To the list of Duke's national title contenders, add Duke Rugby and Duke Cycling.
The two club sports recently went to the national finals with Duke Cycling defending its national title in the team trial competition in Antelope Island, Utah, defeating the likes of Stanford, MIT, University of Colorado-Boulder, Yale and others.
The winning team members were Rob Ferris, Matt Howe, Mike Mulvihill and Matt Rinehart.
It was the second straight team time trial national victory for Duke Cycling, an impressive rise for the team that just five years ago consisted of two riders. Duke Cycling competes in Division II of the Collegiate Nationals against other non-varsity teams, although their times best some varsity teams in the time trial competition.
Matt Rinehart described the time trial race:
"We started out fast, and none of us wanted to let up. There was a slight headwind and crosswind that kept us in an echelon from left-to-right across the road. The first couple of miles included a significant uphill, followed by a massive downhill. Mulvihill pulled through the downhill ...
"After the downhill, we settled into a rhythm and pulled hard to the turnaround, making sure to take the race line on the road whenever possible. Coming into the turnaround, we watched Colorado Mesa University overtaking Yale. We figured we had taken significant chunks of time out of both of them. The turnaround went flawlessly with Ferris leading in and Mulvihill ramping it back up to speed. We had quite a nice tailwind for the return half."
Duke Cycling also took individual titles with Mike Mulvihill winning the men's criterium, defeating more than 90 riders. Ferris and Rinehart also finished in the top six. Finally, in the national road race competition the next day in Ogdon, Utah, the team placed five riders in the top 30 with Howe leading the way with a sixth place.
One week earlier, Duke Rugby competed in the "Final Four" of the National Small College Rugby Championships, defeating New England College in the semifinals 25-24 before losing to St. John's University in the finals 31-16. The tournament was held in Glendale, Colo.
Duke made the tournament as the Mid-Atlantic South Region champion.
It was a landmark performance for Duke Rugby, coached by Mike Morgan, in a landmark 50th anniversary year. The first game was played in 1962, according to a club tradition, at the recommendation of an Englishman encountering a group of students playing football. The club was organized the following year under Irishman Desmond McVay.
Pictured below: Duke Rugby at the national finals.
