The Denver Swim and Dive team beat Tulane on Saturday afternoon in the Dual-A-Pool-Ooza, improving to 3-1 in duels this season. Denver scored 118 points against Tulane’s 87 points.

In the diving pool, sophomore Zora Opalka (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) qualified for an NCAA Zone meet by scoring 284.25 in the 3-meter dive, winning the event. 

Denver began the duel with a win in the 100 medley relay, clocking in at 46.79. Redshirt senior Heidi Bradley (Victoria, B.C.), freshman Brandi Vu (Longmont, Colo.), junior Josie Valette (Boulder, Colo.) and senior Lauren Moden (Parker, Colo.) took their third medley relay victory with their win.

In the 200 breast, the Pioneers swept spots 2-5, with strong performances from sophomore Ally Yancy (Cave Creek, Ariz.), who touched for second with 2:26.19, followed by Vu in third with 2:26.20. Sophomore Charlotte Simon (Saint Remy, France.) took fourth with 1:28.02, and sophomore Emily Vandenberg (Ajax, Ontario) took fifth in 1:29.57.

Sophomore Alysia Leckie (Georgetown, Ontario) placed first in the 50 free, with a time of 24.02. In the 200 fly, junior Julie Cronin (Marblehead, Mass.) won with a time of 2:06.68, and freshman McKayla Sanchez (Temecula, Calif.) took second place with 2:09.34. Bradley took first in the 100 back with a time of 55.80.

In the second session, Valette took second in the 200 free with a time of 1:55.68, followed by senior Avery Niemann (Oklahoma City, Okla.) in third with a time of 1:56.19. Vu out-swam the field in the 50 breast with a time of 29.59 to give Denver its fifth victory of the duel.

In the 100 IM, the Pioneers took four out of the top five spots, with Bradley taking first in 58.06, Cronin in third with 1:00.53, Yancy in fourth with 1:00.64 and Vandenberg in fifth with a time of 1:00.69.

In the final event, the 400 free relay, Leckie, Niemann, Valette and Moden took first with a time of 3:30.04, ending the weekend for the Pioneers with a high note.

The men’s team will open up its duel season with a trip to Air Force on Thursday, Oct. 25. They return on Saturday, Oct. 27 to host a meet with the women’s program against Wyoming, starting at 12 p.m. MST.