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 Oct. 10-Oct. 16.
Football
Duke lost the battle for the Victory Bell Saturday night, falling 38-35 to North Carolina. The lead traded hands throughout the game, with each team in front by double digits at one point. However, the other side always bounced back, and in the final minutes in front of a capacity crowd at Wallace Wade Stadium, it looked like the Blue Devils would pull off the upset. With just 16 seconds to play, Tar Heel quarterback Drake Maye threw a controversial touchdown pass to Antoine Green and a Riley Leonard interception with two seconds on the clock sealed Duke’s fate. The Blue Devils’ rushing attack led the way with 297 yards. Duke (4-3, 1-2 in the ACC) next travels to Miami Saturday to take on the Hurricanes. -Rachael Kaplan
Women’s soccer
In a heartbreaking trip to Tallahassee, Fla., Duke fell to No. 4 Florida State 5-1. After both teams scored a goal in the first half, the second half was a battle of momentum. Unfortunately for No. 12 Duke (10-4, 5-2), the Seminoles scored on 4-of-10 shots in the second half, while the Blue Devils took six shots without a goal. Junior midfielder Grace Watkins drained the team’s sole goal, with Maggie Graham and Sophie Jones assisting. The Blue Devils stay on the road for a contest with Clemson Thursday before hosting Louisville Sunday. -Ana Young
Men’s soccer
For all the possible hiccups that could have befallen it, No. 3 Duke has passed every test it has faced with flying colors. Most recently, that test came via Notre Dame—the Fighting Irish denied the Blue Devils an ACC Tournament title in 2021, but head coach John Kerr’s group won convincingly this time by the same scoreline of 2-0. Both goals came courtesy of sophomore forward Shakur Mohammed, who now sits on seven scores across 2022. Only three games separate Duke (9-0-3, 4-0-2) from an undefeated regular season, starting with a home contest Tuesday against George Washington. -Andrew Long
Volleyball
Duke had another doubleheader in Durham this weekend, suffering a hard-fought loss to No. 11 Georgia Tech (15-25, 16-25, 30-28, 22-25) Friday evening but coming back Sunday afternoon with a five-set victory against Clemson (29-27, 17-25, 20-25, 25-16, 15-9). Sophomore outside hitter Rachel Richardson shined as a six-rotation player Sunday, serving well for the Blue Devils (11-8, 2-6) and bringing a consistent passing performance to help set up plenty of offensive opportunities for freshman and senior outside hitters Kerry Keefe and Gracie Johnson. The Blue Devils will be in Cameron Indoor Stadium again Wednesday at 8 p.m. to take on N.C. State. -Leah Boyd
Field hockey
In a pair of close contests set in Louisville, Ky., No. 24 Duke first came within a play Friday of downing No. 7 Louisville, which evened the score at 1-1 with seven seconds left in regulation before ending the Blue Devils’ upset bid in a penalty shootout. Still, Duke (6-9, 0-5) was able to take an early lead on the way to a 3-1 win Sunday against Bellarmine and will head back to Durham with a split. The Blue Devils now look ahead to their final week of the regular season, with a road matchup at Longwood scheduled for Wednesday and No. 1 North Carolina coming to town Saturday. -Jonathan Levitan
Cross country
The Blue Devil men and women became the first Duke team to conclude their regular season Friday, hitting the course in Madison, Wis., as part of a deep field at the Nuttycombe Invitational. On the men’s side, Duke cracked the top-20 with a 19th-place finish, and the Duke women crossed the finish line in 32nd place. Chris Theodore (57th) and Amina Maatoug (28th) led their respective sides in the Blue Devils’ final outing before the postseason begins Oct. 28 at ACC Championships in Charlottesville, Va. -Levitan
Swimming and diving
In their annual Blue vs. White intrasquad meet at home, Duke showed impressive strength, establishing themselves on the national stage with its performances. The meet, won by the blue team, was highlighted by first-year Kaelyn Gridley, whose breaststroke times were faster than times set last week by Alex Walsh, the defending ACC 200-yard breaststroke champion and an Olympic silver medalist. The Blue Devils will try to keep the energy in Taishoff Aquatic Center for Saturday when they face off against Virginia Tech in their regular season opener. -Babu Chatterjee
Men’s golf
It was a flawless week for the Blue Devils, who took first place up in Jersey City, N.J., at the Georgetown Intercollegiate thanks to junior Ian Siebers’ first-career individual win. At -5, Siebers was at or under par in all three rounds across the two-day event while the sophomore duo of Luke Sample and Kelly Chinn finished tied for 11th and 13th, respectively, to push Duke across the finish line Tuesday. The Blue Devils now get most of the week off before starting up Friday at the three-day Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate in Alpharetta, Ga. -Levitan
Women’s golf
At famed Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla., the Blue Devils finished third in the Jackson T. Stephens Cup, knocking off No. 4-seed South Carolina 3-2 in Wednesday’s match-play portion. Over 54 holes of stroke play, Duke compiled an 11-under total, with Erica Shepherd pacing the group in solo seventh at -4. Against the Gamecocks, Rylie Heflin and Andie Smith, the youngest members of the lineup, knocked off Louise Ryndquist and Justine Fournand, respectively, to clinch third. Next for the Blue Devils is the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, set for Monday and Tuesday. -Max Rego
Women's tennis
Duke impressed in Winston-Salem, N.C., this past week at ITA Fall Regionals, but there is still tennis to be played: After beginning the event Thursday with seven singles players and three doubles duos, all three of Chloe Beck, Cameron Morra and Emma Jackson are alive in their respective singles draws heading into Monday’s final round. Beck and Jackson will have to face off against one another Monday, while Morra will match up against Wake Forest’s Casie Wooten in the finals. -Levitan
Softball
Against Elon Thursday, Duke piled it on with 28 runs in its rout of the Phoenix—freshman Aminah Vega clobbered two homers and junior Sarah Goddard launched a grand slam in the offensive onslaught. The next day, the Blue Devils dropped their game against Charlotte 5-4 despite Jala Wright and Claire Davidson racking up nine strikeouts and another strong night from Vega. Head coach Marissa Young’s team closes its fall slate Saturday against UNC Greensboro. -Micah Hurewitz
Baseball
February is still several months away, but Duke took the field again this weekend and split its two seven-inning exhibition games against North Carolina. Sophomore outfielder Devin Obee had another solid offensive outing, hitting a three-run homer to help lift the Blue Devils to a win in the second seven-inning game. Head coach Chris Pollard turned to a flurry of arms throughout the day, including freshmen Gabriel Nard and James Tallon who combined for 4.1 innings and six strikeouts. Duke’s intrasquad Fall World Series will be Nov. 3-5. -Jake Piazza
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