The year in the Tobacco Road rivalry may be remembered for a pair of men's basketball games that were nothing short of breathtaking, but for a group of athletes and the spectators who looked on, there are other events that certainly have certainly already become indelible memories.
Away from grandeur of national television and ESPN's stage erected outside Cameron Indoor Stadium in early March, three of Duke's teams accomplished things they hadn't done in years--they beat the Tar Heels.
The trio of wins, scoring the Blue Devils four somewhat unexpected points in the 2003-2004 Carlyle Cup race, helped Duke capture its third victory in the cup's four year existence. The Blue Devils current sit in 15th position in Directors' Cup standings with their best season, the spring, still to be tabulated.
Duke's football, field hockey and wrestling teams all terminated long losing streaks versus the Tar Heels this year--the field hockey and wrestling teams went on to groundbreaking seasons and then-interim head coach Ted Roof may just have earned himself the top job with the win in his rival's stadium.
Under first-year head coach Beth Bozman, the field hockey squad beat North Carolina for the first time in 49 contests dating back to 1981 with a 5-0 shutout. The team had fallen earlier in the season to the Tar Heels and then earned the cup point with a win in the ACC Championship semifinals.
Only a month later, the Football team snapped its 13-game losing streak to the nearby foes, returning the victory bell to Durham after the Blue Devils were tantalizing close a year earlier, but lost 23-21 on a last second 47-yard fieldgoal.
Then in early February, the wrestling team came from behind to break the longest of the three streaks, a 21-year, 30-match drought.
But then again, who could forget those men's basketball games, never mind the two cup points that swung in Duke's favor. To the chagrin of the North Carolina faithful clearly preparing for the possibility of rushing the Dean Dome court, senior Chris Duhon took the ball 94 feet and slipped a reverse layup in the hoop as an unsuspecting North Carolina defense. Then to finish the regular season Duke earned a hard-fought victory in Cameron.
And remember way back when, North Carolina's chancellor James Moeser and Duke's president Nan Keohane stood as the two opposing voices to the ACC expansion--what a year it has been in the history of a great rivalry.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.