After the usual disappointing fall season, Duke sports rebounded during winter and spring competition to move into 19th in the Sears Director's Cup. Blue Devil athletics performed particularly well in the spring months, most notably with the women's golf team winning the school's sixth national championship.
However, while the Sears' cup ranking does not really deviate from Duke's norm over the past five years, the Blue Devils performance in the Carlyle Cup--the annual competition between Duke and UNC, collegiate athletics' best rivalry--was significantly lower, as Duke lost the yearly challenge to North Carolina 31-17.
The scoring gap is noticeably different from that of past years. Last season, Duke won in inaugural trophy, making a comeback in the spring to beat the Tar Heels 27-21. Approximate tallies using the cups' formula over the three previous years shows that had the trophy existed, the final numbers would have been within a few points as well.
"At the end of the winter we were at the exact same point we were last year," Athletic Director Joe Alleva said. "But last year we swept the spring and we won the cup. This year we didn't and we lost."
Alleva added that he thought the competition important in some circles, but did not think the Carlyle Cup "was a huge thing."
In the Sears Director's Cup, which is a similar competition, but for which all Division I schools compete in all NCAA sports, the Blue Devils currently sit in 19th.
The ranking, however, is subject to change because it does not include either the men's lacrosse team's run to the NCAA quarterfinals, or the baseball season, for which the Blue Devils will not be awarded any points. It is possible that Duke will move slightly up or down, but a huge shift is unlikely.
Duke, which finished 16th last season, and has an all-time high of seventh during the 1998-1999 sports years, relied on another good spring showing to catapult them upward.
However, despite their 19th place finish, their point total was significantly lower than last year, going from 722 points down to 530.5.
"I was disappointed with some of our spring sports," Alleva said, while adding that a lot of Duke teams during the spring season, most notably women's lacrosse and baseball, had injury problems. "Usually the spring is when we really jump [in the Sears' cup standings]."
Kirsten Kimel, the women's lacrosse coach, agreed with Alleva that her team was plagued by injuries, but could not be upset with its quarterfinal finish.
"You look at the big picture and I think we had a good season," Kimel said. "When you look at the injuries we had, it took a toll and we had to adjust with young group, so I think we did a good job."
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