Former Pennsylvania star Gabby Rosenzweig transfers to Duke women's lacrosse

Duke was likely headed to its first NCAA tournament since 2016 prior to this past season's cancellation. But next year, the Blue Devils could be even better. 

Former Pennsylvania attacker Gabby Rosenzweig will be transferring to Duke for her final year of eligibility, head coach Kerstin Kimel confirmed Tuesday afternoon. While Rosenzweig's decision was initially reported by US Lacrosse Magazine's Kenny DeJohn in April pending admission to Duke, the New York native has since officially enrolled at the university's Fuqua School of Business. 

“On behalf of our players and coaches, we could not be more excited to welcome Gabby and the Rosenzweig’s to our program and greater Duke Lacrosse family,” Kimel said in a press release. “As one of the most consistent and outstanding players in the Ivy League over the last three years, Gabby will add another dimension of scoring and playmaking to our already deep and prolific offensive unit for 2021.”

In her time with the Quakers, Rosenzweig was twice named a IWLCA Third Team All-American and was a nominee for the Tewaaraton Award, given to the nation’s top college lacrosse player, in both her sophomore and junior seasons. At the time of this past season’s cancellation, just five games into her senior campaign, Rosenzweig had already amassed 11 goals and 11 assists, and was named to the 2020 Tewaaraton Watch List. She leaves Pennsylvania as the program’s all-time leading scorer with 247 career points. 

According to DeJohn, Pennsylvania was working with student-athletes to try and make it possible for 2020 seniors to return for another season, a contrast from fellow Ivy League schools such as Yale and Princeton. Rosenzweig's situation required her to transfer, however, given that she would not be able to compete as a grad student and already spent this past semester as a part-time student—University of Pennsylvania rules prevent her from being a part-time student twice.

In a funny twist of fate, according to a report by Inside Lacrosse, Rosenzweig had begun watching men's lacrosse star Michael Sowers highlights to practice and add to her repertoire after her season was cancelled. Now they will both be using their extra eligibility at Duke, giving them the chance to offer up pointers to each other in person. 

After averaging 17.7 goals per game in the 2020 campaign, good for fifth in the country, and being the only ACC team with eight student-athletes to score 10-plus goals, Duke looks set to be a legitimate contender in 2021 with the addition of Rosenzweig. With almost all of their top scorers ready to return next season, you would be hard-pressed to find a team with a more versatile offense than the Blue Devils.