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 Feb. 13-19.
Men’s basketball
While questions about its road play are still relevant, Duke made a strong effort to silence its critics Saturday at Syracuse. The Blue Devils (19-8, 10-6 in the ACC) put on a strong all-around performance, taking down the Orange 77-55. Though its defense was once again dominant, holding Syracuse nearly 20 points below its previous scoring average, it was Duke’s shooting that truly elevated it. The squad finished 30-of-55 from the field, including 13-of-26 from beyond the arc. The beatdown came five days after the Blue Devils narrowly escaped Notre Dame in Cameron Indoor Stadium with a 68-64 win. They return home for a three-game stretch beginning Monday evening against Louisville. -Rachael Kaplan
Women’s basketball
No. 9 Duke played two road games in the state of Virginia this week, stumbling at Virginia Tech 61-45 Thursday and then bouncing back Sunday to defeat Virginia 56-52. The loss to the Hokies represented the Blue Devils’ largest ACC loss of the season, as they were down by as many as 26. Virginia Tech seniors Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amoore both had 20 points, while Duke’s offense struggled to find its footing throughout the contest. However, 3-point shooting propelled Duke (23-4, 13-3) against Virginia, with the visitors connecting on eight triples by five different players. The Blue Devils will close out their ACC slate this week, with home games against N.C State and UNC. -Ranjan Jindal
Women’s lacrosse
The 11th-ranked Blue Devils blew Gardner-Webb out of Koskinen Stadium with the wind Sunday afternoon, claiming a 24-1 victory in their second home game of the season. Graduate attacker Maddie Jenner headlined the match with 18 draw controls, breaking the NCAA all-time record for the most by a single player. The result follows another Duke victory: On Wednesday, the Blue Devils (3-0) challenged Davidson on the road, returning to Durham after defeating the Wildcats 18-9. On Saturday, the Blue Devils will meet their first ACC opponent at Boston College. -Sophie Levenson
Men’s lacrosse
On Friday evening, No. 16 Duke’s bounceback win came in the form of a 14-13 overtime thriller against Denver at Koskinen Stadium, complete with late-game heroics from star attacker Brennan O’Neill. The junior first scored with 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 13-13 and later followed it up with the game-winning goal in the extra period. The schedule only gets tougher now for the Blue Devils (3-1), as head coach John Danowski and company head on the road to face No. 10 Penn at 1 p.m. Saturday. -Jonathan Levitan
Swimming and diving
Finishing off the ACC season, Duke wrapped up the ACC Championships Saturday in Greensboro, N.C. After the five-day meet, the women finished in fifth (670.5 points) and the men in 10th (244 points). On Thursday evening, senior Brad Sanford and junior Sarah Foley broke school records in the men’s 100-yard butterfly (46.16) and women’s 400-yard IM (4:06.25), respectively. Continuing on the women’s side, freshman Kaelyn Gridley excelled yet again, posting a 59.46-second time in the 100-yard breaststroke Friday. Next up is a trip to Knoxville, Tenn., for NCAA Zone Diving with nine Duke divers competing. -Garrett Spooner
Women’s tennis
The eighth-ranked Blue Devils returned from their first road trip this week out in Seattle. After falling 4-2 to then-No. 15 Oklahoma in the first round of the ITA National Team Indoors, Duke (10-1) rebounded to defeat both then-No. 6 Stanford 4-3 and Washington 4-1 to close out the tournament. The Blue Devils struggled for the first time this season in doubles play, as they dropped the doubles point in two out of three matches. Graduate student Cameron Morra recorded her 100th collegiate singles win Sunday against the Huskies. Duke now has a 12-day break before heading into conference play against Virginia Feb 24. -Anna Newberry
Softball
The 17th-ranked Blue Devils are living by the mantra “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” Duke (7-3) opened the ESPN Clearwater Invitational with an error-laden 5-4 loss to No. 15 Alabama but rebounded with four straight wins: 5-2 against South Florida, 7-4 against No. 4 Arkansas, 4-3 against No. 18 UCF (10 innings) and 6-3 against Michigan. Across the weekend, starting pitcher/left fielder Claire Davidson threw 13.3 innings with a 1.58 ERA and 0.900 WHIP and hit .563/.563/1.125 with two stolen bases, first baseman Gisele Tapia slashed .571/.647/1.000, catcher Kelly Torres hit three homers and freshman southpaw Cassidy Curd tossed 11.3 innings with a 0.62 ERA, 0.529 WHIP and 15 strikeouts. -Em Adler
Baseball
Duke opened its season with a three-game series against St. Joseph’s this weekend. After taking the first game 16-0 Friday at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, the Blue Devils (2-1) split a pair of close ones. An eighth-inning score was enough to power past the Hawks 2-1 Saturday, but ninth-inning heroics from Devin Obee were not enough Sunday, as St. Joseph’s took the finale 5-4 in extra innings. Duke pitchers combined for 41 strikeouts on the weekend, and three different players hit home runs. The Blue Devils have a midweek matchup with Liberty before hosting Baylor over the weekend. -Dom Fenoglio
Women’s golf
In their first event of the spring season, the Blue Devils struggled en route to a ninth-place finish (67-over) in the 10-team Nexus Collegiate Invitational in the Bahamas. Senior Erica Shepherd finished in a tie for 18th at 9-over, but Anne Chen, Phoebe Brinker and Rylie Heflin all finished outside the top 40. Freshman Andie Smith, in her first spring tournament, finished in a tie for 35th at 16-over. Duke now has a week off before the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, S.C., which runs Feb. 27-Mar 1. -Max Rego
Track and field
It was a slow week for Duke, as most of its athletes rested in preparation for the upcoming ACC Indoor Championships. Those who did compete this weekend did so in Blacksburg, Va., at the Virginia Tech Challenge. Pole vaulters Tyler Hrbek and Paige Sommers both set personal bests, and Emily Sloan ran a blazing 8.56-second 60m hurdles en route to a first-place finish in the event. Now, the Blue Devils will gear up for the first of two postseason meets as Duke heads to Louisville, Ky., for the conference championship meet. -Martin Heintzelman
Wrestling
The last week of the regular season brought more of the same for the Blue Devils, who lost 30-10 Wednesday on Senior Night to Gardner-Webb before closing out a winless ACC campaign with a 43-3 defeat Saturday at Pittsburgh. Senior heavyweight kept his undefeated run alive with wins against both opponents, and fellow Senior Night honorees Patrick Rowland (149 pounds) and Vincent Baker (197 pounds) picked up victories of their own against the Runnin’ Bulldogs. Now, all eyes for Duke (3-12, 0-5) turn toward the ACC Championships, set for March 5 in Raleigh. -Levitan
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