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 10-16.
Men’s lacrosse
A week removed from a tough road loss to Notre Dame, No. 2 Duke got back in the win column Saturday afternoon with a nervy but crucial 15-14 home triumph against No. 3 Virginia. The Blue Devils (11-2, 4-1 in the ACC) bulldozed their way to a 10-4 first-half advantage before the Cavaliers took control in the second half, bringing the game within one. Junior FOGO Jake Naso’s dominance from the spot and key stops in the fourth quarter by goalie William Helm iced the game for Duke, which moves to 4-1 in the ACC ahead of a conference closer against Syracuse April 29. -Andrew Long
Women’s lacrosse
While the Blue Devils split their week, the result was net negative. Duke (7-8, 1-7) won its midweek matchup against High Point handily 20-10, as nine different Blue Devils helped them reach that elusive 20-goal mark. Saturday’s game at Louisville was a different story. While Duke got off to a hot start with six first-quarter goals, including five in five minutes, that spark quickly dissipated. Louisville ended the game with its own five-score run and six-point period, putting the game out of reach. It will be one of the Blue Devils’ worst conference finishes in program history, and they look to close out the regular season on a high note as they take on North Carolina at home Thursday evening. -Rachael Kaplan
Men’s tennis
Following up on its big win at then-No. 13 North Carolina last weekend, No. 13 Duke continued its momentum to beat Miami 6-1 and No. 19 Florida State 4-3 at home Friday and Sunday, respectively. Against the Hurricanes, the story of the match was sophomore Connor Krug, who clinched the victory, outlasting Leo Bierbaum 6-2, 7-6. On Sunday, the Ambler Tennis Stadium crowd witnessed a down-to-the-wire match, with junior Faris Khan coming back from down a set to beat Jamie Connel 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 and give Duke (18-5, 11-1) its fourth point. The Blue Devils now sit with a seven-game winning streak entering the ACC tournament quarterfinals Friday in Cary, N.C. -Garrett Spooner
Women’s tennis
After defeats of Wake Forest and N.C. State last week, the third-ranked Blue Devils traveled to Chapel Hill to finish up the regular season Friday versus No. 1 North Carolina. In a 4-1 loss, Duke (22-3, 11-2) fell to the undefeated Tar Heels. Graduate student Georgia Drummy collected the lone point for the Blue Devils as she defeated Abbey Forbes 6-1, 6-0. While Chloe Beck was leading No. 1 Fiona Crawley in the second set 5-3, the match was left unfinished. The Blue Devils, listed as the No. 2 seed in the ACC tournament in Cary, N.C., begin their postseason Friday. -Anna Newberry
Baseball
Duke picked up two of its biggest wins this season, winning a weekend series on the road against No. 16 Boston College and a midweek clash with Davidson. Freshmen Andrew Fischer and James Tallon stole the show, with Fischer hitting a clutch home run in each of the Blue Devils’ wins and Tallon picking up two big saves. Duke now has six ranked wins, and its 23 wins so far this season have already surpassed its 22-win total a year ago. The path does not get any easier for the Blue Devils (23-12, 9-8), though, who next face No. 10 Louisville over the weekend. However, if the team can continue to overpower its opponents, Duke can greatly overperform its preseason expectations. -Dom Fenoglio
Softball
The ninth-ranked Blue Devils went 5-0 this week, sweeping a doubleheader against East Carolina and weekend series at Boston College. The young core starred: Freshman center fielder D’Auna Jennings hit .643/.737/.714 with five stolen bases, a web gem and a walk-off RBI; sophomore third baseman Ana Gold slashed .333/.556/.833 with two stolen bases, and passed Jameson Kavel for the third-most home runs in program history; freshman second baseman Aminah Vega hit .400/.526/.466 with a pair of stolen bases; and freshmen pitchers Cassidy Curd and Sophie Garner-MacKinnon combined for a 1.15 ERA across 18.1 innings. Duke (36-8, 13-5) hosts UNC Greensboro Wednesday before wrapping up its home ACC slate against Georgia Tech over the weekend. -Em Adler
Men’s golf
Duke wrapped up its regular season Sunday with a match win against UNC Greensboro 5-3. Freshman Daniel Choi battled back from a two-shot deficit to tie the match on the 15th hole with a birdie. He then capitalized his momentum, going one up on the 16th hole. Choi’s resilience helped him to win his match with a two-stroke advantage on his opponent, Parker Truesdale. Freshman Ethan Evans and sophomore Kelly Chinn also won with convincing 4-3 and 3-2 victories, respectively. Sophomore Luke Sample and junior Jimmy Zheng rounded out the victories for Duke at Greensboro Country Club. The Blue Devils have a week to prepare for the ACC Championship, which starts Friday in Pinehurst, N.C. -Luke Jovanovic
Women’s golf
Saturday at Sedgefield Country Club was defined by rain-soaked fairways and difficult pin positions. Clemson, en route to a 3-1-1 win, handled the circumstances better than Duke, sending the Blue Devils home in the ACC championship match play semifinals. During stroke play, Duke finished second at -11, with Phoebe Brinker leading the way at -12. The junior finished second alone, just two shots back of Virginia’s Amanda Sambach in her conference title defense. Now, Duke gets a three-week break until NCAA regionals from May 8-10. -Max Rego
Track and field
The Blue Devils split their talent this weekend, dividing the team among the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., and the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif. The women’s relays showcased high speed as both the 4x100m and the 4x400m notched new names among the top-five performances in Duke history. Over at the Bryan Clay Invitational, sophomore Amina Maatoug set herself a personal record in the women’s 1500m, running the race in 4:13.26 to place 14th out of more than 150 competitors and reset the second-fastest time in program history. The Blue Devils look to continue their speedy spring starting Friday at the Wake Forest Invitational in Winston Salem, N.C. -Sophie Levenson
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