College Notebook

Steele tabbed National Defensive Player of the Week

Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Sammi Steele became the first Blue Devil to earn Longstreth/NFHCA Division I Defensive Player of the Week in field hockey.

The announcement Wednesday came on the heels of Tuesday’s ACC Player of the Week release.

Steele guided Duke to its fourth shutout of the season Saturday in a 3-0 victory over No. 4 North Carolina. She posted eight saves, including four in the second half, to protect the Blue Devil lead.

With the win, the Blue Devils rounded out their regular season ACC slate 5-1 to claim the conference’s regular season title for the first time in program history. This week, the squad was also ranked No. 1 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll for the first time.

Steele and the Blue Devils conclude regular season action Saturday against Richmond at Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium. The 1 p.m. contest will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra. The program’s five seniors and two graduate students will be honored after the match.

Shaw: The Bears will look to build on their victory over Johnson C. Smith when they host Winston-Salem State University on Saturday at Durham County Memorial Stadium. The game will kick off at Willie Bradshaw Field at 1 p.m. and will serve as Homecoming and Senior Day.

Elon: The Phoenix will hit the road for the first time since September, traveling to New York to take on the Albany Great Danes. Game time is set for noon and the contest will air on the American Sports Network. Fans can listen to the game on WSML 104.5 FM and 1200 AM.

Mount Olive: The Trojans dropped a three-set match to Barton College in Conference Carolinas action Tuesday night. The Trojans return home for a pair of conference matches at Kornegay Arena, facing Lees-McRae College on Friday at 7 p.m. and wrapping up the weekend on Saturday against King University at 2 p.m.

ECU: The Lady Pirates will host Temple for Senior Night and the Kick Cancer match on Thursday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Johnson Stadium. Fans wearing pink will be admitted for $2.

Duke: The sixth-ranked Blue Devils (12-3-2, 7-1-1 ACC) are one victory away from claiming their third ACC regular season title in school history. Their chance comes Thursday at 7 p.m. when they host Clemson in the regular season finale at Koskinen Stadium.

Mount Olive: The Trojans drew a 0-0 double overtime draw against Barton College in conference play. The team will hit the road for the final regular contest on Saturday against Southern Wesleyan. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack will host Pittsburgh on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Dail Soccer Stadium in the ACC regular season finale. The Pack will honor its two seniors, Rachel Cox and Gladys Loyas, in a pre-match senior-day ceremony at 6:45 p.m.

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons will wrap up the regular season with a 7 p.m. Thursday game at Virginia Tech.

Mount Olive: The Trojans defeated archrival Barton College 2-1 in a Conference Carolinas showdown. The team will travel to Southern Wesleyan for the final regular season contest on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Duke: Freshman Jayson Tatum suffered a left foot sprain in practice on Tuesday. The anticipated recovery time is two weeks, so Tatum will not play in Duke’s exhibition games against Virginia State on Oct. 28 and Augustana on Nov. 4.

N.C. State: Freshman guard Dennis Smith Jr. was named the Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year on Wednesday. Smith was also voted onto the first team preseason All-ACC team as the Wolfpack was selected to finish sixth in the 15-team ACC preseason poll.

Duke: Seniors Jack Bruckner, Danny Fowler, Ethan Powley and Tommy Zenker have been selected to lead the 2017 team as captains, head coach John Danowski recently announced. All four are first-time captains for the Blue Devils and have been key contributors to the program on and off the field

St. Aug’s: The Falcons will compete Thursday in the CIAA Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships at Joseph Bryan Park in Richmond, Va. The women’s 5K race begins at 10 a.m., followed by the men’s 8K race at 11 a.m.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack men’s and women’s cross country teams will open the championship season on Friday as they host the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship meet at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. The third-ranked women’s team will compete in the 6,000m race, while the men’s team will compete in the 8,000m race.

Duke: The women’s team earned a top-20 ranking in the first College Swimming Coaches Association of America/TYR Top 25 Swimming & Diving Poll of the season. The team came in at No. 19 after a 3-0 weekend at a quad meet in Christiansburg, Va.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack swimming and diving team is off to a hot start in the national rankings, as the men’s team is listed at No. 3 and the women are No. 4 in the first College Swimming Coaches Association of America poll of the 2016-17 season. This marks the highest the Wolfpack women have ever been listed in program history.

N.C. Central: Sophomore Gabriel Cucalon has been named the NCCU Student-Athlete of the Month for September 2016 in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments on the court, in the classroom and in the community.

From news releases

This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 11:30 PM with the headline "College Notebook."