There’s a pretty clear hierarchy in Duke sports. Football rules the roost in August, September and October and shares the roost with basketball in November and hopefully December, if a bowl game is on the horizon. Then it’s hoops and more hoops until the season ends in March, April if things play out the way we hope.
By the time basketball ends Duke’s 11 spring sports are well under way. Actually, “spring sports” is a bit of a misnomer if you’ve ever sat through a softball or lacrosse game with a windchill of 30 degrees.
And no, I’m not including spring football as one of those 11 sports.
The pecking order is less defined after basketball shuts down and different sports have different rhythms. We’re in mid-May, graduation has come and gone and it’s time for an update.
Speaking of graduation, 228 Duke athletes got their diplomas last Sunday. I assume that count includes William Avery, who got his degree 24 years after playing his final game for Mike Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils.
Two thumbs up.
Back to those 11 teams. Eight are still competing for national honors, with two others represented at the individual level. In fact, two haven’t even started NCAA play yet.
Let’s update.
Women’s lacrosse did not make the postseason.
Both tennis teams did make the postseason. The sixth-ranked women’s team was upset at home by UCLA, a loss I described in agonizing detail a few days ago.
No way to polish it. A bad loss.
The 12th-seeded men’s tennis team hosted, won twice and advanced to the round of 16 in Charlottesville. Duke lost to Virginia 4-0 but it was a lot more competitive than the score suggests. Duke lost a competitive doubles point after lighting and a torrential rain drove everyone inside. It was so bad that the indoor courts were wet and some serious schedule reshuffling went on.
Duke jumped to leads in the first three singles matches but Virginia just ground Duke down.
Still, a very good season and one to build on for 2024, with most of the team returning.
Garrett Johns and Pedro Rodenas in singles and Johns/Rodenas in doubles still will compete in the NCAAs, while Chloe Beck, Georgia Drummy and Emma Jackson will play singles for the women.
Track and field is kind of a special case. The ACC championships were held at NC State and the women had an impressive win, depth and talent dominating on Saturday’s third and final day, Duke ending with an ACC record 145.5 points.
Sophomore Megan McInnis led Duke with a gold in the 400 meters and a silver in the 200 meters.
Duke tied Florida State for the team title two years ago but this is the program’s first solo team title.
“I'm just ecstatic to win our first title solo and not be co-champions,” head coach Shawn Wilbourn said. “I'm really proud of the team – not for just breaking the scoring record, but for how we did it. We scored in every event on the track today [and] there were only four events in the entire meet that we didn't score in, and that's exactly what we've been preaching – team track and field. We're building the culture and you're starting to see the results.”
Duke’s men started well but finished eight, with Tyler Hrbek winning the pole vault
The NCAA East Regional will be held May 24 through 27 in Jacksonville, Florida. The top 48 individuals and top 24 relay teams will be selected.
Two other Duke women’s teams fared well in ACC tournaments last week.
The rowing team finished third behind Virginia and Syracuse. NCAA bids go out Tuesday. Duke finished 16th in the NCAAs last season.
Duke’s softball team defeated Georgia Tech and Clemson to advance to the title game against Florida State. Freshman Cassidy Curd no-hit the Tigers in the semifinals.
FSU edged Duke 2-1 in the title game, the winning run a walk-off in the seventh on a flare into shallow left field that was not handled cleanly.
But Duke’s 45-10 record against a brutal schedule impressed the NCAA, which named Duke the eighth seed nationally. The Blue Devils will host a regional which also includes Campbell, Charlotte and George Mason. Duke begins play in the double-elimination regional Friday at noon against George Mason.
And should Duke advance that number eight seed insures that Duke would host the best-of-three-super regional.
Both of Duke’s golf teams are still playing, albeit at different stages of their postseason journey.
This has not been a vintage year for Dan Brooks’ women’s team, at least not by the Olympian standards they’ve reached in winning seven NCAA titles.
But they seem to be playing well at the right time. Last week in Athens--the one in Georgia--Duke finished second in the regional, only three strokes behind Michigan State.
Duke was led by freshman Andie Smith, who finished fourth.
“Everybody contributed this week,” Brooks said. “That's a wonderful thing. So, you know we’ve got five days to get ready for nationals and we will work hard.”
The nationals start May 19 in Scottsdale, Arizona. An eighth national title may be a bridge too far but Brooks knows how to put a team together and Duke seems to be peaking at the right time.
The men started a week after the women. Duke’s men are playing in Norman, Oklahoma. Duke is fourth after Monday’s opening round, five shots behind leader Texas Tech.
The top five teams after 54 holes advance, also to Scottsdale for tournament play beginning May 26.
Speaking of NCAA Tournament play, Duke’s men’s lacrosse team is ranked number one in the nation but didn’t look like it in the early going Sunday evening against Delaware.
Duke trailed by as many as four goals, trailed 8-5 at the half, tied the game at 9-9 going into the fourth, fell behind 10-9, took a 12-10 lead but sweated out the 12-11 win.
But a win is a win is a win. Duke advances to a final eight-matchup against Michigan next Saturday in Albany, with a trip to Philly for Memorial Day weekend on the line.
Sophomore Andrew McAdorey led Duke with three goals and drew praise from John Danowski.
“He works so hard every day. It's the first time since I've been here that we have to take [a player] out of practice because his motor just doesn't stop. Scoring goals is awesome, but the way he celebrates is contagious and the other guys around him can relax.”
That leaves us with baseball, a sport still several weeks away from beginning NCAA play.
Duke went 15-3 in April and began May firmly in the top 10, with a realistic chance of gaining a top-eight seed.
But Duke began to spring some leaks after exams, not through over-confidence or bad coaching or anything like that. Rather a rash of ill-timed injuries has left Duke “gassed,” in Chris Pollard’s words. Duke’s pitching staff has been especially impacted.
Duke lost three of five last week to Rider and Georgia Tech, all five at home, moving the needle the wrong way.
Duke and the rest of the ACC finish the regular season this weekend. Duke hosts Gardner-Webb Tuesday and then visits a potent Miami squad.
The ACC Tournament starts next Tuesday and it’s at Duke’s home away from home, the Durham Bulls park. We won’t know seedings until the regular season wraps up but each of the 12 teams that make the tournament will be guaranteed two games, with four teams advancing to the single-elimination semifinals on Saturday May 27.
“Guys are fatigued,” Pollard told me last weekend “but we don’t have anybody to put out there in place of some of these guys. We’re just going to have to fight through it.”
Yes, summer vacation may be looming. But plenty of Duke athletes are doing their best to keep that day away as long as possible.