They say the devil is in the details. But in Durham, the Blue Devils are in the details — and numbers:
4
The Blue Devils’ rowing team tallied four-first place finishes over the course of the second day of the Lake Wheeler Invitational to capture the 2023 Pocock Cup. No. 14 Duke edged out No. 9 Syracuse and No. 8 Penn to earn the trophy for the third time in four years, with the Orange interrupting its streak in 2022. The Blue Devils clocked wins in the Varsity Four, Second Varsity Four and Fourth Varsity Eight races before the Third Varsity Eight lineup led by coxswain Ava Liebmann sealed the team’s victory with a winning time of 7:06.328. After a successful regular season, Duke looks to compete for glory in the ACC championships, which will see it return to Lake Wheeler in hopes of receiving some of the same winning magic.
3
After a tumultuous season, three Blue Devils were tabbed to the All-ACC women’s lacrosse teams, the conference announced Tuesday. In her third bid to the first team, graduate student Maddie Jenner earned the honor after breaking the NCAA Division I draw record, currently boasting 784 draw controls to her name. Jenner is joined by junior Katie DeSimone and senior Cubby Biscardi, who both earned nods to the second team for consecutive seasons. Biscardi, a defensive specialist, recently reached 100 caused turnovers in her Duke career with 36 this season alone. Meanwhile, DeSimone has been the driving force behind the Blue Devils’ attack, scoring 47 goals with 2.8 goals per game. Duke fell to No. 1-seed Boston College in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday, ending its season, but that should not take away from the trio's stellar individual campaigns.
11
After reaching the ACC championship over the weekend, the Blue Devils' men's tennis team earned its highest ranking of the season as it reached No. 11 in the latest ITA poll. While No. 2-seed Duke ultimately fell to No. 1-seed Virginia, it was still the team’s first championship appearance since 2012. To date, the Blue Devils boast a 20-6 record with seven wins against top-25 opponents. In addition to the team’s performance, individual players shined in the rankings as well. Freshman Pedro Rodenas came in at No. 46, while senior captain Garrett Johns rose to No. 11. Rodenas and Johns also make quite the doubles pair, ranked No. 24 nationally. The Blue Devils await their NCAA tournament draw before they vie for a national title.
18
Sophomore Ana Gold tallied her 18th home run Sunday to break Duke softball’s single-season home run record. Helping her team to a sweep against Georgia Tech, the Ballston Spa, N.Y., native had two homers on the weekend while driving in four. Gold has been on fire for the Blue Devils this year, propelling them to a 40-8 overall record and a No. 8 ranking in the Softball America polls. Her .311 batting average speaks for itself — the infielder is a beast at the plate. Gold will be crucial as Duke finishes its final week of the regular season with a three-game series at Pittsburgh over the weekend. From then on out, the sophomore will have to step up big in the postseason.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Mackenzie Sheehy is a Trinity sophomore and Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 119th volume.