The news wasn't looking too good for the men's golf team.
Just a week after roaring to a second-place finish at the ACC Championships, Duke traveled down to Spartansburg, S.C., and was struggling at the Wofford Invitational.
In the first two rounds Friday, the Blue Devils shot scores of 296 and 297, a combined 17 strokes over par, and were flailing in 10th place.
At the end of the day, head coach Rod Myers sat down with several members of the NCAA selection committee, and the conversation wasn't good about Duke's hopes for a regionals berth.
"I could tell they weren't overly impressed with us," Myers said.
Instead of letting the moment pass, Myers spread the word to his players Saturday morning.
"We were on the way to the golf course and I said, 'I need to tell you guys something,"' Myers explained. '"The committee has felt that there are five teams that are solid for the NCAA championships and we're not one of them."
Fear was apparently Duke's best weapon.
The Blue Devils responded with a vengeance in Saturday's final round, shooting a field-low 280 to climb
Marc Chatelain and Mike Christensen both fired four-under 68s, the lowest scores on the day. For Chatelain, the round boosted him from 13th place into fourth, while Christensen saved himself after scores of 76 and 79 Friday.
"I thought it was really big," Myers said. "I thought it showed how good of a team we are. It was just a matter of making some birdies.
"I think the huge difference was Mike Christensen. Mike was almost out of the mix on the first day. We've really been missing what he did Saturday. Going into the season, I think everyone on our team would've said he's probably our No. 1 player."
Duke finished the tournament with an eight-over 872, 10 strokes behind the winner, Virginia. In addition to Chatelain, who shot a pair of 72s Friday, and Christensen, the Blue Devils also received a boost from Kyle Elfers.
The senior came out strong in the first round with a two-under 70, before scores of 73 and 74 pushed him into a respectable tie for 13th place. Paul Tucker and Matt Krauss, the ACC champion from a week ago, both struggled over the two-day event but the Blue Devils compensated with the strong finish.
"It was really big for us," Myers said. "I had felt with our play in the ACCs that we probably locked ourselves up in good position, realizing there are a number of teams in our own district. We played mediocre on Friday. That round Saturday was huge for us."
Now Duke must wait a little over a week to find out if it will be one of the eight teams to represent District III North in the NCAA regionals. The selection committee, of which Myers is a member, will meet to make its recommendations and then the national committee will compose its final list of eight five-man teams and two individuals around May 6.
The Blue Devils are competing against such teams as N.C. State, Maryland and Virginia Commonwealth for a bid, a bid that Myers feels Duke deserves.
"I certainly feel that way," he said. "I think right now if we don't make it that someone would steal it away from us. I felt good last week. I felt not-too-good Friday night, but now I feel a lot better about it."
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