They say the devil is in the details. But in Durham, the Blue Devils are in the details — and numbers:
1
After a 16-14 triumph against then-No.1 Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., Duke men’s lacrosse has risen to the top of Division I. The ranking is the Blue Devils’ highest of the season, and it is the first time Duke has been in the number one spot in the polls since week eight of 2021. Junior Brennan O’Neill has been the key to the Blue Devils’ success, tallying 61 points in 11 games started, including a six-goal and three-assist outburst against the Cavaliers. Junior faceoff specialist Jake Naso has also been excellent, winning 62.5% of his faceoff attempts on the year.
Sitting with a record of 10-1 on the year and 3-0 in the ACC, Duke’s final four regular season matches are not going to be a walk in the park. A home rematch with Virginia awaits after the Blue Devils head to South Bend, Ind., to compete against No. 2 Notre Dame.
.418
Freshman outfielder D’Auna Jennings has been a revelation for Duke’s softball program this spring, batting an impressive .418 from the plate with 41 hits and 22 runs scored. Coupled with her impressive speed, recording nine steals in 10 attempts, the Blue Devil outfielder has helped No. 9 Duke shoot out to a 28-8 record. Over the weekend, Jennings tallied three hits in a series victory over No. 20 Virginia Tech. For the Blue Devils to continue their rise up the ACC standings, Jennings will have to continue to be consistent from the plate.
4
After Duke men tennis’ 7-0 loss to Virginia March 19, the Blue Devils have rattled off four straight victories, two of which came against top-25 opponents in then-No. 16 Wake Forest and then-No. 23 N.C. State this Friday and Sunday, respectively. After a two game skid, Duke captain and first singles player Garrett Johns got back on track in Saturday’s victory against N.C. State, recording a decisive 6-2, 6-3 win against then-No. 52 Rafa Izquierdo Luque.
The Blue Devils have dropped just six points of 28 in their last four matches, rising to an 8-1 record in the ACC. A crucial aspect to Duke’s domination has been the play in doubles, recording three points of four. Playing on court one, the duo of Johns and freshman Pedro Rodenas has been dominant; the pair are undefeated since Feb. 5’s loss against Northwestern. Although just one of seven total across an afternoon, Blue Devil head coach Ramsey Smith believes in the power of the doubles point.
“It is only one point, [but] it does create a lot of momentum,” Smith said after dropping the doubles point against Northwestern.
As of late, Duke’s domination across all facets of a college tennis match has been impressive, and it will look to lose even fewer points across its last three matches of the regular season.
9.00
With seven Blue Devil players hitting over .300, it should be no surprise that Duke baseball is averaging 9.00 runs-scored per game, over three runs higher than 2022’s average of 5.87 runs-scored per game. Leading the way for the Blue Devils has been sophomore Alex Mooney, batting .347 on the year with 22 RBIs. In addition, Duke boasts four players with six or more home runs on the year. On top of that, seven contributing Duke players, including Mooney, have an on-base percentage of over .430. Simply put, the Blue Devils are an offensive powerhouse.
Following a 15-6 victory against No.13 Campbell, Duke has moved to 19-10 on the year with a 6-6 record in conference. However, with a loaded ACC, the Blue Devils must continue to produce offensively, especially with the likes of No. 9 Boston College and No. 8 Virginia awaiting in the month of April.
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