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The story of Sisyphus is of a man damned eternally to watch the efforts of his labor fail at what should be the pinnacle of his achievement. Unjustly punished by Zeus, Sisyphus was doomed for eternity to roll a gigantic rock up the hillside only to watch it roll back down, crushing him time and time again.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - This year's match had last year's results.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>GAINESVILLE, Fla. - It wasn't the way it was supposed to happen. It was supposed to be the changing of the guard, the time the Blue Devils finally overcame the all but invincible Florida Gators, the time when Duke would finally plant its flag atop the collegiate tennis world. It was supposed to be the realization of what they had dreamed of all year. And then the season-long dream ended in a one-stroke nightmare. A backhand winner by No. 4 seed Stephanie Hazlitt perched her atop a 7-6 final set tiebreak lead over Karen Goldstein and triggered a three-match Florida sweep of the remaining singles, putting the No. 4 Blue Devils in a 4-2 hole and all but assuring the defending national champion and top-seeded Gators a victory in the rematch of last year's finalists. It was the third time this season and the 22nd time in 23 tries that Florida (29-2) knocked off the Blue Devils (27-4). "It was a great college match today," said Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth, who has led the team to the semifinals in each of his three years as coach. "We asked our girls when they walked on the court to give everything they had, to lay everything on the line, to give everything they had on the court. And that's what they did." But being a historical footnote in one of the greatest tournament matches was little consolation to a team that from day one was national championship or bust. "It's extremely hard to handle because I am a real goal-oriented person," said Vanessa Webb, who along with senior Kristin Sanderson became the only Blue Devils ever to play in four national semifinals. "The reason I came to Duke was to help them win their first national title, and I didn't do that. I really feel like I failed in that respect." And what made it worse was that on Saturday, the story of what was, was what could have been. Sophomore Megan Miller claimed the first point of the day in an emotional 6-2, 6-2 win over Jessica Lehnhoff at No. 3 singles. The Blue Devils then dropped the No. 2 match as Stephanie Nickitas defeated Kristin Sanderson. But Webb's straight-set victory over Whitney Laiho put Duke on top and in control of the match. As the final three matches all went to a third set it looked as though Duke's vaunted singles lineup, which had never surrendered more than three matches to anyone, might finish the Gators without even going to doubles. "It did not look good," Florida coach Andy Brandi said. "We could have very easily lost the whole match in singles... but little by little we started clawing our way back into the match." Then little by little became the shot that changed the match. After losing the first set 6-1, Goldstein battled back to force a third set. But Duke's No. 4 seed couldn't pull away from the tenacious Hazlitt and the match went to a deciding tiebreak. Goldstein fought off a match point to even the score at 6-6, and it looked as though Duke was about to claim a 3-1 lead. Hazlitt left her return short and Goldstein pounced, drilling her approach deep to Hazlitt's backhand. But somehow the Gator not only got to the ball, but she buried a running backhand down the line, igniting the raucous crowd of 1,322, seizing control of the momentum. "That was the greatest shot of the match," Ashworth said. "There was one place she could hit it, one place she had to hit it and she absolutely nailed it." With the momentum firmly in Gator orange, Florida fifth and sixth seeds Traci Green and M.C. White quickly pulled away from Duke's Erica Biro and Kathy Sell, and within six minutes, a match that was in doubt for the first two and half hours was effectively concluded. The Gators No. 1 doubles team of Jessica Lehnhoff and Stephanie Nickitas finished off the Blue Devils, dropping Webb and Goldstein and moving Florida into the finals for the fourth straight season. But even with the loss, the season that could have been couldn't destroy the season that was. "It wasn't great to finish my career like that, but being a part of this team has been just amazing," Goldstein said. "I wouldn't have traded it for anything. I wouldn't trade it for winning. I wouldn't be on any other team except this one and if it takes losing to Florida three times, then that's what it takes."
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - She may have had to wait a few days, but a week that started off in uncharacteristic disappointment is turning into a typical Vanessa Webb week.
A year ago it just didn't seem possible. Sure the men's tennis team was young and full of potential, but following an embarrassing early round loss to Minnesota, the NCAA Tournament looked like it would be a "we were happy to be invited" affair.
The Duke Blue Devils' road to Gainesville, Fla., was paved a long time ago but there was one bump head coach Jamie Ashworth and his No. 4 ranked club had hoped they wouldn't hit for a while.
A season that began in frustration ended in frustration.
It didn't matter to Karen Goldstein that the ACC tournament title already had Duke's name engraved on it before the season started. It didn't matter that the tournament itself has become an exercise in predictability.
A year ago, it might have looked like a disappointing conclusion to Aspen Branch-Moore's rowing career.
After half a year of watching their varsity rower teammates grab the headlines and the attention, the novices finally decided to take matters into their own hands.
The six-month-old question got a one-day answer.
The question hung in the air for a moment, melting into the blue of a lazy April afternoon. Seated a tier above her teammate on the smooth marble steps, Erica Biro didn't quite know how to answer. But just below, seated on her left, a smile began to creep across the mouth of the usually reserved Ioana Plesu.
When the call came, Gail Goestenkors sat quietly in her Cameron office and listened patiently to the voice, coming through at a salesman's pitch. On the other end was a representative for the WNBA's expansion Orlando Miracle, which would join the league nearly a year to the day of that May afternoon.
When the game ended, she knew it was over. But even as she looked up at the zeroes on the scoreboard, she couldn't quite believe it.
Predictable is no longer the word.
When their heads stop spinning and their feet touch the ground again, the Duke Blue Devils might let you know how they feel. But for now, with the school's first Final Four appearance on the immediate horizon, coach Gail Goestenkors is just letting them enjoy the journey-for a day at least.
Twenty-seven years and 80 rowers separate the powerhouse Wisconsin rowing program and the fledgling Duke squad. But last Saturday, it was only 1000 meters and 30 seconds that stood between the two.
Last spring, it was for the NCAA title. Last month, it was for the National Indoors title. Last week, it was just for pride.
It was almost three years ago exactly that Kathy Sell sat in her Moorestown, N.J. home, watching what was at first a small trickle of college recruitment letters turn into an all out postal deluge.
Geography says the winner of the West Region of the NCAA Tournament will have the shortest route to travel to the Final Four.
