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 3-9.
Men’s lacrosse
No. 1 Duke waltzed into Arlotta Stadium in South Bend, Ind., with a chip on its shoulder leading into its Saturday afternoon clash with No. 2 Notre Dame. However, junior attackman Brennan O’Neill was kept uncharacteristically quiet and Andrew McAdorey struggled to exert his usual influence, making for a labored afternoon up top. By game’s end, the Blue Devils (10-2, 3-1 in the ACC) had lost 17-12 to the Fighting Irish, tasting defeat for just the second time since a one-goal nailbiter at Jacksonville in February. Duke returns home Saturday at 12 p.m. for a rematch with No. 3 Virginia, hoping to get back on track. -Andrew Long
Women’s lacrosse
The 24th-ranked Blue Devils continued to struggle in ACC play as they dropped their lone road contest of the week against No. 12 Virginia 16-12. After fighting back to a 10-9 deficit going into the fourth quarter, Duke (6-7, 1-6) could not hold off the sheer determination of the Cavaliers, who went on a 6-1 run to earn the victory at Klockner Stadium Saturday. The Blue Devils were led by senior Lexi Schmalz and junior Katie Keller, who each had three goals. They were bolstered by two tallies apiece from Katie DeSimone and Veronica Hineman, while graduate student Sophia LeRose had six saves in the loss. Duke returns to Koskinen Stadium Tuesday as it takes on High Point. -Mackenzie Sheehy
Men’s tennis
On Saturday, No. 16 Duke traveled to No. 13 North Carolina to face its rival in a top-20 matchup. The Blue Devils (16-5, 9-1) emerged 5-2 winners after a strong doubles start led by the duo of freshman Teddy Truwit and sophomore Connor Krug. Freshman Pedro Rodenas, the reigning ACC Player of the Week, led Duke as the earliest to win the first set. Junior Andrew Dale won his 11th of his last 12 singles matches, and Krug had a strong comeback to win his third set. This weekend, Duke hosts Miami and No. 18 Florida State for its regular-season finale. -Suresh Kannoth
Women’s tennis
No. 6 Duke finished up its regular season at home undefeated 15-0 this weekend with defeats of No. 24 Wake Forest and No. 7 N.C. State, setting a new school record for the most home wins in a regular season. After defeating the Demon Deacons 4-0 Thursday, the Blue Devils (22-2, 11-1) honored graduate students Cameron Morra and Georgia Drummy against the Wolfpack Saturday morning. Drummy clinched a three-set battle against Abigail Rencheli to cement a 4-3 win for Duke. Notably, senior and No. 5 singles player Chloe Beck was not honored Saturday morning, as she has opted into her fifth year of eligibility. The Blue Devils finish up the regular season at No. 1 North Carolina Friday with a chance for a regular-season conference title. -Anna Newberry
Baseball
After a huge midweek win against No. 13 Campbell, a rainy weekend turned Duke’s weekend series against Virginia Tech into a Sunday doubleheader. Graduate student Alex Gow and the Blue Devils’ bullpen propelled the team to a 3-1 win in game one, but the Hokies brought an ace of their own in sophomore Drue Hackenberg. Eight dominant innings from Hackenberg and a few costly Duke errors made the difference in the second game, with Virginia Tech coming out on top 5-2. Next up, the Blue Devils (20-11, 7-7) travel to Chestnut Hill, Mass., to take on No. 9 Boston College in the first of three straight weekend series against ranked opponents. -Dom Fenoglio
Softball
No. 9 Duke swept a doubleheader with UNC Wilmington before its series with Elon was postponed. Freshman phenom Aminah Vega and reigning ACC Player of the Week Ana Gold led the Duke offense in the 8-0 run-ruling and 5-3 win. Pitchers Jala Wright and Cassidy Curd combined for 17 strikeouts, with the Seahawks only able to eke out some runs off a throwing error, a familiar vice for Duke (30-8, 10-5). This week will be busy for the Blue Devils, who face Elon Monday and East Carolina in a doubleheader Wednesday before looking for their second ACC series sweep against struggling Boston College. -Molly Honecker
Track and field
Despite wicked weather conditions and a handful of canceled events at this weekend’s Duke Invitational, the Blue Devils kept on their steady season trajectory and logged a solid performance. Notably, freshman Julia Jackson placed first in the women’s 400m, while sophomore Megan McGinnis clocked a new personal best in the 200m. On the men’s side, Robbie Otal won the discus event for the fourth time this season. As of April 3, the Duke women are ranked No. 1 in the region — they will look to uphold that status at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., starting Wednesday. -Sophie Levenson
Women’s golf
At the conclusion of a hectic week for the program, the Blue Devils captured their first team title at the Wolfpack Match Play. Duke knocked off N.C. State, No. 3 South Carolina and North Carolina en route to the victory, with senior Megan Furtney leading the way with a 3-0 record. It capped off a stretch that featured Erica Shepherd, Phoebe Brinker and Anne Chen competing in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur — Brinker and Chen missed the cut, while Shepherd finished in a tie for 22nd at +5. Now, Duke gets a brief respite before the ACC Championship in Greensboro, N.C., gets started Thursday. -Max Rego
Rowing
It was an eventful weekend for the 12th-ranked Blue Devils, as they traveled to Sarasota, Fla., for the Big 10 Invite. They opened the competition strong Friday, as the V4 squad sped past crews from Michigan, Iowa and UCLA en route to an impressive 7:13.320 time, clocking in almost eight seconds faster than the second-place finisher. On the second day of festivities, Duke continued to race well, racking up two second-place performances in the V8 and 2V4 events, along with wins in V4 and 3V8 matchups. The Blue Devils will compete again next weekend when they host the Lake Wheeler Invitational. -Martin Heintzelman
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