Duke To Face Georgetown In First Round Of NCAA Tournament

DURHAM, N.C. --- Duke will travel to Washington, D.C., to take on the No. 6 seed Georgetown Hoyas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at 2:00 p.m., at the Hoyas' Multi-Sport Field. This marks the Blue Devils 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and second contest this season against Georgetown. Live video and audio of the game will be available at www.guhoyas.com.

The Blue Devils: Duke is 11-7 this season and finished third with a 3-2 mark in the ACC. The Blue Devils hold a 4-7 record over ranked teams and a 2-5 mark over top-10 competition. Duke is 4-4 this year on the road.

Duke in the NCAA Tournament: The Blue Devils are 10-10 all-time in the NCAA tournament and have made four trips to the Final Four, in 1999, 2005, 2006 and 2007. This will be Duke's 11th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, which is tied for the third-longest run in Division I. The Blue Devils have won their opening round game in seven of the previous 10 seasons. Duke is 0-7 on the road and at neutral sites in the NCAA Tournament, while at home they are 10-3. The Devils are 0-2 against Georgetown in the NCAA's, and one of only two true road tournament games for Duke was an 11-4 loss against the Hoyas in 2002.

The Hoyas: Georgetown is 12-6 this season and finished in third place in the Big East at 3-2. The Hoyas are 6-6 versus ranked opposition in 2008 and 3-6 versus opponents in the top 10. Georgetown had the No. 1 strength of schedule this year according to LaxPower.com. The Hoyas did not make the NCAA Tournament in 2007 after having been nine years in a row prior to that.

Series History: Duke is 9-6 all-time against Georgetown and has won four in a row in the series. On March 15 of this season, the Blue Devils came away with a 12-11 victory over the Hoyas. Megan Del Monte scored three goals and Carolyn Davis and Emma Hamm each chipped in two each for the winning cause.

Rankings: In the latest Inside Lacrosse rankings, Duke was ranked No. 11. The most recent IWLCA poll has the Blue Devils at No. 12. Georgetown is No. 6 in the IWLCA rankings and No. 8 in Inside Lacrosse's poll.

On The Horizon: If Duke should defeat the Hoyas, it will play the winner of the Maryland-Temple match on May 17 in the NCAA quarterfinals. If the No. 3 seed Terrapins are the victor, the game will be played at 1:00 p.m., in College Park, Md. If the Owls upset Maryland, Duke would host Temple at 2:00 p.m., in Koskinen Stadium.

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