Duke Lacrosse Over the Years

Transcription

1 Roy Skinner Duke Lacrosse Over the Years The Beginning With over 60 years of lacrosse tradition at Duke University, it is interesting to brush the dust off the records and meander through the history of the game in Durham. While lacrosse is generally credited to the early American Indians for its start in the U.S., the game became a part of North Carolina history on April 7, 1938, when Duke and North Carolina squared off in the first game played in the state. With over 500 curious fans lining the muddy field, the two teams played a primitive and physical contest. Duke won that initial clash as player/ coach Dick Lewis led his Blue Devil team to a 2-1 victory over the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill in what would be the start of a heated rivalry. One particular story from that first game helps today s fans understand how far the game has progressed in the past 53 years. Duke goalie Frank Pierce was unable to find shin guards prior to the game, so in an effort to protect himself actually tied copies of the Archive, Duke s undergraduate literary monthly, to his legs. Pierce allowed only one goal, that coming in the game s closing minutes. Little did anyone realize at the time that this one contest would be the foundation of a program now moving into its second half century. Duke would finish that first season with a 2-5 record, the other victory being a 9-4 downing of North Carolina in Durham. Although the start was less than auspicious, the program was on its way. Lewis was Duke s first true lacrosse man, not only organizing and coaching the team, but leading the squad to victory with his outstanding playing skills. He also set up a game that first season with national power Syracuse. One year later, Lewis took his fledgling Blue Devil team to a 7-1 record and the Dixie League championship. The Persons Era Upon Lewis graduation, Jack Persons took over as head coach of the team, a position he would hold for the next 26 seasons. While the Blue Devils had their ups and downs in the early years, it was Ray Brown who attracted the attention of lacrosse enthusiasts around the nation. He was Duke s first All-America in the sport in 1940 and 1941, serving as captain both years. With America coming out of the grips of World War II in 1946, the Blue Devils pulled off one of the biggest upsets that the game has known. Duke topped Maryland 12-4 in College Park to open the season and went on to win both Dick Bollinger & Jack Persons the Dixie Conference and Southern Lacrosse Association championships. Tom Gorsuch, Jimmy Corrigan, Olin Gilbert and Walt Ross were all named to the South team for the North-South All-Star Game in Baltimore. Corrigan was the second highest scorer for the South and third overall with three points in the game. Persons watched his 1951 team compile a 6-2 record and finish the season as runner-up to Virginia for the national title. During what is regarded as the most successful season in Duke lacrosse history, the Blue Devils rolled over such powerhouses as Navy, 17-6, and Johns Hopkins, 9-7, in Durham. Charles Gilfillan was named first team All-America by the National Lacrosse Coaches Association and Bob Bickel by the Baltimore News-Post. Rod Boyce, Fred Eisenbrandt and Bickel were second team All-America selections by the coaches, while future ACC Commissioner Gene Corrigan and Don Bafford earned honorable mention honors. The following season saw continued success. Bickel was named first-team All-America as he led Duke to a 7-3 record and a number six national ranking. Duke continued to accumulate the All-America honors, as Don Bafford and Dan Peacock were third team selections and Dick Bollinger and Nolan Rogers earned third team honors in When the Atlantic Coast Conference decided to accept the sport in 1954, it was Duke University that rolled to the first league title awarded. With Persons directing the Duke attack, the Blue Devils also won the Southern Lacrosse Association title and ended the year at and ranked third in the nation. Everett Anderson was named first team All-America, while Bollinger was second team and Kirvan Pierson and Ronald Wilson were honorable mention. They continued to carry momentum to the next spring and ended 1955 ranked seventh in the land and were the ACC runners-up. Lean times hit the program for the next 10 seasons, as the Blue Devils tried to compete with the quickly growing powers on the East Coast. The team went to club status in 1965 in an effort to rebuild with freshman and varsity players joining forces. Persons efforts paid off as he guided the team to a 5-5 mark in 1966 before retiring from the world of lacrosse. The Corrie/Skinner Era With Roy Skinner and Bruce Corrie taking over as co-coaches in 1967, the Blue Devils romped to a 7-4 Duke s First Home Lacrosse Game in 1938 vs. Syracuse mark and a runner-up spot in the ACC. Captain Wayne Guckenberger earned team Most Valuable Player honors, while honorable mention All-America selections Malcolm Travelstead and Art Tremaine were the offensive and defensive leaders during that period. The duo continued to direct Duke for the next four years. With the Blue Devils moving from club to full varsity status, the team was on its way again. The offense was keyed during that time by explosive scorers Steve Sachs and Chuck Clark. Sachs led the ACC in scoring in 1968 and 1969 and finished his career with 101 goals and 108 assists for 209 points. The two finished their careers as co-captains in 69 and led the team to a 6-5 record. They will be long remembered as the foundation of the rebirth of a proud tradition at Duke. Skinner retired following the 1970 season and Corrie took over as the lone head coach in Honorable mention All-America and North-South selection Jeff Board, along with 100-point scorer Jim Neffgen, paced the Blue Devils. Captains Jon Brodsky, Dennis Cassidy and Bill Pugh were the team leaders during the 1970 and 71 seasons. Midfielder Skip Walters was named MVP in 1971, as Duke progressed to an 8-6 record in New names and faces continued to emerge and two that stood out were midfielders Mark Sammis and Val Curran. Both earned team MVP honors separately, and then shared the award as senior co-captains in The two would guide Duke to an 8-6 record and a number 18 ranking. Sammis was an honorable mention All-America selection as a senior and played in the North-South All-Star Game. During this period, potent scorers Rob Rice and Tom Brodsky led the Blue Devils, as both finished their careers with over 100 points. Rice was named honorable mention All-America. After leading the program for nine seasons, Corrie retired as head coach following the 1975 season and later became the Director of Athletics at Northwestern University. The Espey/Cullen Era John Espey took over the Blue Devils prior to the 1976 campaign. Three seasons would pass before Duke would regain top-20 status with a 7-6 record and number 19 national ranking following the 1977 season. Joe Devlin was the focal point of that team and earned honorable mention All-America honors and was selected All-South Atlantic and All-ACC. 38 Seven-time ACC Champions 2009 NCAA Semifinalists

2 Joe Matassa Maurice Glavin Head Coach Mike Pressler The success built from there. A transfer by the name of Tony Cullen brought his explosive scoring talent from New York to Durham and immediately led the Blue Devils to a 9-6 mark. Duke finished the season ranked 15th in the nation, and Cullen led the ACC in scoring and earned honorable mention All-America honors. Cullen continued to have success on the offensive side of the field, leading the nation in scoring and earning All-America honors for the second straight season. He closed out his career as a three-time All-America selection and a North-South participant. In 1978, Duke s most prolific scorer arrived on the Duke campus. Dave Hagler keyed the Blue Devil offense for three seasons and graduated in 1982 as the Blue Devils career scoring leader with 254 points. Following that 1982 season, Espey retired and handed the reins to former player Tony Cullen. Duke s 1985 team provided the nucleus of success for the next four seasons. The names from the 85 team leap out of the record books. Peter Rubin led the league in scoring as a freshman, while Ken Lukes was named honorable mention All-America and the team s MVP, along with Peter Ortale. Jim Cabrera was selected All-ACC. Duke contended for a berth in the NCAA Tournament over the following three years. Cullen guided the 86 team to an 11-4 mark and at one point late in the year the team was ranked as high as ninth in the nation. Ortale and Lukes were All-ACC along with Rubin, who was also named honorable mention All-America. With 11 victories, the Blue Devils had won more games in a season than any team in school history. Duke matched the feat in 1987 as the team went 11-3 and 2-1 in the ACC to finish as the league runner-up for Tony Cullen & Bruce Corrie Tony Cullen Duke Lacrosse Over the Years Bruce Corrie the first time in 20 years. The squad was rated 13th in the nation, one place out of the NCAA Tournament. The team defeated Division III finalist Ohio Wesleyan 13-6 before knocking off 1986 NCAA finalist Virginia A week later, Duke upset defending NCAA champion North Carolina 10-9 in Durham as freshman Josh Dennis netted the winning goal. Rubin and Cabrera were both honorable mention All-America selections and joined Maurice Glavin and Lukes on the All-ACC squad. Glavin and Ortale represented Duke in the North-South All-Star Game. In 1988, Duke went 8-4 on the season and narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament. Nearly 50 years to the day from the first lacrosse game in the state, Duke upset undefeated Loyola (Md.) in overtime. Junior Paul Mahoney led the ACC in scoring that season and finished his career as a three-time All-ACC honoree. Dennis and Michael Conway earned honorable mention All-America honors. Conway also earned the ACC Senior Merit Award, given annually to the top scholar-athlete at each league school. Reaching New Heights With Mike Pressler In 1991 a new era began an era led by head coach Mike Pressler. In Pressler s first season, the Blue Devils finished the season ranked 12th in the nation, a promising 7-5 overall and fell just one goal short of knocking off eventual NCAA champion North Carolina in the ACC Tournament at Duke. During the season, the Blue Devils defeated Loyola in Baltimore. Keith Melchionni ended his career as a three-time All-America selection. Joe Matassa and Gregg Schmalz joined Melchionni as honorable mention All-Americas and Schmalz was named All-ACC. The Pressler era continued into the 1992 season, as the Blue Devils accomplished feats unthinkable two years before. Duke finished the season ranked 12th in the nation and earned the school s first bid to the NCAA Tournament. In the regular season, the Blue Devils beat Virginia in Charlottesville Duke s first win at UVa since 1950, and first ACC victory since The Blue Devils also upset fourth-ranked Loyola, Duke finished the season with a record of 7-7 and was knocked out of NCAA Tournament play in the first round by a tough Maryland team. In 1993, Pressler s team had an outstanding season, but barely missed the NCAA Tournament field on tough losses to Navy and Massachusetts. Duke began the season with a perfect 4-0 record, including an upset over seventh-ranked Maryland. The Blue Devils marked their first season with more than seven wins since Duke finished 9-6 in 1989 and reached the highest national ranking in school history a preseason rank of No. 8. The Blue Devils finished the season with a 9-5 record, while Duke watched the culmination of some of its most impressive careers. Goalkeeper Carter Hertzberg finished his career with an outstanding 582 saves with only 314 goals against for a save percentage of.650. Hertzberg also set an ACC Tournament record with 24 saves against North Carolina in the semifinals. In addition, faceoff specialist Andy Droney tallied his fourth season with over 100 faceoffs won, bringing his career total to 511 out of 928 for an impressive.551 percentage. Hertzberg, Droney and defenseman Derek Thomson were North-South selections, Tony Cullen, one of the best players in Duke men s lacrosse history, spent nine seasons as the head coach of the Blue Devils from In 1986 and 1987, he guided Duke to 11-win seasons marking the first two doublefigure single-season win totals in school history. Overall, he compiled a coaching record of with the Blue Devils and served as a coach in the prestigious North-South Game in As a player, Cullen established himself as one of the top scorers in school history. He currently stands first in career assists (114), tied for second in career points (220) and ninth in career goals (106). In addition, Cullen holds the single-game assist record (8) and single-season marks for both assists (52 in 1979) and points (90 in 1979). Bruce Corrie served as Duke s co-head coach with Roy Skinner from and then guided the Blue Devils for five additional seasons following Skinner s retirement. In nine total seasons, Corrie led Duke to 54 victories and later became the athletic director at Northwestern University. Seven-time ACC Champions 2009 NCAA Semifinalists 39

3 Joe Kirmser 1997 ACC Champions Duke Lacrosse Over the Years while midfielder Matt Ogelsby was named third team All-America. Thomson received honorable mention All- America honors, and Pressler was chosen as a head coach for the North-South Game. The 1994 season saw the Blue Devils accomplish many firsts for the program. The Blue Devils charted their first NCAA Tournament win, hosted an NCAA Tournament game for the first time, achieved the then-highest ranking in the history of the program (No.7), defeated a team ranked No.2 in the nation and beat ACC rival Maryland at home for the first time since This season of firsts brought the Blue Devils a trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals where they lost to No. 1 Syracuse, Duke finished the year with a record of 10-6 and a hunger to continue its success into Three Blue Devils earned All-America honors, including juniors Scott Harrison and Matt Ogelsby, along with senior Joe Proud. In addition, Ken Fasanaro, Mike Clayton and Chris Affolter were selected to play in the North-South Game. That hunger did carry on, as Duke enjoyed an outstanding season in Duke finished with a 12-4 record, and set a school mark for the highest ranking, No.4. Most notably, Duke won its first ever ACC Tournament title and became the first number-four seed to win the ACC Championship by defeating North Carolina, 14-6, in the final in Chapel Hill. The Blue Devils advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season and laid claim to four All-ACC and five All-America accolades. Midfielder Matt Ogelsby earned first team All-America honors and was selected 1995 ACC Player of the Year, the first in school history. After those seniors departed from the 1995 Championship team, Duke was left with a rather young squad in The Blue Devils came away with an even 6-6 record and several individuals earned impressive accolades. Tyler Hardy was named William F. Schmeisser Division I Defensive Player of the Year and Scott Diggs garnered ACC Rookie of the Year honors both the first awards of their kind at Duke. The 1997 Pressler team featured 13 seniors who guided the Blue Devils to what may have been the best season in the history of lacrosse at Duke. The Blue Devils advanced to the NCAA Final Four for the first time in school history and tied the then-school record for most wins in a season with a 12-4 mark. In addition, the Blue Devils finished the season ranked fifth in the nation and won two NCAA Tournament games, the most in school history. A record seven Blue Devils earned All-America honors, including two first team selections in Jim Gonnella and David Stilley. Gonnella earned Division I Midfielder of the Year honors, the first award of its kind in the history of Duke lacrosse. The Blue Devils also had a school-record five players named to the All-ACC team. The 1997 team brought Duke to a new plateau of success, setting a precedent for future teams to follow. The 1998 squad, while it fell just three goals short of a return trip to the Final Four, was successful in its own right. The Blue Devils won 11 games, culminating in an 11-9 loss to eventual national champion Princeton in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Three Blue Devils earned All-ACC honors while four players were named to All-America teams. Headlining the squad were senior John Fay, a second team All-America who finished his Duke career ranked third all-time in career goals with 150, and Scott Diggs, a junior who was named first team All-America midfielder. The 1999 squad set numerous school records while advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the fourth time in program history. The Blue Devils set a school-record 13 wins, posted a new school-record winning streak with a 9-0 start to the year, defeated all three conference opponents during the season, reached its highest ranking of No. 2 nationally and boasted eight All-America selections, the most ever in a season. Juniors Stephen Card and Nick Hartofilis earned first and second team honors respectively, while Scott Diggs, Jared Frood and Tim Knowles were named to the third team. In 2000, the Blue Devils went 11-5 and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals, with Stephen Card, T.J. Durnan and Nick Hartofilis garnering All-ACC honors. In addition, the trio was joined by senior Jared Frood in earning All- America accolades. Card became just the second Blue Devil to be named first team All-America in two different seasons, joining Charles Gilfillan who turned the trick in 1948 and Both Card and Hartofilis represented Duke in the North-South All-Star Game. In 2000, seven former Duke players were selected in the first Major League Lacrosse draft. Gonnella was named one of 18 Assigned Players and played with the Fairfield, Conn., franchise. Other former Duke players taken in the draft were Card (6th round, 31st overall, Rochester), Nick Hartofilis (6th round, 33rd overall, Baltimore), Stilley (11th round, 65th overall, New Jersey), Frood (13th round, 73rd overall, Connecticut), John Fay (14th round, 79th overall, Rochester) and Ed Fay (16th round, 91st overall, Rochester). The 2001 Duke team returned the Blue Devils to the top of the ACC, winning the school s third league title in men s lacrosse. Duke defeated North Carolina in the semifinals and Maryland, 10-6, in the championship game as Bross earned Tournament MVP honors. The Blue Devils finished the year with an 11-6 overall record and advanced to the postseason for the eighth time under Pressler. Cassese was named second team All-America and became just the second player in school history to garner ACC Player of the Year honors. Bross, Chris Hartofilis and Stuart Schwartz also earned honorable mention All- America accolades. In 2002, the Blue Devils won their second straight ACC Tournament behind tourney MVP A.J. Kincel. In the championship game, Terrence Keaney scored two goals in the final two minutes to lift the Blue Devils past number one-ranked Virginia, Duke finished the year 8-7 and fell in the NCAAs to eventual national champion Syracuse. Cassese, a first team All-America, was named the national midfielder of the year. In the summer of 2002, Pressler served as an assistant coach for Team USA which won the gold medal at the 2002 Lacrosse World Championships in Perth, Australia. Also, three players with Duke ties were named to the U.S. National Team Bross, Cassese and Knowles. Duke s 2003 team went 8-7 and made its third straight appearance in the ACC title game where it fell to eventual NCAA champion Virginia. Cassese closed out an outstanding career by becoming just the third Duke player ever to receive First Team All-America honors in two seasons. In addition, Cassese (118 points) and fellow captain Kevin Brennan (122 points) finished their respective careers ranking 24th and 22nd, respectively, on Duke s all-time scoring list. In the summer of 2003, six future Duke teammates Matt Danowski, Kyle Dowd, Peter Lamade, Glenn Nick, Bret Thompson and Matt Zash led the United States Under-19 team to the World Championship. In addition, Zack Greer helped Canada to the championship game and was named to the All-World Team. While the 2004 Blue Devils compiled a 5-8 mark, the future of Duke lacrosse rose to the forefront. Danowski and Zash received honorable mention All-America recognition while Lamade was the lone rookie tabbed to the All-ACC squad. 40 Seven-time ACC Champions 2009 NCAA Semifinalists

4 2007 NCAA Semifinal Duke 12, Cornell 11 Head Coach John Danowski Dan Loftus Duke Lacrosse Over the Years One year later, Pressler and the Blue Devils enjoyed the finest season in Duke history, winning an NCAA single-season record 17 games against three defeats and advancing to the national championship game. Even though Duke fell in the finals to Johns Hopkins, 9-8, the Blue Devils were vastly rewarded for their efforts. Pressler was named the USILA National Coach of the Year while Danowski and Aaron Fenton earned top honors at their respective positions of attackman and goalkeeper, respectively. Danowski led the country in scoring with a school record 92 points on 50 goals and 42 assists while Fenton paced the nation in goalkeeper rating. The Blue Devils swept the ACC honors as Pressler (Coach of the Year), Danowski (Player of the Year) and Greer (Rookie of the Year) claimed the hardware. The league s top coaching honor marked the third for Pressler in his 15 seasons on the Duke sideline. Duke finished unbeaten in regular season league play capped off by a 17-2 victory over Virginia in front of over 6,500 fans at Koskinen Stadium in mid-april for the first time before falling to Maryland in the ACC Tournament finals. Zash joined Danowski and Fenton on the All-America first unit while Peter Lamade and Tony McDevitt received second team honors. Greer, who established a new NCAA single-season goal scoring record for freshmen with 57, was a third team selection and Casey Carroll garnered an honorable mention citation. Duke s run to the national title game was fueled by Danowski, Dan Flannery and Greer as the trio combined for 54 points over four games, thus becoming the second most prolific scoring trio in NCAA Tournament history. Danowski, who had two goals and four assists in the championship game, and Flannery were accompanied on the NCAA All-Tournament Team by Zash and Nick O Hara. A long stick midfielder, O Hara was instrumental in Duke s national semifinal victory over Maryland, recording two goals and one assist in the 18-9 triumph. The Blue Devils also established a new tournament record for scoring offense, piling up 60 total goals in wins over Fairfield, Cornell and Maryland in addition to the loss to Hopkins. After Duke won six of its first eight games to start the 2006 season, the campaign was suspended on March 31 and Pressler resigned from his post on April 7 following 16 years at the helm. Cassese was named the program s interim head coach on June 5, and John Danowski, who had successfully guided the Hofstra program to an NCAA record-tying 17 wins in 2006, was tabbed the head coach to replace Pressler on July 21. Danowski Era Begins In John Danowski, Duke found the perfect man to assume the reigns of the Blue Devil program. A former national coach of the year choice who guided Hofstra to eight conference championships, Danowski guided Duke to 17 wins in his first campaign along with the ACC regular season and tournament crowns. In addition, the 2007 Blue Devils earned the program s first number one seed in the NCAA Tournament but the storybook season ended with a loss to Johns Hopkins in the championship game. In the postseason, Duke defeated Providence in the opening round (18-3) before Danowski and Greer combined for 11 goals and nine assists one week later in the Blue Devils triumph over North Carolina in the quarterfinals. Duke s national semifinal tilt against undefeated Cornell which defeated the Blue Devils, 7-6, during the regular season offered plenty of highlights for the crowd of 52,004 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Fueled by three goals by Greer in an 8-0 run, Duke claimed a 10-3 advantage midway through the third period only to see the Big Red counter with an 8-1 spurt that knotted the game at on Brian Clayton s goal with 17 seconds on the clock. On the ensuing face-off, Duke rookie Terrence Molinari won the draw and fed the ball to Lamade, who then found Greer in front of the net for the game-winning goal with three seconds remaining. Duke s offense thrived in 2007 as Matt Danowski and Greer finished one-two nationally in scoring and formed the second-most prolific scoring duo in NCAA history with a combined 190 points. The younger Danowski became the most decorated player in school history by earning ACC Player of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP and National Player of the Year honors following an impressive 44-goal, 52-assist campaign. He was joined on the first team All-America squad by teammates Carroll, Greer and O Hara. McDevitt (3rd team), Dan Loftus (3rd) and Brad Ross (HM) also received All-America recognition. The records continued to fall in 2008 as the Blue Devils captured an NCAA-record 18 victories while capturing their third consecutive ACC title. Sporting a 16-1 record heading into the NCAA Tournament, Duke earned the No. 1 seed for the second straight year. The Blue Devils defeated Loyola 12-7 in the first round and cruised through the quarterfinal round in Ithaca, N.Y. with a rout of Ohio State. Appearing in the NCAA Semifinals for the third time in four seasons, Duke took on Johns Hopkins at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The Blue Jays grabbed an early 5-2 lead before Duke started to chip away, tying the game 8-8 on a Nick O Hara goal midway through the fourth quarter. Johns Hopkins scored two unanswered for a two-goal cushion with 4:18 on the clock. Brad Ross drew Duke within on with 28 ticks left. The Blue Jays won the ensuing faceoff, but Crotty picked up a loose ball and the Blue Devils called a timeout. Coming out of the break with 3.9 seconds on the clock, Matt Danowski s bid to the tie the contest was stopped by the Johns Hopkins goalie, his 17th of the day. Duke finished 18-2 on the year. Matt Danowski and Zack Greer finished one-two, respectively, in the NCAA in points and shattered NCAA scoring marks over the course of the season. Greer tallied an NCAA record 206 goals in 67 career starts, while Danowski finished his collegiate lacrosse career with an amazing 353 career points. His 97 points on the season led the nation and earned him the USILA National Player of the Year award for the second straight season. Greer was voted the USILA Attackman of the Year, while senior Nick O Hara captured the USILA National Defenseman of the Year trophy. Both Matt and Greer earned All-America first team honors and were joined on the top squad by Nick O Hara. Ned Crotty (2nd), Tony McDevitt (2nd), Dan Loftus (3rd), Max Quinzani (3rd), Ross (3rd), and Parker McKee (HM) also garnered All-America recognition. Despite a new cast of leaders at the forefront of the program, the 2009 squad generated similar results. The Blue Devils defied all expectations and captured their third consecutive ACC title the first time a Duke team has achieved that feat and advanced to the NCAA Semifinals for the third straight season. In what can be considered Coach Danowski s best coaching job, Duke upset top-ranked Virginia twice and defeated North Carolina three times, including in the ACC Championship and NCAA Quarterfinals. The offense was led by the dynamic duo of attackmen Ned Crotty and Max Quinzani. The tandem combined for 135 points to leading all scoring duos in Division I lacrosse. Crotty registered 55 assists, falling just one shy Seven-time ACC Champions 2009 NCAA Semifinalists The Returnees 41

5 Max Quinzani Rob Schroeder Brad Ross Duke Lacrosse Over the Years of Matt Danowski s school record 56 in 2008 and was selected as the USILA Attackman of the Year and a first team All-America. Meanwhile, Quinzani continued his incredible scoring streak as he scored at least one point in all 19 games to push his streak to 46 games. He led all Blue Devils in 2009 with six three-plus goal performances and was selected to the All-America third team. Crotty and Quinzani represented Duke on the All- ACC squad, while Crotty captured the ACC Player of the Year accolade. Three other Duke players were awarded All-American recognition as well. Parker McKee earned second-team honors as a defenseman, while Brad Ross was a third-team selection. Rookie CJ Costabile rounded out the group as an honorable mention choice. The 2009 season began with a lot of uncertainty after the departure of scoring powerhouses Matt Danowski and Greer and the addition of senior Robert Schroeder being a first-year starter between the pipes. Getting off to a bit of a slow start with a 2-2 in their first four games and losing back-to-back games for the first time since 2004, the Blue Devils were unfazed and quickly bounced back. Focused on the task ahead, Duke rattled off four straight wins, including a crucial ACC win over North Carolina, before dropping a contest to No. 3 Cornell in Durham. Duke brushed off the loss to the Big Red and cruised through the next seven games, which included two wins over No. 1 Virginia, and an ACC Championship. In the ACC Tournament, the Blue Devils dominated the Cavaliers behind Crotty s eight points. In the title tilt against rival North Carolina, it was Costabile leading the way by scoring three goals and winning 10-of-17 restarts. He was rewarded for his efforts, becoming the first rookie in ACC history to win the ACC Tournament Most Outstanding Player award. Earning the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Duke quickly dispatched Navy in the first round to set up a third game with the Tar Heels. The third time was not the charm for North Carolina in 2009 as Duke came away with a nailbiter win to earn a berth in the NCAA Semifinals. An unusual suspect in Tom Montelli tallied what proved to the game-winner that afternoon and pushed Duke to its third straight NCAA Semifinal appearance. Going up against the defending national champion Syracuse Orange, the Blue Devils had their work cut out for them. The Orange took an 8-4 lead into halftime and outscored Duke 9-3 in the second half to beat Duke 17-7 on its way to another national title. Following the end of the season two Blue Devils were selected in the Major League Lacrosse draft with Ross going ACC Tournament 1990 Virginia 18, Duke North Carolina 11, Duke Maryland 8, Duke North Carolina 13, Duke Virginia 19, Duke Duke 17, Virginia 10 Duke 14, North Carolina 6 Tournament MVP: Ross Moscatti 1996 North Carolina 18, Duke Duke 17, Maryland 10 Virginia 12, Duke Virginia 11, Duke Duke 9, North Carolina 7 Virginia 8, Duke Maryland 7, Duke Duke 11, North Carolina 9 Duke 10, Maryland 6 Tournament MVP: Scott Bross 2002 Duke 8, Maryland 7 (OT) Duke 14, Virginia 13 Tournament MVP: A.J. Kincel 2003 Duke 7, Maryland 6 Virginia 12, Duke Maryland 10, Duke Duke 13, North Carolina 11 Maryland 9, Duke Duke 13, North Carolina 9 Duke 12, Virginia 9 Tournament MVP: Matt Danowski 2008 Duke 17, North Carolina 6 Duke 11, Virginia 9 Tournament MVP: Dan Loftus 2009 Duke 16, Virginia 5 Duke 15, North Carolina 13 Tournament MVP to the Toronto Nationals and Ryan McFadyen getting picked by the Washington Bayhawks. In his rookie MLL season, Ross joined former teammate Nick O Hara to help lead Toronto the MLL Championship. O Hara had one goal in the championship and Ross tallied a two-point score in the semifinals. NCAA Tournament 1992 Maryland 13, Duke Duke 14, Maryland 9 Syracuse 12, Duke Notre Dame 12, Duke Duke 11, Brown 6 Duke 12, Johns Hopkins 11 (OT) Princeton 10, Duke Duke 16, North Carolina 14 Princeton 11, Duke Georgetown 17, Duke Duke 13, Hobart 1 Virginia 10, Duke Towson 12, Duke Duke 22, Hobart 6 Syracuse 10, Duke Duke 23, Fairfield 4 Duke 11, Cornell 8 Duke 18, Maryland 9 Johns Hopkins 9, Duke Duke 18, Providence 3 Duke 19, North Carolina 11 Duke 12, Cornell 11 Johns Hopkins 12, Duke Duke 12, Loyola 7 Duke 21, Ohio State 10 Johns Hopkins 10, Duke Duke 14, Navy 5 Duke 12, North Carolina 10 Syracuse 17, Duke 7 42 Seven-time ACC Champions 2009 NCAA Semifinalists

6 Duke Hall of Fame The Home of Blue Devil Greats Charles Gilfillan One of Corrigan s teammates, Charles Gilfillan, also was inducted into the Duke Sports Hall of Fame. Gilfillan, a defenseman, is one of three two-time first team All-Americas in Duke Lacrosse history. He earned first team honors in 1948 and 1951, along with a third team merit in During his senior year, 1951, the squad compiled a 6-1 record to finish as the national championship runner-up to ACC rival Virginia. Gene Corrigan Duke Lacrosse saw its second member inducted into the Duke Sports Hall of Fame in 1991, when Gene Corrigan received the prestigious honor. A member of the 1951 Duke lacrosse team, Gene Corrigan was well known as a driving force in the shaping of intercollegiate athletics as both the Commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference and as President of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Corrigan, who retired from both positions in 1997, was the third commissioner in the 45-year history of the league. Corrigan brought progressive philosophies and ideas to the ACC and helped solidify the conference s reputation as one of the nation s leaders. Upon his graduation from Duke in 1952, Corrigan, a lacrosse All-America, began his career teaching Latin, English and history while coaching basketball, football and lacrosse at St. Paul s School in Baltimore. The Baltimore native then moved on to occupy almost every desk imaginable in athletics. He served as the lacrosse coach at Washington & Lee, the Sports Information Director and Director of Athletic Programs at Virginia and Athletic Director at Notre Dame before assuming the ACC post in Corrigan was also inducted into the Lacrosse Hall of Fame in Jack Persons The first athlete of the lacrosse fraternity to be inducted into the Hall of Fame is former head coach Jack Persons. Persons started out as Duke s swimming coach in At the age of 20, he was the youngest head coach at a major university in the nation. When he retired from coaching 45 years later, he was one of the most admired men in his field. Along the way, his teams recorded 207 victories in 378 meets, including undefeated seasons in 1933 and Person s teams also captured one Southern Conference Championship, had seven runner-up finishes and were tops among Big Five teams from Persons also had a storied career coaching the Blue Devil lacrosse team from He directed Duke to one of the greatest upsets in collegiate lacrosse history in 1946 when the Blue Devils shocked national power Maryland, In the 1950s, his team was a national contender on a yearly basis with the 1951 squad finishing second in the country. In all, Persons had three teams finish the year ranked among the top-ten teams in the nation, and his 1954 squad won the inaugural ACC Championship. In addition to his coaching duties, Persons taught physical education at Duke and was a pioneer of swimming in North Carolina. He served as the chairman of the Durham County Red Cross life saving and water safety units. Persons graduated from Duke in 1933, and was inducted into the Hall in Blue Devils 1946 All-Stars Thomas Gorsuch, Olin Gilbert, Walter Ross Seven-time ACC Champions 2009 NCAA Semifinalists 43

7 Over the past 12 years, Duke has won 86 % of its home games with an record. The Blue Devils have gone unbeaten three times at home in the past 12 seasons. Koskinen Stadium Koskinen Stadium, named and dedicated in 1999 through the support of John and Patricia Koskinen, is situated ideally on Duke University s West Campus. It sits adjacent to the William David Murray Building and near both Wallace Wade Stadium and Cameron Indoor Stadium. This location -- in the heart of Duke s athletic complex -- allows easy access for Duke fans both on campus and throughout the local community. From a spectator s standpoint, there s not a bad seat in the house as the aluminum bleachers flank each sideline to allow for 4,000 fans. The Bermuda natural grass playing surface is 75 yards by 120 yards with an underground irrigation system that keeps it in top condition year-round, while lights, added in 1984, have afforded the Blue Devils scheduling flexibility. Located on the stadium s West side, the press box provides ample room in the divided press area for writers as well as having adequate space for radio and television crews. The Blue Devils regularly have home contests televised by the ESPN family of networks and will host North Carolina this season on ESPNU on March 10. Renovations were made in the fall of 2005 which included a field house containing two locker rooms and a viewing deck. In addition, permanent concession stands and restrooms were added to make the soccer experience even more comfortable for Duke soccer fans. Duke Brick around the bleachers, along with stadium fencing, have also enhanced Koskinen Stadium. 44 Seven-time ACC Champions 2009 NCAA Semifinalists

8 Athletic Facilities The Duke men's lacrosse team is housed in the Murray Building, which opened in 1986, and underwent complete renovation last summer. Each office contains new furniture and a flat screen television on the wall for easy breakdown of game film. The student-athletes have everything they need at their fingertips in the Murray Building as it houses locker rooms, a weight room, a stateof-the art meeting room, the equipment room and sports medicine. The locker room features individual lockers for each player, which includes a slot for each players sticks and a flat panel televsion mounted on the wall equipped with cable television. The Duke lacrosse history of ACC Championships and NCAA Tournaments are proudly displayed along the walls above the lockers. The state-of-the-art meeting room features theatre style seating and drop-down movie screens to create the ideal environment for watching film and game analysis. The 3,300 square foot weight room has over three tons of free weights along with Nautilus, Hydra-Gym and Universal Stations. The equipment helps the Blue Devils maintain their excellent fitness over the course of the season. The modern sports medicine training room provides all of the equipment and services necessary to keep the Duke men's lacrosse team healthy and in action. Outside of the Murray Building and behind Koskinen Stadium are two artificial turf practice fields the Blue Devils use for practices throughout the season regardless to the weather conditions during the winter months. Just around the corner from the Murray Building is the state-of-the-art Campbell Academic Center in the Schwartz/Butters Athletic Center. The academic center houses Duke's academic advisor offices and has computer labs, individual tutorial rooms and study spaces and meeting rooms. Seven-time ACC Champions 2009 NCAA Semifinalists 45

9 Clockwise From top left: The 2008 squad prepares for its NCAA Tournament semifinal squad against Johns Hopkins... The Blue Devils advanced to the NCAA Semifinals for the third consecutive year in Matt Danowski accepts the 2007 Tewaaraton Trophy awarded to the nationa s top men and women s lacrosse players... Roy Skinner served as Duke s head coach from The Blue Devils draw capacity crowds to Koskinen Stadium throughout the season, including the crowd of nearly 4,000 that witnessed Duke beat top-ranked Virginia... Duke s Ryan McFadyen celebrates with Blue Devil junior Tom Montelli after he tallied a goal agaisnt North Carolina in the NCAA Quarterfinal USILA National Player of the Year Matt Danowski set the NCAA record for career points in 2008 with 353 overall captains Jim Book, Joe Matass, Gregg Schmalz guided the Blue Devils to a final national ranking of 12th All-America selections Ned Crotty, Parker McKee and Max Quinzani and head coach John Danowski talk to the media following the NCAA Quarterfinal win over North Carolina... Duke celebrates in the lockerroom following its thrilling victory over top-ranked Virginia at Koskinen Stadium in The 2009 USILA Attackman of the Year Ned Crotty celebrates after a goal... Crotty led the nation in assists in 2009.

10 The Blue Devils have received a bid to the NCAA Tournament 13 times since 1992, advancing to national championship game in both 2005 & 2007 Duke has won ACC titles in 1954, 1995, 2001, 2002, and Duke has won 73 games over the past five seasons the only team in Division I lacrosse to win more than 70 games during that span. During that stretch, the Blue Devils have lost just 14 games seven by just one goal In 2009, Ned Crotty was named the USILA National Attackman of the Year after leading the nation in assists. In 2008, Matt Danowski was named the USILA National Player of the Year for the second straight time after leading the nation in goals and assists. He set the NCAA career scoring record, finishing with 353 points. Zack Greer led the nation in goals and was named the USILA National Attackman of the Year. His 206 career goals is an NCAA record, surpassing the 28-year-old record of 193. A pair former Blue Devils Matt Zash & Kevin Cassese helped Philadelphia to the 2007 MLL championship. Nick O Hara was named the USILA National Defenseman of the Year in 2008 and proceeded to help the Rochester Rattlers capture the 2008 MLL championship. Nick O Hara and Brad Ross helped lead the Toronto Nationals to the MLL championship, the second for O Hara in his professional lacrosse career. Former Duke standout Dave Stilley was a member of the 2006 NLL champion Colorado Mammoth In 2002, Kevin Cassese earned National Midfielder of the Year honors. Cassese earned USILA First Team All-America honors in both 2002 and 2003 and was the second overall selection in the 2003 Major League Lacrosse Draft. In 2009, 28 Duke men s lacrosse players were named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll, 10 more than the next closest school. Twelve were selectedo the All-ACC Academic squad, five more than the next closest school.

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12 In 2009, Duke captured its seventh ACC title, defeating North Carolina in the ACC Tournament Championship. The Blue Devils ran past Virginia 16-5 in the semifinals, getting a seven-point effort from Ned Crotty. Duke finished the season with a 15-4 overall record, winning its third consecutive ACC title and advancing to the NCAA Semifinals for the third straight year. Duke placed seven players on the ACC All-Tournament Team in 2009 with rookie CJ Costabile picking up the Most Outstanding Player award. Costabile is the first rookie to capture the honor in ACC Tournament history. The 1954 season saw the Blue Devils bring back their first ACC championship to Durham. The team defeated Maryland and North Carolina 15-1 to garner the league s first title. While it took 41 years for the ACC Championship trophy to end up back in the hands of the Blue Devils, Duke has won more titles than any other ACC team with six of the past 15. In 1995, head coach Mike Pressler led the Blue Devils back to the pinnacle of the conference with convincing victories over Virginia and North Carolina in the tournament. Pressler helped guide Duke to consecutive titles in 2000 and 2001 as it finished ranked among the top 10 teams nationally both seasons. A new era began in 2007 with head coach John Danowski at the helm of the Blue Devil lacrosse program. The longtime head coach quickly took Duke back to the top as Duke captured each of the next three ACC Tournament titles. Under Danowski s watch, Duke s group of 2009 seniors became the first Blue Devil lacrosse players to win three consecutive ACC Tournament championships. Overall, Duke owns an all-time record of in the ACC Tournament. The Blue Devils are 11-9 all-time in ACC Tournament semifinal games and 6-5 in championship tilts. Against the field, Duke is 5-4 vs. Maryland, 7-4 vs. North Carolina and 5-6 vs. Virginia. Duke s ACC Tournament MVPs include: Ross Moscatti (1995), Scott Bross (2001), A.J. Kincel (2002) and Matt Danowski (2007), Dan Loftus (2008) and Costabile (2009).

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14 The Duke men s lacrosse program takes great pride in its community outreach program. For the past two years, the Blue Devils have participated in cooking and serving meals at the Durham-based Ronald McDonald House and Urban Ministries Soup Kitchen. They took part in a 5K run that benefitted the Duke Physical Therapy Program and spent numerous hours coaching lacrosse at local youth clinics. With the growth of the sport of lacrosse and our role here and being members of the Duke community, we embrace our role in the community on as many levels as makes sense, said Duke head coach John Danowski. We want to be involved in the lacrosse community and the growth of the sport. We want to be involved in the Duke community, whether it be at the Children s Hospital or the Ronald McDonald House, and we want to be involved in the Durham community. In 2008, the men s lacrosse team adopted a young child who was being treated at the Duke University Hospital through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. During the 2007 season, the Duke squad sponsored a U.S. Army unit in Iraq through America Supporting Americans ( org). The sponsored unit was Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division in Anaconda, Iraq.

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16 Former Duke players have enjoyed their share of success on the professional levels of lacrosse. In 2009, two Duke players were picked in the Major League Lacrosse Draft. Brad Ross was picked 15th overall by the Toronto Nationals, while Ryan McFadyen went as the No. 33 choice. Ross joined former teammate Nick O Hara on the Nationals squad and helped lead Toronto to the MLL title with a 10-9 win over the Denver Outlaws. O Hara tallied the first goal of the championship game, while Ross netted a two-point score in the semifinal for the Nationals. Duke also was represented on the 2009 MLL All-Star Team as Matt Danowski and Zack Greer earned nods. After another standout season in 2008, the Blue Devils had four players picked in the MLLacrosse Draft. Danowski became the second Blue Devil to be chosen second, while Tony McDevitt, O Hara, and Mike Ward all went among the top 30. Danowski and McDevitt both were selected by the New Jersey Pride, while Ward went to the Denver Outlaws. Picked up by Rochester, O Hara went on to help the Rattlers capture the MLL title. Danowski was selected to the MLL All-Star game as a member of the New Jersey Pride, scoring two goals and adding an assist. One year earlier in 2007, former Blue Devils Kevin Cassese and Matt Zash helped Philadelphia to the championship of Major League Lacrosse. Defenseman Taylor Wray graduated from Duke in 2003 and was an immediate hit in the National Lacrosse League. Selected with the number two overall pick by Calgary, Wray was the NLL s Rookie of the Year, Co-Defenseman of the Year and first team All-NLL choice in 2004 while leading the Roughnecks to the league championship. Wray s brother, Devan, also was a member of Calgary s 2004 NLL title-winning squad, and holds franchise records for single-season and career face-off wins. Other Duke highlights in professional lacrosse include John Fay s first team All-NLL selection in 1990, seven former Blue Devils taken in the MLL s inaugural draft in 2001, and Dave Stilley helping the Colorado Mammoth to the NLL championship in 2006.

17 In the summer of 2003 in Baltimore, Md., Matt Danowski earned MVP honors at the Under-19 World Championships after leading the United States to the gold medal... Danowski led the U.S. in scoring with 27 points on 17 goals and 10 assists... In the summer of 2008, C.J. Costabile became the latest Blue Devil to lead the United States to a gold medal... Costabile helped anchor the U.S. defense as a longstick defenseman.

18 Four players with Duke ties Kevin Cassese, Ned Crotty, Parker McKee and Matt Zach along with former Blue Devil head coach Mike Pressler will be leading the U.S. Men s Lacrosse National Team at the 2010 Federation of International Lacrosse World Championship in Manchester, England from July Duke was one of two schools to have more than two players selected to the team, while Crotty and McKee are the lone collegiate players to be awarded a roster spot. In 2002, three players with connections to Duke Scott Bross, Kevin Cassese and Tim Knowles and Pressler helped United States capture the gold medal with an win over Canada at the FIL World Championship on July 14 in Perth, Australia. Duke added another gold medal to the group in the summer of 2008 at the U-19 FIL World Championship in Coquitlam, British Columbia as current sophomore CJCostabile helped the United States to top honors with a victory over Canada on July 12. Current redshirtsophomore Justin Turri earned a spot on the U-19 roster, but missed the tournament due to injury. Bross, an All-America midfielder and face-off specialist who closed out his career at Duke in 2001, was an All-ACC pick as a senior and led the Blue Devils to the 2001 ACC Tournament championship with an MVP performance. He finished the season with a.658 percentage on face-offs and led Duke in ground balls with 93. Cassese, who finished his career at Duke in 2003, was a First Team All-America and the National Midfielder of the Year in He tallied nine total points on four goals and five assists in six games at the World Championships. Knowles, a defenseman who graduated from Duke in 1999, was named third team All-America in The World Championship event began in 1967 and has been held every four years since The 1998 World Championship was held in Baltimore and featured 11 nations. In 2006, Cassese was a member of the U.S. squad that earned a silver medal at the ILF World Championship in London, Ontario, Canada. In addition, former Duke standouts Ryan Marshall and Taylor Wray were members of the gold medal-winning team from Canada.

19 A mainstay among the elite Division I athletic programs, Duke University once again ranked near the top during the athletic year. The women s tennis team claimed its first NCAA Championship in the spring with a dominating performance, which was Duke s 10th overall national title. Freshman Mallory Cecil won the NCAA Individual title for women s tennis and freshman Becca Ward earned the NCAA Individual title in saber for fencing. The women s tennis, men s basketball and men s lacrosse teams won ACC Championships, while the men s lacrosse team advanced to the NCAA Semifinals. The women s golf team turned in a sixth place finish at the NCAA Championship to go along with NCAA Elite Eight appearances by the women s soccer and women s lacrosse squads. The women s volleyball, men s lacrosse and women s tennis team also registered Co-ACC regular season titles. Duke was also very successful nationally in as 13 teams competed in NCAA Tournament action. The Blue Devils had six teams ranked in the top-10 of the national rankings during the season. Listed below are some facts from the athletic year: Freshman women s tennis performer Mallory Cecil won the NCAA Individual title, ITA National Player of the Year and the Honda Award. Coming off earning two Bronze medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics, freshman Becca Ward won the NCAA Individual fencing title in saber. The women s tennis team claimed its first NCAA Championship and Duke s 10th overall in school history. The men s lacrosse, women s tennis and volleyball squads earned Co- ACC regular season titles. The men s lacrosse team won its sixth overall ACC Championship and the women s tennis team notched its 16th overall ACC title. Duke had 27 student-athletes named All-America. A total of nine different Duke student-athletes were selected ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America, while 16 others received National Scholar- Athlete or Academic All-America accolades. Six Blue Devils were ACC Champions -- Jade Ellis (long jump for men s outdoor track & field), Amy Fryt (pole vault for women s outdoor track & field), Abby Johnson (three meter board for women s swimming & diving), Ryan McDermott (steeplechase for men s outdoor track & field), Ashley Twichell (1650 free for women s swimming and diving) and Konrad Dudziak (wrestling). Amanda Blumenherst (golf) and Ned Crotty (lacrosse) were named ACC Players of the Year. Crotty was also selected USILA National Attackman of the Year. Mike Grella (soccer) earned ACC Offensive Player of the Year and Chante Black (basketball) was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year. The Blue Devils had 39 All-ACC selections, and 26 were All-Region. A total of 429 Duke student-athletes registered a 3.0 or higher grade-point average during the campaign. Blue Devil junior heavyweight wrestler Konrad Dudziak was the runner-up at the NCAA Championship.

20 Three Duke student-athletes were finalists for the Lowe s Senior Class Award -- Nate Frieman (Baseball), Christie McDonald (soccer) and Abby Waner (Basketball). Matt Williams of the baseball team was also one of 30 semifinalists. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe s Senior CLASS Award has grown into the nation s premier tribute to college seniors. The award identifies personal qualities that define a complete student-athlete, with criteria including excellence in the 4 C s of classroom, community, character and competition. Men s Basketball Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski was named the USA Basketball Coach of the Year and Capital Broadcasting Sports Person of the Year. Four Blue Devils received ACC Postgraduate Scholarships -- Amanda Blumenherst (golf), Kim Imbesi (lacrosse), Melissa Mang (tennis) and Peter Truszkowski (fencing). Two Duke squads were ranked No. 1 during the campaign -- men s basketball and women s tennis. A total of six Blue Devil squads were ranked in the top 10 nationally during the season. The field hockey team was recognized as a 2008 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division I National Academic Team. The wrestling team had the fourth-highest gradepoint average in NCAA Division I. Duke finished 17th in the final Learfield Sports Directors Cup Standings, which was released by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. This marks the sixth consecutive season that Duke has placed in the top 20 of the annual all-sports rankings. Overall, Duke ended with points, its third-highest point total in the rankings since its inception in Among private schools, Duke ranked third nationally behind only Stanford (first) and Southern California (fourth). Duke ranked fourth among Atlantic Coast Conference schools behind North Carolina (second), Virginia (eighth) and Florida State (15th). Duke University and Nike Inc. reached a 10-year sponsorship agreement that will supply all 26 of the Blue Devils athletics teams with uniforms, footwear, apparel and equipment. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Under the terms of the contract, Nike will phase in its exclusive agreement with all Duke Athletics teams over a three-year period beginning in This will allow specific Duke programs and head coaches who have existing contracts with other equipment/apparel providers to honor those agreements. Several Duke teams, including men s basketball, women s basketball and football, already use Nike apparel and equipment. An ACC-leading 12 of Duke s intercollegiate athletic programs were honored with NCAA Public Recognition Awards. The awards are presented each year to teams finishing among the top 10 percent of their respective sport based on the most recent multiyear Academic Performance Rate (APR). Duke s 12 programs that received the honor include baseball, men s basketball, men s cross country, women s fencing, football, men s golf, men s soccer, women s soccer, men s swimming and diving, men s indoor track and field, men s outdoor track and field and volleyball. In addition, Duke was one of 12 Division I institutions to have 12 or more sports honored, joining Colgate, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Harvard, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Princeton, Notre Dame, Pennsylvania and Yale.