After an unprecedented upset over defending national champion Old Dominion and its first ACC win in two years, field hockey just keeps on rolling.
Wednesday, the NCAA announced the 11th-ranked Blue Devils' berth in the first round of the NCAA Field Hockey Tournament.
This is Duke's first bid since 1996, which was also coach Liz Tchou's first year on the job.
"The kids did it," Tchou said. "I'm just real proud of them for all the hard work they put in. This is the most together team that we've had and it's only fitting because the last time we made the tournament, our seniors were all freshmen."
Tomorrow at 1:30 p.m., Duke will face No. 5 Michigan (17-6) in the first round at Winston-Salem, rounding out an unprecedented five-team ACC showing in the 16-team tournament.
On paper, both teams match up evenly. The Blue Devils and the Wolverines have played four of the same opponents, both defeating Radford, but falling to North Carolina, James Madison and Virginia.
Virginia also ended Duke's ACC championship hopes by trouncing the Blue Devils in the first round of the tournament, 2-0.
Michigan, on the other hand, won its first Big Ten championship when no one believed the third seed had a chance. The Wolverines swept the tournament and received their first-ever NCAA bid.
"We are happy with the draw," Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz said. "Duke is a lot like us. They have been on a roll recently and have played a lot of tough competition."
Offensively, the Blue Devils bring senior high-scorer Corey Ceccolini with 19 goals and 42 points. Wolverine sharpshooter Kelli Gannon matches Ceccolini with 16 goals and 40 points of her own.
"We have a great chance, although Michigan is going to be tough," Tchou said. "But again, we have to play our game. We have to come with a strong passing game and strong team defense."
Although her team has yet to play the Wolverines this season, Tchou knows the Michigan coaching staff well.
"Their head coach and assistant were my teammates at the 1996 Olympics," Tchou said. "We said we'll hang out one night [at the tournament]."
Wake Forest and James Madison join Duke and Michigan at Wake, playing on the rare sand turf surface that may tilt the scales in favor of the ACC teams because they have more experience playing on it.
"You've got Michigan that's coming in with three straight wins, but we just have to beat them once," Tchou said. "I know the team's hungry enough."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.