar, especially when they have cookie dough ice cream!
