Five Duke teams opened NCAA Tournament play this weekend, and all five survived the weekend with some dramatic wins. Here’s a look at how the Blue Devils have fare thus far in postseason action:
Case Matheis scored three goals to lead Duke past Loyola in double-overtime. (Eric Lin/The Chronicle)
Men’s lacrosse: Freshman Case Matheis scored the game-tying and game-winning goals for the Blue Devils as seventh-seeded Duke defeated Loyola 12-11 in double-overtime Sunday at Koskinen Stadium. The Blue Devils advance to their seventh straight appearance in the NCAA quarterfinal, where they will face No. 2 seed Notre Dame Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Women’s lacrosse: The Blue Devils got some sudden-death magic of their own this weekend. Duke battled Princeton in double-overtime without leading scorer Makenzie Hommel. Freshman Maddy Acton played the role of unlikely hero for the Blue Devils, scoring to give Duke a 10-9 victory in Annapolis, Md. Advancing to the second round, Duke took on eighth-seeded Navy and held Jasmine DePompeo—the leading scorer in the country—to no goals and one assists on seven shots, defeating the Midshipmen 10-5 to advance to the quarterfinals. The Blue Devils will take on top-seeded Maryland in College Park, Md. Saturday at noon.
Henrique Cunha remained perfect on the season in singles play as the Blue Devils won two NCAA Tournament matches. (Eric Lin/The Chronicle)
Men’s tennis: Ninth-seeded Duke cruised through its first two NCAA Tournament matches, sweeping Coastal Carolina 4-0 Friday and following that up with a 4-0 dismantling of UNC-Wilmington in the Blue Devils’ second-round match Saturday at Ambler Tennis Stadium. Senior Henrique Cunha continued his winning ways, improving to 18-0 on the season in dual singles matches. Duke advances to the Round of 16, where it will square off with No. 8 seed Kentucky Thursday at 8 p.m. in Urbana, Ill.
Women’s tennis: Despite competing with just five players and being forced to forfeit a singles match and a doubles match, Duke found a way to survive and advance with two weekend wins in Lubbock, Texas. Strong doubles play helped the Blue Devils to defeat Ole Miss 4-1 in their first round match Saturday, but Duke ran into some trouble in the second round against 16th-seeded Texas Tech. The Blue Devils rallied from a 3-2 deficit to take a 4-3 victory Sunday against the Red Raiders and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 16. Duke will face top-seeded Florida in Urbana, Ill. Friday at 10 a.m.
Women’s golf: The Blue Devils dug themselves out of a six-stroke hole on the final day of competition to take the NCAA Central Regional championship in Norman, Okla. Duke shot a 12-under-par as a team on the final round to surge past its host, fourth-ranked Oklahoma, to take the championship by six shots. Senior Courtney Ellenbogen shot the best round of her career Saturday with a five-under 67 in the final round. Alejandra Cangrejo turned in the best three-hole performance of her career, finishing at a five-under-par 211 and tying for second place individually. The Blue Devils advance to the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga. next week, where they will take on top programs Alabama and Southern Cal.
Check out all of The Chronicle’s NCAA Tournament coverage at www.dukechronicle.com.
