They say the devil is in the details. But in Durham, the Blue Devils are in the details — and numbers:
77
Duke men’s tennis’ super-regional loss to No. 4 TCU marked the end of the road for five Blue Devil seniors and graduate students: Andrew Dale, Michael Heller, Faris Khan, Andrew Zhang and Garrett Johns. Johns, a three-time captain and four-year first singles player, ends his Duke career with a final singles record of 77-45. Although Johns never helped his squad capture any silverware, he was undoubtedly the face of men’s tennis’ resurgence as an elite program.
In 2023, perhaps Duke’s most successful season with Johns on the roster, Johns was named a singles All-American en route to 20 singles victories. Arguably, his most impressive victory that season came against No. 4 Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc of Florida State. Johns will be remembered as a talented singles force, but this past season also saw him earn the honor of the number-one doubles team in the nation alongside partner Pedro Rodenas. Prior to the TCU matchup, Johns and Rodenas went 11 matches unbeaten, jumping from the No. 29 to the No. 1 pair nationally.
2
After starting as a Division I sport in 2018, Duke softball earned its first ACC Tournament championship in 2021. However, last weekend’s 6-3 victory against No. 2-seed Florida State added a second ACC tournament trophy to head coach Marissa Young’s cabinet. Cassidy Curd was dominant for the Blue Devils in relief against the Seminoles, striking out three batters on the way to four scoreless innings. At the plate, Ana Gold added a pair of RBI’s with a single and a sacrifice fly.
The Blue Devils are currently in the midst of hosting the NCAA Regional tournament, where they have already taken down Morgan State and South Carolina. Senior outfielder Claire Davidson leads the team in batting average and home runs, hitting .436 with 18 home runs and a remarkable 65 RBIs. Make no mistake about it: this Blue Devil squad is dangerous with serious aspirations for Oklahoma City’s Women’s College World Series.
9
In the first half of Duke men’s lacrosse’s NCAA quarterfinal matchup against No. 7-seed Maryland, the Blue Devils looked to coast to the Final Four up 8-5; however, nine second-half Terrapin goals forced Duke to crash out of the tournament. By the end, Dyson Williams’ six goals were not enough, as Maryland defeated Duke 14-11 and ended the Blue Devils’ season in Hempstead, N.Y.
Duke’s defense struggled all year in ACC play, allowing an average of 11.83 goals per contest. While the Blue Devil offense was explosive enough to propel Duke to a 13-5 record prior to Saturday’s game, Maryland, led by four Daniel Maltz goals, was just too talented. Duke’s season ends in disappointment again, and head coach John Danowski will hope to end his ten-year-long NCAA title drought in 2025.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.