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 May 23-29.
This is the last edition of our weekly recap for the spring season, and we’ll be back when fall sports begin to keep you up to date.
Softball
The 12th-seeded Blue Devils saw their season come to an end in the super regional round following two losses against UCLA in Los Angeles. The 3-2 and 8-2 losses in the best-of-three set saw plenty of push and shove from both sides, with pitching the storyline from the first game and a late-game collapse highlighting the second. The series loss also contained the Blue Devils' first back-to-back losses since April 2021. Ultimately, the Bruins' postseason experience and clutch pitching from Megan Faraimo was able to stifle Duke, which is still seeking its elusive first Women's College World Series appearance. -Micah Hurewitz
Rowing
In keeping with its successful season, Duke snagged 16th place at the NCAA Rowing Championships in Sarasota, Fla., behind two impressive performances in the Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four races. Both groups won third place in their respective C Finals, defeating Syracuse—which beat the Blue Devils at the ACC Championships—in the former and edging out Penn and Oregon State in the latter. Duke’s Varsity Eight squad grabbed fourth in its race to earn the team a total of 45 points. Duke perhaps could have cemented itself in the top-10 on another day, but a 16th-place performance can hardly be called a disappointment. -Andrew Long
Track and field
This year's Duke team continues to climb higher, this time setting a new program record at the NCAA East Regional in Bloomington, Ind., with 17 qualifications for the upcoming NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. That group features a trio of Blue Devil women returning to the sport's biggest stage in Halle Bieber, Lauren Hoffman and Erin Marsh and a program-record 13 women in total. After returning to Durham, those Blue Devils who have successfully delayed their offseason just a bit further will gear up for Eugene, with the event scheduled for June 8-11. -Jonathan Levitan
Women's tennis
The NCAA Singles Championship took place this past week following an impressive postseason run for the Blue Devils, with junior Chloe Beck as Duke’s sole competitor. She started with a solid first-round win against California’s Jessica Alsola, clinching with two straight sets after dropping the first set. But the Watkinsville, Ga., native had tough competition in the second round against graduate student Michaela Bayerlova, who would go on to reach the Elite Eight. Duke's season ended as Beck dropped the sets 7-5, 6-2. After a historic season, the Blue Devils ended with the No. 4 ranking in the nation. -Ana Young
Men's tennis
Junior Garrett Johns advanced to the second round of the NCAA Singles Championship with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Ryan Seggerman of Princeton before losing to Florida's Sam Riffice. Riffice was a formidable opponent—he took home the singles championship in 2021 and was the captain of that season's national champions. The Florida senior’s game was too much for Johns to overcome, as the junior fell prey to Riffice’s effective drop shot and lost 5-7, 6-4, 5-7. The loss ends a stellar season for Duke, which finishes the year with a 17-9 record and a No. 21 national ranking. -Robert Miron
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