Upcoming Event: Rowing at Rocky Top Invitational on April 3, 2026 at All Day
/
All Day
Rowing
at Rocky Top Invitational
Quotes from Sunday's Press Conference
Coach John Danowski
Opening Statement:
“This morning I found a Catholic church in town and I went there specifically to pray for a victory. I looked up and Bobby Benson, the assistant coach at [Johns] Hopkins was sitting about five pews ahead of me. So, I guess that kind of cancels everything out. We’re delighted to represent Duke University in the national championship game. This morning and our first meeting today will be about getting better as a result of watching the Cornell film. The staff watched the film this morning and we’ll show it to the guys this afternoon. We’ll meet offensively and defensively, and then we’ll meet again tonight and work on preparing for Hopkins and getting better for tomorrow.”
On the team’s relationship with Coach [Mike] Pressler:
“Many times during the year Mike has come and spoke to the team, which was terrific. There were times when we had asked the team to text coach or send him an email or give him a call to let him know that we were supporting him and his season and that we were behind him. We’ve certainly tried to keep him involved in what we’re doing as much as possible.”
On the possibility of the seniors coming back for another year:
“At this point, that is absolutely out of the realm of our thinking. We have lived this whole season one day at a time and certainly after the game yesterday, while there was great euphoria and time to celebrate, it was time to push on for today. To think about what some men or women in a room would discuss and how we would respond to it is just something we can’t fathom. We’re just trying to push ahead for today and live for today right now.”
On a chance to have another year coaching his son [Matt Danowski]:
“I think in a fantasy world I’d love to do it for another four or five years. It would have been great to start off with him as a freshman. If the opportunity arose and if that were something he would want to do, certainly I wouldn’t stand in his way of making that decision.”
On matchups for the Johns Hopkins game:
“[I haven’t thought about it] at all. We’re still in the mode of looking at the Cornell game and just trying to improve. One of the things that we’ve lived by this season is to just really focus on us and our team and how we can get better. There are so many situations from yesterday that I still believe that we can get better at. [Practice] won’t be physical today; it will be more mental. Film is a great teacher. It’s a great opportunity for guys to see themselves and where they can be on the field and really what was happening.”
On Matt Danowski and Zack Greer:
“I think Matt and Zack’s development, especially over the latter half of the season, is really primarily directed by the improvement of the rest of the team. Yesterday there was no slide to Matt, they put a short stick on Zack, and Brad Ross steps up and makes plays. Brad has worked so hard at getting better and you need those guys to make plays in the big games. Ned Crotty makes plays; Peter Lamade comes up with two big assists yesterday. The second midfield gave us some possession time and we ran the third midfield a little bit yesterday, which we’re going to need to do again tomorrow. The development of all those guys allows Matt and Zack to open up for those people. Better players always play better with good guys around them. No one can carry a team. [Matt and Zack] to little, subtle things to help the team; it’s a lot more than just goals and assists. I think that’s part of their desire to be all-around players and I think that separates them from a lot of people.”
Senior Defenseman Tony McDevitt
On Coach Danowski:
“I said in the beginning and I know a lot of the other seniors agreed and probably everybody agreed that Coach Danowski was the perfect person for the job. Sometimes it gets lost in this whole situation with Matt being on the team and coach being his dad. He was around the program for the past three years. He knew everything that was going on and he knew a lot of the players and it was an easy transition for both of us.”
On the Cornell game:
“I feel good. Everybody feels pretty good. You have to give Cornell all the credit in the world. They played lights out especially in the second half. They’re a great team and they started hitting their shots and really pushed the ball. In the same token, we just had enough at the very end to come out on top. That gives us confidence going into Monday’s game.”
On Johns Hopkins:
“Johns Hopkins is always a great team. They have a very strong midfield and I think a pretty strong attack. Their defense is always very steady and solid and they get the job done. They’re well-coached and they’re going to be ready to play.”
Junior Midfielder Brad Ross
On stepping up and making plays:
“I think back to our first Virginia game and the play we ran was geared toward Matt [Danowski] throwing Zack [Greer] the ball. I got open in the middle because they were so scared of Greer on the outside. Two guys went to him and nobody went to me. I think there it’s an obvious situation of that they’re very scared of Zack and Matt. So, it opens up things for me and Ned [Crotty] and Freddie Krom and [Max] Quinzani and those guys. It’s very much a luxury and I know I’ll miss it when Matt graduates.”
On the development of the offense:
“I think that we put a lot of pressure on the midfield early in the season because we knew how strong our attack was going to be. We knew that we needed to spend a lot of time and get back to fundamentals. Yesterday we had a lot of assisted goals which was very nice. Assisted goals show how well an offense is progressing. We’re still looking for the perfect game and hopefully we’ll have that tomorrow.”
On playing Johns Hopkins in the championship game:
“I’m from the Maryland area so you grow up going to Hopkins games and Maryland games. It’s very cool. But, it’s also very much just the next game. It wouldn’t matter if we were playing team X or team Y, we’re going to go out and try to score more goals than the other guys.”
