July 25, 2001

DURHAM, N.C. - For the first time in Duke history, the women's basketball team will travel abroad in August to tour Australia and play four games. The Blue Devils will take a 12-day trip to the "Land Down Under" from August 10-22 and will play the Australia Institute of Sport, the Brisbane Capitals, and the Sydney Panthers in exhibition games.

"The main goal of the trip to Australia is to allow our team to grow together," said head coach Gail Goestenkors. "We will see who has improved over the summer and see who will step into the leadership role for us. We will find out some interesting things about our team during the trip."

On the trip, Duke will travel to the cities of Sydney, Brisbane, and Cairns. The Blue Devils' first stop will be Sydney for four days. During the stay in Sydney, Duke will play the Australia Institute of Sport team twice and tour the sites of Darling Harbor, The Rocks, Harbor Bridge, Sydney Opera House, Taronga Zoo, and Manly Beach.

The next stop will be Brisbane for three days. The Blue Devils will face the Brisbane Capitals and Sydney Panthers as well as tour Surfers Paradise, Sea World, Movie World, Wet-n-Wild, and Dreamworld. Duke's final stop will be Cairns for three days where it will be all touring for the Blue Devils. The team will visit the Wild World Animal Park, Great Barrier Reef, and Palm Cove before heading home on Aug. 22. Duke's games are schedule to be on Aug. 14, 15, 17, 18.

The Blue Devils will dress eight players for the exhibition headlined by rising sophomore and National Freshman of the Year selection Alana Beard and junior third-team All-ACC selection Sheana Mosch. Other Blue Devils making the trip will be senior Krista Gingrich, junior Michele Matyasovsky, and sophomores Rometra Craig, Iciss Tillis, Vicki Krapohl, and Crystal White.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for our team," said Goestenkors. "The trip will be very unique and special, while being a great bonding experience."

Coming off one of the most successful seasons in school history, the Blue Devils posted a 30-4 record, while capturing the ACC Regular Season and Tournament titles in 2000-01. It marked the first time in school history a women's basketball team won both titles in the same season. Duke returns two full-time and two part-time starters from last season -- Beard and Mosch started all 34 contests, while Tillis (25) and Matyasovsky (9) shared time at one of the forward slots.

During the Australia trip, be sure to visit Duke's official website (www.GoDuke.com) throughout the Blue Devils' trip. The website will have daily pictures, student-athlete diaries, game stories, and other information from the trip.