After starting the day tied for 12th place, the Blue Devils shot the lowest team score on Thursday to earn eighth place and the final slot in the eight-team match play event that will decide the NCAA champion.
Duke recorded a five-over 293, bringing their three-day total to a 25-over 889. Freshman Austin Cody paced the Blue Devils with an even-par 72, followed closely by Julian Suri at one-over 73 and Brinson Paolini and Tim Gornik both at 2-over 74.
Paolini earned honorable mention All-America honors after finishing tied for 13th.
Duke will face top-seeded UCLA in the first round of match play starting at 11 a.m. The Bruins posted an 8-over 872 to clinch the top spot, and the team is an undefeated 5-0 in match play this season.
The pairings for today's match are as follows:
Austin Cody (Duke) vs. Alex Kim (UCLA)
Julian Suri (Duke) vs. Pedro Figueiredo (UCLA)
Wes Roach (Duke) vs. Gregor Main (UCLA)
Tim Gornik (Duke) vs. Pontus Widegren (UCLA)
Brinson Paolini (Duke) vs. Patrick Cantlay (UCLA)
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