4 Blue Devils Named to Scholar All-America Squad

DURHAM, N.C.—Duke University placed four players on the 2014 United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Scholar All-America Team as announced recently by the coaches organization. The four selections are the most of any Division I program.

Seniors Brendan Fowler, Chris Hipps, Christian Walsh and Jordan Wolf each garnered the academic honor. The four selections are the most in program history. Duke earned three spots in both 1997 and 2001.

A Scholar All-American must be nominated by his coach and be a student with a senior year academic standing and a cumulative grade point average of 3.0. He must also be an All-American or an outstanding league or conference player.

Duke’s faceoff leader and a third team All-America selection, Fowler turned in another strong season at the X with a .590 win percentage (301-of-510). His 192 ground balls this past season rank second in Duke history and fifth on the NCAA single-season charts, while his 301 victories are fourth in the NCAA records book. He is one of two players in NCAA history to record 300-plus faceoff wins in his career. In 2014, the senior captain took all but 41 faceoffs to put his 510 attempts second in NCAA history. Overall, the two-time All-ACC pick has won at least 10 faceoffs in 18 of his 20 outings and has won at least 50 percent of his draws 17 times. He won a season-high 24 faceoffs in the regular season win over Syracuse as well as picking up a career-best 18 ground balls against the Orange. In the NCAA title game, the Wantagh, N.Y., native won 13-of-22 restarts, including the one that led Wolf to scoring the winning goal. For his career, Fowler ranks fifth in NCAA history in faceoff victories with 816 and fourth in ground balls with 474.

A third team All-America choice, Hipps was a four year starter on close defense for the Blue Devils. He anchored the Duke defense in 2014 with 31 ground balls and seven caused turnovers en route to helping the Blue Devils capture a second consecutive NCAA title. He recorded a pair of caused turnovers in the NCAA Championship game, while holding the Irish to just nine goals and only one in the first half. For the year, Hipps corralled four ground balls three times, including one in the overtime win over North Carolina and the 9-6 victory over Penn. Overall for his career, the Dallas native started 78 of his 80 games and has 112 ground balls and 34 caused turnovers.

A four-year starter at both attack and midfield for the Blue Devils, Walsh was a part of the highest scoring midfield unit in program history in 2014. The native of Baltimore, Md., ranked fifth on the team in scoring with 22 goals and 26 assists for 48 points. He registered a career-high seven points from a goal and six assists in the regular season win over Syracuse and tallied at least three points in six games. In his final weekend as a Blue Devil, Walsh registered two goals and four assists to earn a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament squad. Walsh completed his career with 93 career goals and 162 points to rank 19th at Duke in career points.

A four-time USILA All-America selection and 2014 Tewaaraton Award finalist, Wolf left his mark as one of the best attackmen to wear a Blue Devil uniform. En route to leading the Blue Devils to a second straight NCAA Championship, he became the first player in ACC history and 12th in the NCAA history to record 100 points in a season as he finished with 103. His 64 goals this past season rank fourth in Duke single-season history, while the 103 points are tied for eighth in the NCAA single-season records book.

The 2014 ACC Offensive Player of the Year, Wolf is Duke’s first four-time All-ACC selection. He registered at least two points in all 20 games and posted 11 points (5g, 6a) during championship weekend to earn NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player honors. Overall for the year, the 2014 first team All-American posted 13 hat tricks and had 12 games with five-plus points, including eight in the NCAA quarterfinal win over Johns Hopkins.

Wolf departs Duke ranked second in Duke and ACC history in career points (304) and third among all Blue Devils in career goals (183). He is the ninth player in NCAA history to reach the 300-point benchmark for his career and ranks eighth in all-time scoring on the NCAA charts. Wolf scored at least a point in 76 of his 81 outings and in each of his final 61 games. Over his four seasons, Duke amassed a 62-19 record, won the 2012 ACC title, advanced to four NCAA semifinals and ultimately won the 2013 and 2014 NCAA titles. He also earned All-ACC Academic honors in each of his four seasons and graduated in May with a 3.41 grade point average.

The Blue Devils captured their second NCAA title and third in five seasons in 2014. Duke finished 17-3 overall and 4-1 in ACC play.

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