This Week in Duke Athletics History (September 21-27)

Duke visited the White House in honor of winning the 2006 and 2007 NCAA Championships and met President George W. Bush.Elizabeth Williams was selected the 2016 WNBA Most Improved Player.Former Duke National Player of the Year Lindsey Harding was enshrined into the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame.Former Duke NCAA Champion Candy Hannemann was enshrined into the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame.Melissa Panasci racked up 14 points in Duke's 11-0 victory over Davidson. Panasci tallied six of the Blue Devils' 11 goals, as her points and goal totals from the game are still single-game highs for the program.Alana Beard and the 2006 USA Women's World Championship Team won the Bronze Medal by knocking off Brazil, 99-59.The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) named Duke graduate student Juliet Bottorff its National Athlete of the Week following her convincing first-place showing at the Adidas XC Challenge in Cary, N.C., three days earlier. The reigning All-American averaged a 5:18 per mile pace over five kilometers to post a new course record time of 16:28.81. During the race, Bottorff built a 27-second lead between herself and the second-place finisher, and her resulting time eclipsed her previous best 5K mark by over 30 seconds.Former Duke golfer Wes Roach became the Blue Devils' most recent PGA Tour card holder, as Roach's finish in the top 25 of the Web.com Tour money list from this season secured his spot on the PGA Tour for the following season. Roach clinched his card in dramatic fashion with an eagle on the 18th hole of the final round of the Web.com Tour Championship. That closing eagle was the boost Roach needed to finish the Web.com season among the 25 leading money winners.The 2002 NCAA Champion women's golf program visited the White House and met President George W. Bush.Former Blue Devil and two-time ACC Player of the Year Ryan Blaum won his first professional golf tournament, firing a final-round 63 to take the title at the Hooters' Tour Charleston Miracle League Open at The Golf Club at Wescott Plantation. Blaum won the event by two shots, with his nine-under 63 proving the difference in the final round.Led by Duke alumnae Chelsea Gray ('14) and Alana Beard ('04), the Los Angeles Sparks registered an 85-84 on the road at the Minnesota Lynx in Game one of the WNBA Finals. Gray, who tallied a career-high 27 points, secured a 1-0 series lead with a pull-up jumper with two seconds left in the game. Coach Brian Agler looked to his point guard in the final seconds and with an inbounds pass from Candace Parker, Gray didn't disappoint.The ACC released its 50th Anniversary Women's Basketball Team with Duke's Alana Beard, Katie Meier, Chris Moreland,andselected.Ryan Blaum shot a 17-under 271 (69-63-68-71) to claim medalist honors in the first round of European Tour qualifying at the Oxforshire Golf Club. With his performance at the Oxfordshire Golf Club, Blaum advanced to the second round of qualifying.Eleven former Blue Devils were selected to the ACC 50th Anniversary Basketball Team, announced by conference commissioner John Swofford. Shane Battier, Elton Brand,, Danny Ferry, Mike Gminski, Art Heyman, Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley, Christian Laettner, Jeff Mullins and Jason Williams were the 11 Blue Devils voted onto the 50-member team by a 120-member committee.Former Duke Women's soccer All-American and Sky Blue FC star Imani Dorsey was rewarded for her impressive first season in the professional ranks, as she was named the 2018 National Women's Soccer League Rookie of the Year.Following her collegiate debut, Sophia Parvizi-Wayne garnered ACC Cross Country Freshman of the Week honors, as she placed 18th in the field at the Roy Griak Invitational. Parvizi-Wayne clocked a time of 22:16.8 on the six-kilometer course, and her finish was the third best by a freshman in a field that included nine nationally ranked programs.earned ACC Cross Country Freshman of the Week accolades after finishing second among Duke runners and first among true freshmen in the field at the Roy Griak Invitational. The Avon, Ohio native used a late push to move up in the standings, as he went from 53rd overall in the pack after three kilometers to 38th at the 5K mark. Ambrosio would finish 31st in the field with an 8K time of 26:15.8.After spending much of the 2018 season ranked as high as No. 2 in the Top 25 rankings, the Duke men's golf team reached No. 1 in the Golfweek college golf rankings during the fall season.The games noted above are not meant to be a complete listing of Duke's events on these dates, but a sampling of great moments as determined by the GoDuke.com staff.