DURHAM, N.C. - Northwestern swimming and diving will return to dual competition for a two-day meet in Durham, N.C., going head-to-head with Duke. The meet will begin on Friday, Nov. 6, at 5 p.m. CT, and continue on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 11 a.m. CT.
The ‘Cats look to capture their third dual meet wins of the season, after previously sweeping Miami-Ohio and Notre Dame at home. The last time Northwestern went on the road was Oct. 9, when it fell in Bloomington, Ind., to highly ranked Texas and Indiana squads in a tri-meet.
In October’s edition of the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association (CSCAA) Top 25, Northwestern’s men’s team ranked No. 17, while the women received three votes. Duke’s women’s team is currently ranked No. 21.
Northwestern last faced Duke in November 2025, when the men won 216-118, and the women fell 192-142 to the Blue Devils.
Scouting the Blue Devils
The Blue Devils have competed in three dual meets to start their season, sporting mixed records across those competitions.
Duke’s men’s team opened the season with a 193-106 win over Davidson, before falling 220.5-79.5 to North Carolina and 206-94 to Virginia Tech. The squad returns one 2025-26 ACC Championships scorer in senior Jack Smith, who finished 21st in the 100 Breast and 24th in the 200 Breast to help the Blue Devils to a 14th-place finish at the meet last spring.
The Blue Devils also sport sophomores Charlie Kulp and Cade Anderson, who were the team’s two event winners in Duke’s dual meet against UNC. Kulp won the 200 and 500 Free events, while Anderson won the 200 Back. Kulp also won the 1000 Free against Virginia Tech, clocking the third-fastest time in program history (9:09.65).
The No. 21 Duke women beat Davidson 246.5-53.5 and Virginia Tech 147-98, but fell to North Carolina 179.5-120.5. The women’s side is coming off a 2025-26 campaign where they placed eighth at the ACC Championships and 21st at the NCAA Championships.
Senior Ali Pfaff and junior Keira Lu are the Blue Devils’ returning NCAA qualifiers on the women’s side. Pfaff finished as high as 24th in the 100 Back at NCAAs, following up a fifth-place result in the event at the ACC Championships. She also won the 100 and 200 Free in Duke’s most recent contest against Virginia Tech.
Meanwhile, Lu placed 31st in the one-meter diving event at NCAAs last season. She won both the one-meter and three-meter contests against the Hokies.
Wildcats to Watch
Last week, 11 Northwestern swimmers competed at the USA Swimming Short Course World Trials, which were held in the short course meters (25m) format. Out of those 11 swimmers, Stuart Seymour, Diego Nosack and Zoe Nordmann each earned finals swims and top-eight finishes.
Northwestern’s top scorer against Notre Dame was Josh Staples, who picked up wins in the 100 Breast (52.67), 200 Breast (1:56.92) and 200 IM (1:46.43). Staples also competed at World Trials, where he placed as high as 11th in the 100 Breast (59.03) and 100 IM (54.59).
According to USA Swimming data, Seymour’s 100 Backstroke season-best (45.32) ranks him as the fourth-fastest swimmer in the NCAA, while his 100 Fly time (45.70) ranks seventh overall. He set those season-bests at Northwestern’s dual meet against Notre Dame, where he won both races. Earlier this season, Seymour earned his second career Big Ten Men’s Swimmer of the Week award.
Flawia Kamzol, Maggie Papanicholas, Zoe Nordmann and Chloe Sharpe all picked up two individual event wins on the women’s side against the Fighting Irish. Nordmann is also coming off a World Trials where she finished third in the 800 Free, the highest individual placement of all Wildcats at the meet.
Kamzol also placed fourth in the 50 and 100 Fly at trials, but was ineligible to qualify for finals as an international swimmer.