Duke emerged victorious in its second consecutive meet after besting the field at the Mary Keating Invitational Saturday in Orono, Maine.
The Blue Devils were led by junior Maddie McKeever, who was running in her first meet of the season and was the individual winner in the 5K race with a time of 16:59.40.
The second-place finisher, Yale's Lindsay Donaldson, clocked in 16 seconds after McKeever.
It was a team effort, however, as Duke runners dominated the top-10. Sophomore Kate Van Buskirk came in fifth with a time of 17:37.20, followed by teammates Patricia Loughlin, Emily Sherrard and Christy Adamyk, who finished in the seventh, eighth and ninth places, respectively.
Three other Blue Devils-Emily Schwitzer, Shelley Forbers and Molly Lehman-boosted the team's points total by crossing the finish line within the top 20.
The team next competes in the Hagan Stone XC Classic Oct. 6 in Greensboro.
Nelson named as captain
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced Friday that senior DeMarcus Nelson will be his team's captain for the 2007-2008 season.
The 6-foot-4 guard, who is the lone senior on the squad, was also a team captain last season, when he averaged a team-high 14.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest.
"As our only senior and four-year letterwinner, DeMarcus has grown into quite a leader," Krzyzewski said. "This has been recognized by his teammates and coaches, so instead of having multiple leaders we are looking for DeMarcus to do that on his own this year. "
The Blue Devils open practice Oct. 12.
- from staff reports
Duke in 7th after Day 1
Defending their 2006 tournament title, the Blue Devils found themselves in seventh place after the first two rounds of play at the Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill.
Duke struggled early in the day, finishing the first round with a collective 14-over 294, but the team fought its way back in the second round, posting a 9-over 289.
The Blue Devils were led Sunday by sophomore Adam Long, who carded a 74 in the first round and 72 in the second. Long had ten bogeys on the day, but began the second round strong, firing two birdies over the first four holes. His solid play helped him move into a share of 22nd place, finishing with a 6-over 146.
Oklahoma State leads the field after firing a second-round team total of 5-under 275. The team's 7-over 567 for the day gave them a three-stroke lead over second-place Texas.
Duke tees off today at 7:45 a.m. in the third and final round of the Invitational.
- by Kyle Lambrecht
Blue Devils host Alumni Match
Thirteen of Duke's best, including five former All-Americans, returned to Ambler Stadium on Saturday to take on the current Blue Devil squad in the third annual Duke Tennis Alumni Match.
The alumni faced off against the current roster in a mini dual match, consisting of single set doubles and singles contests. The alumni played the current roster to a 5-5 tie.
Current teams are now 2-0-1 against the alumni.
Head coach Jay Lapidus was happy just to see so many of his former players.
"It's just good to see them all in person," he said. "It brings back a lot of memories."
The team also hosted an alumni-only single point tournament. Recent graduate Joey Atas took first with several impressive points, including an epic semi-final win over Geoff Grant. Atas was more excited about being back at Duke after graduating in 2007.
"It's awesome, coming back to see everyone," he said. "Win or lose, I had a great day."
Former All-American Grant was named Alumni Weekend MVP, going 2-0 on the weekend, remaining undefeated in Alumni Weekend matches.
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