Sportswrap is your one-stop shop for everything Duke athletics, where we’ll recap how each of Duke’s sports currently in competition performed over the last week and give a brief look ahead. Here’s our recap for the week of March 28-April 3.
Men’s basketball
No. 2-seed Duke’s storybook season came to an unceremonious end Saturday night in the Final Four against its archrival, No. 8-seed North Carolina. With the two teams meeting for the third time this season and a spot in the national championship game up for grabs, it was the Tar Heels who got the last laugh 81-77. In the emotionally supercharged back-and-forth thriller in New Orleans, they sent the Blue Devils into the offseason and head coach Mike Krzyzewski into retirement. It came as a shocking end, no doubt, to Krzyzewski’s famous final campaign, but that campaign was a successful one regardless, featuring a wire-to-wire run in the AP Poll’s top 10, a regular-season ACC championship and the legendary head coach’s record-breaking 13th Final Four appearance. -Jonathan Levitan
Men’s lacrosse
After a disappointing start to its conference slate the weekend prior, No. 16 Duke bounced back in bold fashion with a 15-6 win against No. 9 North Carolina Saturday at Dorrance Field. Sophomore Brennan O’Neill, who finished with an astounding seven goals, hit the field blazing, scoring an unanswered hat trick before graduate student Joe Robertson potted his first of two goals to put Duke (9-4, 1-1 in the ACC) up 4-0 with 3:49 left in the first half. The Blue Devils didn’t slow down from there, as an onslaught from O’Neill and graduate student Nakeie Montgomery resulted in a 13-2 lead to enter the fourth quarter, largely due to graduate goalie Mike Adler. He logged 19 saves for a season-high 79.2% save percentage. Next, the Blue Devils will face No. 15 Notre Dame at home this upcoming Saturday. -Sasha Richie
Women’s lacrosse
No. 7 Duke grabbed two big victories this week. It traveled to Liberty Tuesday, coming out on top in the tough matchup 8-7. Senior goalie Sophia LeRose and the defense led the effort, as LeRose tabbed 12 saves to keep the Blue Devils (13-1, 4-1) in it. Next, No. 16 Virginia rolled into Koskinen Stadium. The first half was a close, back-and-forth battle but Duke broke it open in the third period, using a 7-0 run to claim a 13-8 victory. Sophomore Katie DeSimone was the X-factor on offense with four goals and an assist. She also hit 100 career points on her first goal of the day, etching her name into the Duke record books and setting the stage for the game. The Blue Devils continue their ACC slate Thursday evening against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. -Rachael Kaplan
Women’s golf
While Duke didn’t compete as a team this past week, it was able to showcase its individual talents at the Chattanooga Classic in Tennessee from Mar. 27-29 and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in Georgia later in the week. Sophomore Anne Chen stole the spotlight in Tennessee, sealing her first collegiate victory with a score of 207 (-9) to win by five strokes. Trailing Chen were freshman Rylie Heflin and junior Megan Furtney. Over in Georgia, the veteran duo of junior Erica Shepherd and sophomore Phoebe Brinker fell short of placing in the top 30 following putting struggles on the second day, cutting its run in Augusta, Ga., short. The Blue Devils began their final regular-season event Sunday at the Wolfpack Match Play Invitational in Raleigh. -Eric Gim
Softball
To say the Blue Devils decimated Boston College would be an understatement by a factor of nearly three. No. 8 Duke (28-5, 11-2) allowed the Eagles to notch the first run of the series, then scored 29-straight to sweep in the minimum possible number of innings. Shortstop Jameson Kavel and third baseman Ana Gold combined to hit .615/.588/1.462 with 11 RBIs in 13 at-bats, while starting pitchers Peyton St. George and Jala Wright each threw four innings of two-hit, four-strikeout ball Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Duke has a midweek match with UNC Greensboro before a weekend set at fifth-in-the-ACC Virginia. -Em Adler
Baseball
Duke went through one of its roughest weeks of the season thus far, picking up four losses in four games. The team saw Liberty Tuesday, and then No. 13 Miami for the weekend series. Despite all games being at home, the offense really seemed to stall on the Blue Devils (12-16, 3-9). Over the four games, they scored just nine runs, failing to eclipse three runs in any game. The Blue Devils will need to turn the season around if they want any shot at repeating last year’s conference championship run. This upcoming week, Duke will have two single-game home stints against Davidson and Longwood before hitting the road for a weekend series against Wake Forest, which is off to a strong 21-7 start to the season. -Alex Jackson
Women’s tennis
The Blue Devils snatched two close wins this weekend to end a two-match skid. The team made its way across town to Raleigh Friday evening and took down No. 2 NC State in a 4-3 final, pushed across by singles points from Georgia Drummy, Chloe Beck, Ellie Coleman and Margaryta Bilokin. Duke (13-3, 8-2) finished the weekend off on a strong note as well, securing a second 4-3 win against in-state opponent Wake Forest in a quick day trip Sunday to Winston-Salem, N.C. The Blue Devils started off the day by winning the doubles point, which would ultimately be the deciding factor after splitting the singles matches. The team gets back in action Friday at home against Georgia Tech. -Matthew Hawkins
Men’s tennis
No. 19 Duke continued its stellar season this past week with two routine ACC victories against Georgia Tech and Clemson before another win against North Carolina A&T in the second half of Sunday's doubleheader. The team was unable to secure the doubles point in Friday’s contest against the Yellow Jackets, but as has often been the case this year, it fought back on the singles side to secure the 5-2 win. The result was even more lopsided Sunday against Clemson. The Blue Devils (16-5, 8-2) quickly took the doubles point before winning three singles matches in straight sets to seal the 4-0 drubbing. The Blue Devils have two ACC matches left to play starting Friday on the road against No. 23 N.C. State. -Robert Miron
Men’s golf
Duke traveled to Palm City, Fla., Monday and Tuesday for the Valspar Collegiate. The Blue Devils finished fourth with a final score of 838 (-14) and were led by freshman Kelly Chinn and sophomore Ian Siebers. Chinn had a score of 203 (-10) with an impressive third-round score of 65 (-6). The freshman’s stellar performance gave him a fifth-place finish, which is his best of the season. Siebers finished tied for sixth with a final score of 204 (-9) and his second-round was his career best with a score of 64 (-7). The event showcased Duke’s underclassmen, who are getting hot as the Blue Devils prepare for the Stitch Intercollegiate starting Friday. -Jonah Pilnick
Rowing
The Blue Devils went toe-to-toe with Michigan and Ohio State at the ACC/Big Ten Double Dual, highlighted by the 2V8 pulling off the sweep. No. 12 Duke’s 2V8 outpaced No. 9 Ohio State and No. 4 Michigan by 2.6 and 7.9 seconds, respectively. The V8, V4, 2V4 and 3V4 all left their all on the race course, falling just short of the Buckeyes and Wolverines. The 3V8 traded blows with their Big Ten foes, defeating the Wolverines but falling short of the Buckeyes. The Blue Devils look ahead to more Big Ten competition April 15-16 in Sarasota, Fla., for the Big Ten Invite. -Cameron DeChurch
Track & field
Another week, another set of records for Duke. At the Vertklasse Meeting in High Point, N.C., the Blue Devils’ juniors Beau Allen and Ezra Mellinger placed first in the high jump and long jump, respectively, while teammates Payton Little (discus) and Davis Howell (high jump) set personal records. Sophomore Moorea Mitchell continued her impressive season with a fourth-place mark in the hammer throw. Perhaps most significantly, the Blue Devil women earned a program-best No. 12 ranking. Duke next competes in its sole home meet of the season starting Thursday at Morris Williams Stadium. -Andrew Long
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