It’s that time of (new) year again, when we take out a moment to look back at the year gone by. And what a year it was for the Duke Blue Devils, featuring countless exciting finishes, outstanding individual efforts, milestones, awards, and yes, two national championships. In four installments over the next four days, the Chronicle Sports Blog picks the best ten of these to celebrate a memorable year in Duke sports. Without further adieu, moments seven through five:
7. April 13: Henrique Cunha and Reid Carleton earn No.1 doubles ranking. While the tennis teams didn’t bring home any national championships in 2010, the duo of Reid Carleton and then freshman-phenom Henrique Cunha formed perhaps the most dominant Blue Devil team in 2010. Together, the pair went an astounding 41-6 over the Fall of 2009 and Spring of 2010, earning themselves the No. 1 doubles ranking in mid-April, an honor they would hold the rest of the season. Over that stretch, Cunha and Carleton beat 15 ranked opponents before falling in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament to Virginia.
Moreso, the arrival of a player the caliber of Cunha and the Brazilian’s subsequent success may be a sign of things to come for a developing tennis program. Cunha raised eyebrows in 2009 when he chose to come to Durham over more traditional tennis powers UCLA, Georgia and Virginia (he was so good as an amateur, some speculated he would jump right to the pros). He’s kept eyebrows raised with his play. Cunha has been nothing short of amazing for the Blue Devils over the course of a year and a half. Combined with the now-senior Carleton, who has raised his game to match the level of his more decorated teammate, the two were ranked preseason No. 1 in September, and went 12-2 in the Fall, winning the ITA Carolina Regional and the Duke Fab Four Invite.
6. December 10: Volleyball makes it to the Elite Eight. Head coach Jolene Nagel is used to being near the top of the ACC, but her teams don’t typically translate conference success into deep NCAA Tournament runs. In 2010, however, not only did Nagel’s Blue Devils win their third ACC Championship in the past five years, they stormed all the way to the Elite Eight, the furthest Tournament run in school history (Duke made the Elite Eight in 1993, but less than 64 teams competed then).
With five All-ACC selections, another team record, Duke smashed through the opening rounds of the tournament, disposing of High Point 3-0 and Ohio 3-2. In the team’s second ever Sweet 16 appearance, the No. 12 Blue Devils blew past Missouri 3-1, led by ACC Player of the Year Kellie Catanach and defensive stalwarts Ali McCurdy and Claire Smalzer, who had 35 digs between them to help hold Missouri to a .199 hitting percentage. The trip to the Elite Eight to face national powerhouse Penn State wasn’t just big for Duke; it was only the third time in history a team from the ACC advanced past the Sweet 16 under the modern format. Despite falling to the Nittany Lions, the Blue Devils gained invaluable experience and will hope to make a similar run in 2011 with a strong returning cast.
5. September 30: Austin Rivers commits to Duke. It’s easy to forget the sting of losing Harrison Barnes to North Carolina with little more to show than Kyrie Irving as a consolation prize, but when the Tar Heels swingman chose Chapel Hill over Durham, questions still lingered over head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s recruiting ability. Duke hadn’t landed a really big fish in quite a while, despite being in the running for quite a few head-turning names (Barnes, Wall and Monroe to name a few in the past 3 years.) Were Coach K’s responsibilities with Team USA somehow taking away from his ability to draw highly-touted recruits? Did elite players favor a more “one-and-done” friendly program? Could Duke re-tool despite not making much noise in the NCAA Tournament pre-2010?
Those concerns (silly in hindsight, eh?) were promptly laid to rest when Austin Rivers, the No. 1 player in the class of 2011, woke up and decided to commit to the Blue Devils, spurning Bill Self and the Jayhawks, not to mention Coach Williams and the Tar Heels. At last, the Duke was back on the recruiting scene. The Winter Park, Fla. native had originally committed to Billy Donovan and the Gators before de-committing his junior year. He has steadily risen through the ranks of various recruiting services over the course of an illustrious high-school career, and eclipsed Michael Gilchrist on most lists just before his decision to come to Durham. Son of Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers, the shooting guard should have an immediate and lasting impact on the Duke program. Since Rivers’s commitment, the dominoes have fallen nicely into place for Coach K and the Blue Devils, who will welcome one of the best classes in the country next year. Along with the five-star Rivers, Krzyzewski has inked five-star point guard Quinn Cook, five-star forward Michael Gbinije, and four-star seven footer Marshall Plumlee.
Check back the rest of the week for four more unforgettable memories from 2010!
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