Women's soccer star Sherrill Kester became just the second player in U.S. Women's National Team history to score twice in her first international match, as she recorded two goals and an assist in an 8-1 U.S. victory over the Czech Republic Friday.
The U.S. team is competing in the annual Australia Cup, which also features the national teams from Sweden and Australia in addition to the United States and Czech Republic.
Kester wrapped up her Duke career this fall, finishing second among all-time Duke leaders with 78 career points and 35 goals.
Men's hoops seeks new recruit: According to The News & Observer of Raleigh, the Blue Devils, who have already signed point guard Chris Duhon, are now pursuing Robert Swain of Atlanta. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard narrowed his list of colleges to Duke, Auburn, SMU and Rutgers.
Swain is averaging 30 points a game for Tri-Cities High School, and according to Swain's coach, the Blue Devils have offered the senior a scholarship.
Carrawell earns award: Senior Chris Carrawell was named the ACC player of the week after helping Duke pick up its first two conference wins of the season. In a 109-100 overtime win over Virginia, Carrawell scored 25 and followed that performance with a 20-point effort Sunday against Maryland.
The St. Louis native shot 12-of-13 from the free-throw line over the two games and contributed six blocks, two steals and seven assists.
Cass named ACC wrestler of the week: Sophomore Thomas Cass was named the first ACC wrestler of the week of the season after going 3-0 last week against his opponents at the Old Dominion Quadrangle meet Sunday.
Cass, who wrestles in the 184-lb. class, defeated Brad Krepps of Old Dominion 9-3, then topped Dale Griffin of VMI 6-5. Cass also won a 3-2 match over Seton Hall's Fikret Darzanoff, who is currently ranked 17th nationally in the Intermat rankings. Along with Cass, senior Alex Hunt also went undefeated, recording a 3-0 record in the heavyweight division.
But beyond their top two, the Blue Devils did not fare well as a team, dropping three matches at the meet. Duke was soundly beaten by the Pirates, 28-6, and suffered a two-point defeat to VMI and a six-point loss to ODU.
Last night, the Blue Devils lost another close match, this time falling to Appalachian State 16-15 in Boone, N.C. The match came down to the final bout, but Cass' 8-2 win over Lucas Smith was not enough to qualify for a major decision, giving the Mountaineers the win.
Appalachian State built a 16-9 lead through the first eight matches when Matt Hoover won at the 174-lb. level to put the fate of the match in the hands of Cass.
Track & Field opens season: The men's and women's track teams began their seasons Saturday at the George Mason Invitational.
Junior Ellie Culp was the only Blue Devil to win an event, taking the 3,000-meter race in 10:28.14. The Duke women had two other top-three finishers in sophomore Katie Atlas, who finished the 1,000-meters in 2:57.27 and freshman Sheela Agrawal, who clocked a 5:00.04 in the mile. Sophomores Heather Ryan and Kim Hanauer each recorded fourth-place finishes in the 800-meters and shot put, respectively.
The men's team had four top-five performances, including second-place efforts by Bill Spierdowis and Michael McKeever. Spierdowis took runner-up honors in the 1,000-meters with a time of 2:27.23.
McKeever, meanwhile, finished the 3,000-meters in 8:38.84. Freshman Neal D'Amato finished fourth in the mile and senior James Vasek placed fifth in the 500-meter dash.
Men's lacrosse inks 11 players: The men's lacrosse program added 11 players to its roster for the 2000-2001 season, coach Mike Pressler announced yesterday.
The Blue Devils signed four attackmen, two midfielders, three defensemen, one attackman/midfielder and one goalkeeper to the squad.
"We feel we addressed our needs at both ends of the field. It is one of the deepest and most athletic groups we have assembled in a while," Pressler said.
Baseball begins preseason: New head coach Bill Hillier ran his first practice Saturday afternoon at historic Jack Coombs Field. The former UNC-Asheville coach reported that all 21 players on his roster reported to the practice.
"We scrimmaged Saturday and Sunday," Hillier said in a statement. "The pitchers are a little ahead of the batters right now but that's to be expected. We had two good days of practice. We've had a few nagging injuries but overall we're pretty healthy."
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