Women's lacrosse readies for weekend matchups

Following its first-ever trip to the ACC tournament final, the fourth-ranked women's lacrosse team is preparing for two more games before heading into the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight year. Remaining for Duke are regular-season matches with James Madison tomorrow and Dartmouth Sunday.

Although final tournament seeding may hinge on their performance against these schools, the Blue Devils are not worried. Instead of an obstacle to be overcome, they view the matches as an opportunity to prove to themselves just how good they really are.

"These two games are important," senior captain Babara Preston said. "We've had a phenomenal season, and we want to finish on a good note. Regardless of where we're seeded in the tournament, we want to go in confident, knowing that we have what it takes to go all the way. That's been in the back of our minds since day one, and I think we have the talent."

Following a disappointing 9-8 loss to Princeton in triple overtime in the elite eight last season, a return to the final four has been a goal for this year's team. Duke has measured its progress game by game, seeking constant improvement to reach its peak going into the tournament.

"We've had this motto on our team the past couple months," senior Amy Noble said. "Early in the season coach [Kerstin] Kimel kept telling us that we don't need to be 100 percent right now. We don't need to be the best we're going to be, we need to be the best we can be right now."

The result of its quest so far is a 12-3 record in the regular season, the highest winning percentage in the program's history. With wins in their next two games likely, the rising confidence and ability of the Blue Devils appears to put them in an excellent position to accomplish their tournament goals.

Standing in their way is ACC rival Maryland, the six-time defending national champions who has beaten Duke twice this year. If the Blue Devils are fortunate enough to make the latter rounds of the tournament, they will likely face the Terrapins once again. After the close 15-12 loss in the ACC tournament final, the coaches and team are confident.

"They looked beatable," said Kimel.