New city created at Duke

'Goestenkorsopolis' awaiting showdown

DURHAM -- Forget Krzyzewskiville.

Goestenkorsopolis is where it's at this week.

A small, but loyal group of Duke women's basketball fans has erected tents and proclaimed a corner of campus "Goestenkorsopolis" -- named for coach Gail Goestenkors and boasting a population of 26 (and rising).

Student interest in women's basketball has been so high this season that the school had to turn away students on Jan. 13 for the Blue Devils' win over Maryland.

So these fans are making sure there's no way they will miss Sunday's sold-out game against No. 4 North Carolina at 4 p.m.

Duke student Elizabeth Rudisill organized a tent for 20, pulling together friends and fans who had never met before. She coordinated the tent with junior Mike Sori, a relative newcomer to women's basketball, and the tent went up Sunday night.

Sori, from Cooper City, Fla., said tenting for the women's game -- believed to be a first at Duke -- was far less stressful. That might be because it's not sanctioned by Duke's all-powerful line monitors, but as senior Lindsey Hanson said flippantly, "We're rebels."

Freshman Christie Falco helped set up the second tent at Goestenkorsopolis on Wednesday. She wanted to be the second so she could name it "The Emily Tent" after junior guard Emily Waner, Falco's favorite player.

Falco is in the pep band, so she will be at the game and doesn't need to camp. But she decided it was an opportunity she couldn't miss.

"Tenting is an experience that every Duke student should have," Falco said.

For Goestenkors, the mere mention of the tenting students brought a wide smile to her face. The coach can look out of her office window and see the students' tents.

"It makes me feel really good," Goestenkors said. "This year, the students have been the best that they've ever been. They're really into the women's basketball program. They've been so supportive."

For members of the first tent, there's a reason they've been that way. Sure, the Duke women are undefeated, but there's also a more personal feeling for the students at the women's games as opposed to the men's.

"I started going to the games because I had to because I was in the band," Hanson said. "But there's a lot more power as far as starting cheers. You make a little bit more of an individual difference in supporting the team."

For Hanson, the perfect example came at the first game of the season. During Abby Waner's freshman season, the Crazies would cry "Abby doesn't foul! Abby doesn't foul!" whenever she got whistled for a foul. It's a slightly sarcastic chant because Waner fouls plenty.

At the first game, Waner got charged with a foul. The cheer immediately started -- and Waner's face broke into a huge smile.

For that kind of connection, Hanson and her fellow citizens of Goestenkorsopolis are staying put until the Tar Heels come to town Sunday.