Danowski Duo, Blumenherst Duke's Best in 2006-07

By John Roth, Blue Devil Weekly

DURHAM, N.C. - No college coach in the country endured a more unique challenge in 2006-07 than Duke lacrosse coach John Danowski. Hired last summer to guide a program that had been shut down by a sensationalized legal scandal, Danowski was faced with regrouping a battered team and directing it on a highly-visible journey through completely unchartered territory.

From the opening of fall practice on Labor Day through the national championship game on Memorial Day, there was something new or different to handle almost every day of this journey. Danowski took charge of a veteran team with a huge chip on its shoulder and much unresolved emotion over the way it had been treated during the spring of 2006. The new coach not only had to help his guys negotiate complex feelings and issues, but also had to get them ready for a lacrosse season that would be more scrutinized than probably any Olympic sports campaign in Duke history.

Even considering his 24 prior years of experience as a head coach and his academic training as a college counselor, Danowski succeeded better than anyone could have expected.

His players proved to be worthy ambassadors for their sport and their school, with excellent behavior, a team grade point average of nearly 3.4, almost 600 hours of community service efforts and a 100 percent graduation rate for the seniors. They also played a pretty fair game of lacrosse, posting a 17-3 record while winning the ACC championship and finishing as the national runnerup with a 12-11 loss to Johns Hopkins in the NCAA final.

And they did all of that with cameras, microphones and reporters watching their every move. Rather than snarl and spar with the mass media that had trumpeted the news of their 2006 adversity, this group welcomed the chance to share their exploits with anyone who was interested.

For his pivotal role in the remarkable rebound of Duke lacrosse, John Danowski becomes the first coach to be named Blue Devil Weekly's Blue Devil of the Year. He shares the men's award this year with his son Matt, a star senior player for the lacrosse team, while the women's honor goes to sophomore Amanda Blumenherst of the NCAA champion Duke golf team. The three are recognized in the summer issue of BDW, published June 26.

While Danowski's comfortable, open manner and fundamental coaching approach shaped the mindset and playing style of the Duke lacrosse team, son Matt was an inexorable component of the Blue Devils' exemplary performance game after game. Playing an attack position equivalent to the quarterback in football or the point guard in basketball, the younger Danowski set the tone for Duke's explosive offense. Scoring 44 goals with 52 assists, he totaled a nation-leading 96 points, which broke the 44-year-old ACC single-season scoring record. And as team co-captain, he was arguably the most visible Blue Devil to fans and media, a situation he handled with aplomb.

Given the additional adversities and uncertainties he and his team faced over the course of the year, it was the most impressive body of work by a Duke men's athlete during the 2006-07 season.

Danowski capped off the year by receiving the Tewaaraton Trophy, college lacrosse's Heisman. He was also named national player of the year by the USILA, as well as ACC player of the year, ACC Tournament MVP, first team All-America and national attackman of the year.

This is Matt Danowski's second notice as BDW Blue Devil of the Year, as he also claimed the men's award in 2005 when he led Duke to the NCAA championship game as a sophomore.

Blumenherst, likewise, earned national player of the year laurels in pacing the women's golf team to the NCAA championship, the team's third in a row and fifth since 1999. She becomes the fourth golfer to earn Blue Devil of the Year honors in the eight years of BDW awards.

Blumenherst won the individual title in four of the 10 college tournaments she entered this season and finished in the top 10 in all of them, including the NCAA, where she placed fourth. She won ACC medalist honors for the second year in a row, and had one of her best performances in finishing second at the NCAA regionals. She matched an NCAA record with a 9-under-par 63 over the final round of that event to lead the Blue Devils to a record-setting triumph.

And along with earning All-America honors, Blumenherst also was named first team Academic All-America among her many other accomplishments.

Blue Devil of the Year

Selected by Blue Devil Weekly since 2000

2000 Ali Curtis, soccer
2001 Shane Battier, basketball; Candy Hannemann, golf
2002 Jason Williams, basketball; Virada Nirapathpongporn, golf
2003 Michael Yani, tennis; Alana Beard, basketball
2004 Chris Duhon, basketball; Alana Beard, basketball
2005 Matt Danowski, lacrosse; Katie Chrest, lacrosse; Anna Grzebien, golf
2006 J.J. Redick, basketball; Clara Horowitz, track & cross country
2007 John & Matt Danowski, lacrosse; Amanda Blumenherst, golf