From staff reports
Duke's sports teams have been busy this summer.
Since the end of final exams, four Blue Devil squads have competed in NCAA tournaments and 10 Duke athletes have been named All-Americans.
Lacrosse: The men's lacrosse team's season, full of surprises, came to a sudden end on May 13, when Notre Dame shocked the Blue Devils, 12-10, in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The game, which Duke hosted, marked the first time that the Fighting Irish had ever beaten an Atlantic Coast Conference team and the first time a No. 5 seed had fallen to a No. 12 seed in the NCAA tournament.
"Notre Dame beat us today," Duke head coach Mike Pressler said after the game. "They outplayed us in every phase of the game. They deserved to win today."
Following the NCAAs, Duke continued its history-making trend as five Blue Devils were named All-Americans. It was the first time since 1952 that five Blue Devils had received that accolade, and the first time in Duke history for five players to be named to the first three teams. Matt Ogelsby, Trinity '95, was selected to the first team, and his classmates Scott Harrison and Ross Moscatelli were named to the third team. Senior Joe Kirmser and junior Tyler Hardy were also chosen for the third team.
"One of the exciting things about this is that we will have two of the players back next year," Pressler said.
Men's tennis: Head coach Jay Lapidus' team was expecting a run through the NCAAs this year. An unlucky draw cut those plans short, however. Even though the Blue Devils were ranked No. 9 in the country, they were placed in the 13-16 draw in the NCAAs. Duke's situation got decidedly worse when it drew top-ranked and undefeated Stanford for its first-round opponent.
"We really got what I thought was a very unjust situation," Lapidus said of having to play Stanford in the first round. "I thought it was awful."
The Cardinal beat Duke, 4-1, on May 14 in Athens, Ga., in a matchup which was closer than the score indicated.
Before advancing to the NCAAs, the Blue Devils cleaned up in the Region II qualifier, defeating Clemson 4-1 and Virginia Commonwealth 4-0.
In the individual NCAA tournament the week after the team competition, three Duke players set some school records by advancing further than any other Blue Devils in history. Chris Pressley, Trinity '95, advanced to the quarterfinals of the singles, where he fell to eventual champion Sargis Sargsian. Seniors Rob Chess and Peter Ayers reached the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament, where they were defeated by Paul Goldstein and Scott Humphries of Stanford.
"To have three All-Americans is great," Lapidus said. "It's nice for the individuals to do well."
Women's tennis: Last summer, head coach Geoff Macdonald left Duke--one of the nation's top programs--to take over Vanderbilt's women's team. What he left for incoming coach Jody Hyden was a team full of talent and experience--a wonderful gift for any new head coach.
The Blue Devils, who showed their usual strength in the conference as they captured their eighth straight ACC championship in April, looked to be a strong contender in the NCAAs.
Duke did indeed prove to be a tough team to beat at the NCAA tournament in Malibu, Calif. The Blue Devils began the tourney by beating Arizona 5-1 on May 12 to advance to the quarterfinals, where they suffered a heartbreaking 5-4 loss to Georgia two days after their opening-round victory.
"Georgia played really well, and we gave it everything we had, on every court," Hyden said. "They were stronger than us when it came down to doubles--they played better. We fought hard and did the best we could."
Even though the Duke team failed to advance past the Bulldogs, Monica Mraz and Wendy Lyons, both Trinity '95, garnered All-America honors as they advanced to the quarterfinals of the doubles competition. The Duke tandem fell to eventual champions Keri Phebus and Susie Starrett of UCLA, 6-1, 6-7, 6-3.
"I think we played well," Lyons said. "I think we could have won that match."
In singles play, Georgia's Stacy Sheppard ousted Lyons in the first round, while Mraz was upset in the second round by Texas' Farley Taylor.
Women's golf: The women's golf team hoped to finish off a strong year with a solid showing at the NCAA tournament in Wilmington, and it was able to do that on the final day of the tournament. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, Duke's play in the first three rounds was merely mediocre--leaving it in 11th place in the tournament, which lasted from May 24-27.
"I'm still trying to figure out why we ended up playing about 10 strokes off each day of what we're capable of," head coach Dan Brooks said after the tournament. "You couldn't put it on any one finger. You certainly couldn't put it on anybody not giving it everything they had, so what can you say?"
Prior to the NCAA championship, the Blue Devils placed third in the NCAA East Regional in Memphis, Tenn., finishing just 10 strokes behind region champion and ACC rival Wake Forest.
Pam Soliman, Trinity '95, and senior Kathi Poppmeier were both selected to the All-Scholar golf team at the NCAAs. It marked Soliman's third consecutive spot on the team.
Men's track: After many close tries, the 4x800-meter relay team finally shattered one of Duke's oldest track and field records. Pat Kelly, Trinity '95, seniors Doug Kling and Miles Hall and sophomore Mike Park beat the 1971 record by almost three seconds at the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America outdoor meet held at George Mason University on May 21.
"[The record] has been a nemesis to [the current team]," head coach Al Buehler said. "They've been close, but no cigar, and they don't have the big gun like [former Duke runner and Olympian] Bob Wheeler sitting there . . . All four of those guys can take great pride that they pulled it off as a team."
Senior T. J. Redmon was also named All-East in the decathlon with his 6,516-point performance over the weekend. Redmon placed eighth in the event, setting personal best marks in eight events. He barely missed breaking the IC4A record for the decathlon discus with his 45.40 meter throw.
Baseball: The Blue Devils could not recover from their late-season slide, as they fell to Maryland, 10-3, in the play-in game of the ACC tournament in Greenville, S.C. on May 16. Duke was able to stay within striking distance for seven innings, but its relief pitchers could not keep the Terrapins at bay.
"We just basically were having trouble finding somebody in our bullpen to go out and get people out," head coach Steve Traylor said following the game. "The guys we put in there weren't able to get people out. We just needed a bullpen."
Men's golf: Senior Joe Ogilvie competed in a local qualifier for the U.S. Open, finishing sixth out of over 80 golfers. The Blue Devil advanced to one of 10 sectional qualifiers across the country, but could not garner a bid to the U.S. Open.
Ogilvie also competed as an individual in the NCAA East Regional held in New Haven, Conn. He finished 10 strokes behind the leader, placing 42nd.
"I just didn't putt well at all," Ogilvie said of his play at the regional. "I can think of at least five putts that I should have made that could have been the difference."
Other sports updates: Six Blue Devils are currently competing in their respective sports at the U.S. Olympic Festival in Denver. Men's basketball sophomore Ricky Price is playing on the West team, while women's basketball junior Kira Orr and incoming freshman Payton Black are on the East team. Women's soccer seniors Kelly Walbert, Katherine Remy and Cara Lyons are all on the South team.
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