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 April 18-24.
Women’s tennis
After taking down No. 7-seed Wake Forest and snatching a semifinal win against No. 3-seed Miami at the ACC tournament, the second-seeded Blue Devils secured their first conference championship since 2012 with Sunday’s 4-1 win against Virginia. Freshman Emma Jackson’s comeback win on court three gave Duke the fourth and final point it needed to claim the ACC crown after wins by senior Georgia Drummy and freshman Ellie Coleman pushed the Cavaliers to the edge. While Sunday’s trophy marks the end of a magical run through ACC play for head coach Jamie Ashworth and his squad, it also signals the start of Duke’s pursuit for a national title at the upcoming NCAA tournament in May. -Jonathan Levitan
Men’s tennis
No. 5-seed Duke suffered an upset loss to No. 12-seed Clemson in the second round of the ACC tournament Thursday. The Blue Devils have often struggled in doubles and excelled in singles, but this match reversed the trend, as the team secured the doubles point before losing four of six singles matchups to drop the match 4-3. Duke entered the postseason hot off of a stellar 16-7 regular season but was unable to translate such success into a deep run at the conference tournament. The Blue Devils will look to rebound in the NCAA tournament beginning May 6. -Robert Miron
Women’s lacrosse
Just five days after defeating No. 2 Boston College on Senior Night at Koskinen Stadium, No. 5 Duke headed just down the road Thursday for its tallest task of the season: undefeated, No. 1 North Carolina. With a share of the regular-season ACC title on the line for the Blue Devils (15-2, 6-2 in the ACC), it was set to be a matchup of epic proportions. However, the Tar Heels never trailed, winning 18-4. Freshman goalkeeper Kennedy Everson got her second start of the season and Duke’s offense had its least productive day of the season, with Catriona Barry, Katie DeSimone, Veronica Hineman and Katie Keller each totaling one score. The Blue Devils will look to get back on track in the ACC tournament, in which they are the No. 4 seed. Their quarterfinals matchup against No. 5-seed Notre Dame will take place Friday in South Bend, Ind. -Rachael Kaplan
Men’s golf
It was a weekend of two halves for Duke at the ACC Championship, as it clawed back from a 12th-place Friday finish to end tied for ninth come the end of stroke play Saturday evening. Leading the second-day rise for Duke was the duo of senior Quinn Riley and sophomore Ian Siebers, who shot 4-under and 1-under, respectively. Siebers was particularly impressive Saturday, climbing 18 spots in the individual rankings in just one round to headline a much more characteristic and confident third-round showing. The result means that the Blue Devils’ ACC journey concludes at the close of stroke play, but a potential berth at the NCAA Tournament is still in the cards for head coach Jamie Green and his team. -Andrew Long
Softball
The Blue Devils fell to Liberty in Wednesday's game before taking two of three in a weekend series with Syracuse. No. 9 Duke’s bats could not connect against Liberty pitcher Emily Kirby, who notched nine strikeouts over seven innings in Liberty's 8-3 win. Junior center fielder Kamryn Jackson knocked four RBI and Peyton St. George worked 11 shutout innings for Duke (36-7, 16-3) across Friday and Sunday in 5-0 and 6-0 wins. Jala Wright had a quality start Saturday, but the offense stranded nine on the way to a 1-0 defeat. Duke is back in action Tuesday against Campbell before its last regular-season series against Pittsburgh. -Molly Honecker
Baseball
Following another loss to Liberty Tuesday, the Blue Devil bats exploded in the weekend series to claim back-to-back victories Saturday and Sunday. In its three games at Georgia Tech, Duke (18-22, 8-13) managed to put up 34 runs, scoring 11 on Friday yet giving up 12 to the Yellow Jackets. The Blue Devils were able to bounce back Saturday, however, winning 8-4 before eking out a nail-biter 15-14 win Sunday. Junior third baseman Graham Pauley led the charge with eight RBI across the weekend—homering in all three games—while the team combined for 20 extra-base hits. Duke has this coming week off during final exams, but will return May 1 for a Sunday doubleheader against High Point at home. -Alex Jackson
Track & field
In a weekend headlined by multiple Blue Devils improving on their personal bests, graduate students CJ Ambrosio and Miles Mingo etched their names into the program record books at the Virginia Challenge. Ambrosio knocked Robbie Perkins’ 47-year-old mark in the men’s 5000m off the pedestal, finishing 17th in the event at 13:43.17. Mingo, on the other hand, surpassed Randy Jones’ 33-year-old record in the men’s 200m at 20.77 seconds, finishing fourth. In the relays, the women’s 4x100m unit of Halle Bieber, Abby Geiser, Carly King and Kelcie Simmons finished first, while the women’s 4x400m group of King, Simmons, Jenna Crean and Megan McGinnis came in second. Next for Duke is another trip to Charlottesville, Va., for the Virginia Invitational starting Sunday. -Max Rego
Rowing
No. 12 Duke earned an impressive second-place finish at the Lake Wheeler Invitational this past weekend, trailing only No. 14 Syracuse in overall team points. On the first day of racing, the Blue Devils earned seven wins. Duke followed its impressive Friday performance with an excellent day of racing Saturday for the second day. The V8, 2V8 and V4 all finished second in their respective races Saturday, while the 3V8 and 2V4 won and the 3V4 placed fifth. Despite losing close races to Penn, the Blue Devils edged the Quakers in overall team points. Duke looks ahead to the ACC Championship in Clemson, S.C., which runs May 13-14. -Cameron DeChurch
Women’s golf and men’s lacrosse did not compete this week. In women’s golf, the Blue Devils wait for the results of the NCAA Regional Selection show, which airs Wednesday. In men’s lacrosse, Duke takes on North Carolina at home May 1.
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