Longtime Duke golf coach Myers dies at 67

Duke golf coach Rod Myers, the Blue Devils head coach since 1973, died on Friday at the age of 67 after a battle with an acute form of leukemia.

"Rod Myers was a good friend, a great teacher and a role model for all student-athletes. He was also a great father and husband and a person everybody respected and loved," Duke athletics director Joe Alleva said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family during this difficult time. Duke University will dearly miss him."

While at the helm of the Blue Devils program, Myers coached 16 All-Americas, 24 All-ACC selections and three ACC individual champions. He guided the Blue Devils to 30 tournament wins, the ACC title in 2005 and seven trips to the NCAA Championships.

Myers came to Duke in the fall of 1973 after serving as head golf coach at Ohio State for seven years.

Myers was a Master PGA Professional and served on the staff of the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy. He was a member of the PGA Rules Committee and the USGA Rules Committee. As a member of the PGA of America, he officiated at nine consecutive Masters Championships from 1995-2003. A PGA professional while at Ohio State, Myers was a former president and treasurer of the Golf Coaches Association of America and a former chairman of the NCAA Golf Committee.

Brad Sparling, the Blue Devils associate head coach, is serving as the interim Duke head coach.

"Coach Myers was a great golf coach, but he was an even better man," Sparling said. "He made us all better people. The family that is Duke golf that Coach Myers created will move forward, we will continue to build on his legacy of greatness."

The Duke athletics department has created an endowed athletic scholarship in the name of Coach Myers. For information or to make a contribution to the scholarship fund, contact Jack Winters, Jr. at 919-613-7575.

FROM DUKE NEWS RELEASE

BASKETBALL

ARKANSAS EYES CALIPARI: Arkansas has been granted permission to talk to Memphis coach John Calipari about replacing Stan Heath, Memphis spokesman Lamar Chance said.

Arkansas had been eyeing Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie, but A&M announced Friday it had agreed with Gillispie on a new contract.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SATURDAY'S RESULTS

MEN'S GOLF

ADMINISTAFF ASU INVITATIONAL: North Carolina grabbed a nine-stroke lead after the second round of the event at Evans, Ga. The Tar Heels had a 560 total, with Coastal Carolina second at 569.

Reed Darsie of UNC was second individually at 137, one stroke behind Coastal's Dustin Johnson.

MEN'S LACROSSE

NORTH CAROLINA 13, JOHNS HOPKINS 10: Five Tar Heels scored two goals each and Grant Zimmerman had a career-high 15 saves as 15th-ranked UNC (7-3) beat No. 5 Johns Hopkins (4-3) for the first time since 1994.

DUKE 18, BELLARMINE 9: Zack Greer scored five goals and Matt Danowski eclipsed the 200-point barrier with a one-goal, five-assist performance as fifth-ranked Duke (8-2) defeated visiting Bellarmine (1-7).

WOMEN'S LACROSSE

DUKE 19, VIRGINIA 18 (3 OT): Visiting Duke (9-1, 2-1 ACC) came back from a six-goal deficit to defeat Virginia (9-2, 2-2 ACC) in a sudden-death, three-overtime contest.

Rachel Sanford scored the game-winner in the third overtime on an assist by Kristen Waagbo.

Waagbo had six goals for Duke. Leigh Jester had five goals, Carolina Cryer four and Sanford three.

TRACK AND FIELD

UNC INVITATIONAL: Host North Carolina won both the men's and women's titles in the two-day event at Irwin Belk Track.

The Tar Heels men totaled 152 points, followed by Michigan (138). The UNC women had 243.5 points, with Duke second at 120.5.

UNC's Tyra Johnson won both the women's 100- and 200-meter dashes.

SOFTBALL

VIRGINIA TECH 2-1, N.C. STATE 0-2: Abbie Sims pitched a two-hitter and Jen Chamberlin homered in the second game as visiting NCSU (24-15, 4-4 ACC) split with Virginia Tech (27-11, 5-3).

FROM COLLEGE NEWS RELEASES