Boys Lacrosse, Boys Tennis & Track and Field Reach State Title Contests
By Andy Pogach, Director of Athletics
In impressive fashion, Durham Academy’s boys lacrosse and boys tennis teams won state semifinal contests Tuesday and advanced to Saturday’s state championships! Also this weekend, 30 DA track and field athletes will compete in the state meet. Tuesday capped off a great week for our spring teams as we approach the end of the season.
The lacrosse team jumped on Providence Day early to build a 6–1 lead and hung on for a 10–7 late-night win in Charlotte, while the tennis team rallied from a 2–1 deficit after doubles to take a thrilling 5–4 home win over Cary Academy. Tuesday capped off a great week for our spring teams as we approach the end of the season.
Boys lacrosse will head back to Charlotte for the third time in nine days Saturday with a 1 p.m. state championship battle with Charlotte Country Day. The sixth-seeded Cavs defeated second-seeded Providence Day in the state semifinal Tuesday night thanks to a strong start and a stellar second-half defense anchored by Drew Roeder ’26 in goal. Curry Jennings ’26 and Cooper Coene ’27 each scored three times, and it was Coene’s goal off a Jack Rand ’26 assist with just around six minutes to go that gave DA some breathing room after the Chargers cut the Cavs’ lead to one. On Friday night in Charlotte, the Cavs had a dominant defensive effort in a 6–3 win over third-seeded Charlotte Christian. Camden Hughes ’26 and Coene each had multiple goal efforts, but the story of the night was Roeder and the DA defense. The Cavs will appear in the state title game for the second consecutive year.
Boys tennis advanced to the state finals for the first time since 2018 with an epic 5–4 comeback Tuesday night over Cary Academy. The Cavs will host Charlotte Latin on Saturday at 11 a.m. Trailing 2–1 after doubles and losing four of the six first sets in singles, DA staged a huge comeback as Everett Sun ’27 on court six and David Ilut ’29 on court two both won in third-set tiebreaks. The Cavs advanced to the semis with a tough 5–3 win May 7 over Providence Day. Taking a 2–1 lead after doubles and posting quick singles wins by Sam Hertzog ’28 at four and Benigno David ’30 at five, the Cavs had to battle for their final point. It was Andy Ye ’26 who rallied for a three-set win on court three to clinch the win over the Chargers.
The track and field teams competed last weekend in Cary at the TISAC Championships. Congrats to our girls team, which came out on top to claim the conference championship. Audrey Crowder ’26 was named the conference player of the year as she won four championships at the meet: the individual 3200m, 1600m and 800m, and she joined Helen Barritt ’28, Harper Maxwell ’28 , along with Sybil Ludington ’30, to claim the 4x800m relay title. Alexandria Parker Horton ’27 was a double-winner as she took home first place in the discus and shot put. On the boys’ side, the team placed third overall, and Josh Dorsette ’26, Nigel Black ’26, Parker Jeffries ’27 and Josiah Dorsette ’28 took home the 4x100m relay title. DA is sending 30 runners to the state meet this weekend at Forsyth Country Day School.
Boys golf placed sixth in this week’s NCISAA 4A State Championship at Rolling Hills Country Club in Monroe. Hall Chapman ’26 carded a two-day total of 143 to finish under par and fourth place overall in the individual championship. William Linney ’26 shot a 1-over-par 73 on day two, and his two-day score of 149 was good for 14th place.
Girls soccer lost Saturday evening in Concord to Cannon School by a score of 4–1 in the state quarterfinals. Late in the game, Milla Rasic ’26 scored with a header off a corner kick from Millie Hanks ’27, but the Cougars had jumped out early and never looked back, ending DA’s season with a record of 11–4. Earlier in the week, DA advanced out of the first round with a tight 1–0 win over Wesleyan Christian Academy on Moylan Field. Georgia Zengerle ’28 scored the lone goal of the game off an assist from Eva Walker ’26. Congrats to Coach Susan Ellis and her team for another conference title and a great season!
Girls lacrosse fell to Cannon School, 16–7, in the quarterfinal round of the state tournament May 6 in Concord. Congrats to the girls for a second straight TISAC title and an 11–6 overall record.
Softball’s season came to an end May 5 in the first round of the state tournament. After falling behind 13–0, the Cavs’ never-say-die attitude showed as they fought back with a seven-run fifth inning and eventually lost, 18–8. Ry Tarpey ’27 had 2 RBI, while Meera Gupta ’30 added two hits. The Cavs finished the year 10-7, their first winning season in over 15 years!
Thank you for your support of our student-athletes! Please come out and support our tennis team at home in the state finals Saturday and cheer on our boys lacrosse team (Saturday at 1 p.m. at Charlotte Country Day) and our track and field teams (Friday and Saturday at Forsyth Country Day).