2009 NCAA Semifinalists Duke Lacrosse Over the Years

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 1953. 

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 7-1-1 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 1971. 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 1972. 

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 1974. 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

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 


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 

15-12. 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 1988. The Blue Devils 

also upset fourth-ranked Loyola, 10-5. 

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 1982-90. 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 71-54 with the Blue 

Devils and served as a coach in the prestigious North-South Game in 1989. 

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 1967-70 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

Joe Kirmser 

1997 ACC Champions 


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 1954. 

This season of firsts brought the Blue Devils a trip to 

the NCAA Quarterfinals where they lost to No. 1 Syracuse, 

12-11. Duke finished the year with a record of 10-6 and 

a hunger to continue its success into 1995. 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 1995. 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 1996. 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 1951. 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, 14-13. 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. 


2007 NCAA Semifinal 

Duke 12, Cornell 11 

Head Coach 

John Danowski 

Dan Loftus 


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 12-11 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’ 19-11 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 11-11 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 21-10 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 


The Returnees 

41

Max Quinzani 

Rob Schroeder 

Brad Ross 


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 12-11 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 13 

1991 North Carolina 11, Duke 8 

1992 Maryland 8, Duke 6 



1995 Duke 17, Virginia 10 

Duke 14, North Carolina 6 

Tournament MVP: Ross Moscatti 


1997 Duke 17, Maryland 10 

Virginia 12, Duke 6 


1999 Duke 9, North Carolina 7 




Duke 10, Maryland 6 

Tournament MVP: Scott Bross 

2002 Duke 8, Maryland 7 (OT) 

Duke 14, Virginia 13 

Tournament MVP: A.J. Kincel 





Maryland 9, Duke 5 



Tournament MVP: Matt Danowski 



Tournament MVP: Dan Loftus 

2009 Duke 16, Virginia 5 


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 



Syracuse 12, Duke 11 

1995 Notre Dame 12, Duke 10 

1997 Duke 11, Brown 6 

Duke 12, Johns Hopkins 11 (OT) 

Princeton 10, Duke 9 


Princeton 11, Duke 9 

1999 Georgetown 17, Duke 14 

2000 Duke 13, Hobart 1 


2001 Towson 12, Duke 10 

2002 Duke 22, Hobart 6 


2005 Duke 23, Fairfield 4 


Duke 18, Maryland 9 

Johns Hopkins 9, Duke 8 

2007 Duke 18, Providence 3 




2008 Duke 12, Loyola 7 

Duke 21, Ohio State 10 


2009 Duke 14, Navy 5 




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 1950. 

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 1987. 

Corrigan was also inducted into the Lacrosse Hall 

of Fame in 1993. 

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 1931. 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 1939. 

Person’s teams also captured one Southern Conference 

Championship, had seven runner-up finishes and were 

tops among Big Five teams from 1932-35. 

Persons also had a storied career coaching the Blue 

Devil lacrosse team from 1940-66. He directed Duke to one 

of the greatest upsets in collegiate lacrosse history in 1946 

when the Blue Devils shocked national power Maryland, 

12-4. 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 1986. 

1951 Blue Devils 

1946 All-Stars 

Thomas Gorsuch, Olin Gilbert, Walter Ross 

Seven-time ACC Champions 2009 NCAA Semifinalists 43

Koskinen Stadium 

Over the past 12 years, Duke has won 86 % of 

its home games with an 93-16 record. The Blue 

Devils have gone unbeaten three times at home 

in the past 12 seasons. 

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. 


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. 


45

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 2009 ... 

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 1967-70 ... 

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 ... 2008 

USILA National Player of the Year 

Matt Danowski set the NCAA record 

for career points in 2008 with 353 

overall ... 1992 captains Jim Book, 

Joe Matass, Gregg Schmalz guided 

the Blue Devils to a final national 

ranking of 12th ... 2009 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 2009 ... The 2009 USILA 

Attackman of the Year Ned Crotty 

celebrates after a goal ... Crotty led 

the nation in assists in 2009.

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, 2007 2008 and 2009. 

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.

In 2009, Duke captured its seventh ACC title, 

defeating North Carolina 15-13 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 12-10 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 17-14 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).

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 (www.asa-usa. 

org). The sponsored unit was Headquarters & 

Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry 

Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry 

Division in Anaconda, Iraq.

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.

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.

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 14-24. 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 18- 

15 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 19-12 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 2002. 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 1999. 

The World Championship event began in 1967 and has 

been held every four years since 1974. 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.

A mainstay among the elite Division I athletic programs, Duke 

University once again ranked near the top during the 2008-09 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 2008-09 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 2008-09 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 2008-09 campaign. 

• Blue Devil junior heavyweight wrestler Konrad Dudziak 

was the runner-up at the NCAA Championship.

• 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 2008-09 

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 2008-09 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 891.80 points, 

its third-highest point total in the rankings since its inception in 

1994. 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 2008- 

09. 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.

2009 NCAA Semifinalists Duke Lacrosse Over the Years

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