Upcoming Event: Swimming & Diving versus Marymount on September 26, 2025 at 4 p.m. Diving / 5 p.m. Swimming
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4 p.m. Diving / 5 p.m. Swimming
Swimming & Diving
vs Marymount
Remembering Matthew Lynch
5/26/2020 10:54:00 AM | Baseball, Swimming & Diving
It's interesting that what people do one day can have an effect on so many others years after the event.
Matt Lynch is one of those people. Lynch was a two-sport athlete at Duke. Actually, he was much more than that — he was a Duke student who excelled in the classroom, on the baseball field, in the swimming pool and, in the end, was a hero making the greatest sacrifice in service to his country.
Lieutenant Matthew D. Lynch, Duke class of 2001, died in Iraq on October 25, 2004, after suffering injuries from the flying shrapnel of a roadside bomb explosion near Ramadi, the capital of the Al Anbar province. That province, which includes the city of Fallujah, was home to a militant network, which U.S. officials said pledged loyalty to Osama bin Laden.
A commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 5th Marine Regiment, Lynch was on his third deployment in Iraq. During his military career, he was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. He was the first Duke casualty of the war in Iraq and was just 25 years old.
Years later, his name and memory still resonate on the Duke campus.
In the Taishoff Aquatic Pavilion, the large record board that covers the end of one wall of the pool bears the name of 1st Lt. Matthew Lynch and the years he was on the swim team, proudly displayed in large lettering.
Members of the Duke swimming program notice the board every day and think about Lynch.
"Having the record board named after a man who dedicated his life to his country is not only an honor but a constant reminder of the type of people our program represents," explained former All-ACC performer Christine Wixted, whose name was on the board six times with pool and school records when she graduated in 2014.
"When our time on the Duke swim team comes to an end, we may forget the records we set. They may be long gone due to how much better the program is getting. What we will remember, though, are the people we shared our time with, the people that came before and after us, the Duke swimming family. Matt was a true representative of that Duke family and his memory lives on through our ever changing record board, which I know would've made Matt proud."
Brinson Paolini, a 2013 Duke graduate, was a two-time All-America golfer during his college career. In 2011, the first year he received All-America honors, he was selected to play in The Patriot All-America golf tournament in Arizona. As part of the event, each golfer was presented a golf bag with the name of a fallen military member.
Paolini's bag had the name of 1st Lt. Matthew D. Lynch emblazoned on the side.
"Just to be able to be in the event was an honor," said Paolini. "I remember thinking to myself that he was the reason I was able to be out here, playing golf and feeling safe. It's guys like Lt. Lynch that makes it so we can enjoy our freedom every day.
"As soon as I returned to campus, I went and found his name on the memorial wall by the Chapel," he added.
After The Patriot event, the bag was displayed in the players' lounge at Duke's Karcher-Ingram Golf Center as a reminder to members of the golf team of the sacrifice others have made for their freedom.
Lynch was born in Jericho, N.Y., on May 10, 1979. He attended Jericho High School, where he was an outstanding swimmer and baseball player. He was all-county swimmer three years in a row, and a county champion in two events each of his last two years. As a catcher on the baseball team he was all-county his last two years and was nominated for the Diamond Award as one of the best players in Nassau County. As a senior, he tied the home run record.
At Duke in the pool, Lynch owned the best time among Duke swimmers in the 200 freestyle as a freshman, when he also posted the second best time in the 100 freestyle. At the ACC Championships, he had the team's best performance in the 200 individual medley.
As a sophomore, Lynch held season best times in the 200 freestyle and 200 individual medley and was part of the 200- and 400-freestyle relay teams that held Duke season time records, as well. After coming back to the swim team his senior year, he was 22 hundredths of a second away from setting the school record in the 200 individual medley and was also the anchor for the 400- and 800-freestyle relay teams.
On the baseball field, Lynch was regarded as one of then-coach Bill Hillier's favorite players and one of the hardest workers. Lynch played in 10 games and started two in 1999, finishing with three hits and two RBI while batting .273 as a backup catcher. In 2000, Lynch played in 30 games for the Blue Devils, starting 13 and amassing 13 hits and seven RBI with a .217 batting average.
After graduating from Duke in 2001, Lynch joined the Marine Corps and enrolled in OCS (Officer Candidate School) at Quantico, Va. His brother, Tim, was already a Marine, and his father had served in the Marine Corps in the 1960s.
Lynch completed officers training in December 2002 and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant. He served with 1st Marine Division, 1 Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton, Calif. He was deployed to Iraq in March 2003. He returned to Camp Pendleton in August, but was sent back in March 2004. Returning in July he volunteered for a third tour on August 31.
"He said he wanted to get back with his guys," his father, Bill Lynch said. "He wound up around Ramadi and kept writing us letters, telling us 'Nothing dangerous is going on around here.' Yet if you read...about how the Marines near Fallujah and Ramadi were getting the daylights shot out of their vehicles, it seemed pretty dangerous... He phoned us from Iraq...and said, 'It's not as bad as it sounds.'
"Matt was just a wonderful kid," he added. "He and people like him represent the best that the country has to offer. Maybe he even gave a little too much of himself. He was supposed to be there for seven months, but he only got through about two."
In a story in the Duke alumni magazine, Lynch's dad recalled the moment he knew his son was definitely enlisting.
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Lynch was in a dentist chair having his wisdom teeth pulled. "He sits in the chair and we're at peace," his father explained. "They knock him out; when he wakes up, we're at war."
Matt was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant, and was an exemplary officer according to one of his best friends and fellow officers, Shawn Maurer.
"Matt's Marines knew that he was there for them," said Maurer. Matt's Bronze Star cites him as an "unshakeable, courageous leader...He led his platoon from the front in the face of enemy fire."
Lynch was admired widely within his fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and on the swim team. Trevor Yates, who graduated in 2004 and was the team captain, said he looked up to Lynch as a mentor on the team.
"I was a freshman, and he was a senior, and he was very intimidating to me because he was such a leader in practice and competitions," Yates said.
"I was thinking of the last time I saw Matt. He came back to school to meet with some swimming friends of his, and he missed his flight to get back to the base," Yates added. "He knew he was going to have to get back the next day, but the two of us just played pool all night and hung out.
"I'm really grateful he missed that flight so that I had one last time with him."
In his honor, the 1st Lt. Matthew D. Lynch Memorial Scholarship Fund was established at Duke to provide whole or partial scholarships to undergraduate students.
Lynch is buried at Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, N.Y., but his memory is very much alive on the Duke campus — a sterling tribute to what being a hero is truly all about.
Matt Lynch is one of those people. Lynch was a two-sport athlete at Duke. Actually, he was much more than that — he was a Duke student who excelled in the classroom, on the baseball field, in the swimming pool and, in the end, was a hero making the greatest sacrifice in service to his country.
Lieutenant Matthew D. Lynch, Duke class of 2001, died in Iraq on October 25, 2004, after suffering injuries from the flying shrapnel of a roadside bomb explosion near Ramadi, the capital of the Al Anbar province. That province, which includes the city of Fallujah, was home to a militant network, which U.S. officials said pledged loyalty to Osama bin Laden.
A commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 5th Marine Regiment, Lynch was on his third deployment in Iraq. During his military career, he was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. He was the first Duke casualty of the war in Iraq and was just 25 years old.
Years later, his name and memory still resonate on the Duke campus.
In the Taishoff Aquatic Pavilion, the large record board that covers the end of one wall of the pool bears the name of 1st Lt. Matthew Lynch and the years he was on the swim team, proudly displayed in large lettering.
Members of the Duke swimming program notice the board every day and think about Lynch.
"Having the record board named after a man who dedicated his life to his country is not only an honor but a constant reminder of the type of people our program represents," explained former All-ACC performer Christine Wixted, whose name was on the board six times with pool and school records when she graduated in 2014.
"When our time on the Duke swim team comes to an end, we may forget the records we set. They may be long gone due to how much better the program is getting. What we will remember, though, are the people we shared our time with, the people that came before and after us, the Duke swimming family. Matt was a true representative of that Duke family and his memory lives on through our ever changing record board, which I know would've made Matt proud."
Brinson Paolini, a 2013 Duke graduate, was a two-time All-America golfer during his college career. In 2011, the first year he received All-America honors, he was selected to play in The Patriot All-America golf tournament in Arizona. As part of the event, each golfer was presented a golf bag with the name of a fallen military member.
Paolini's bag had the name of 1st Lt. Matthew D. Lynch emblazoned on the side.
"Just to be able to be in the event was an honor," said Paolini. "I remember thinking to myself that he was the reason I was able to be out here, playing golf and feeling safe. It's guys like Lt. Lynch that makes it so we can enjoy our freedom every day.
"As soon as I returned to campus, I went and found his name on the memorial wall by the Chapel," he added.
After The Patriot event, the bag was displayed in the players' lounge at Duke's Karcher-Ingram Golf Center as a reminder to members of the golf team of the sacrifice others have made for their freedom.
Lynch was born in Jericho, N.Y., on May 10, 1979. He attended Jericho High School, where he was an outstanding swimmer and baseball player. He was all-county swimmer three years in a row, and a county champion in two events each of his last two years. As a catcher on the baseball team he was all-county his last two years and was nominated for the Diamond Award as one of the best players in Nassau County. As a senior, he tied the home run record.
At Duke in the pool, Lynch owned the best time among Duke swimmers in the 200 freestyle as a freshman, when he also posted the second best time in the 100 freestyle. At the ACC Championships, he had the team's best performance in the 200 individual medley.
As a sophomore, Lynch held season best times in the 200 freestyle and 200 individual medley and was part of the 200- and 400-freestyle relay teams that held Duke season time records, as well. After coming back to the swim team his senior year, he was 22 hundredths of a second away from setting the school record in the 200 individual medley and was also the anchor for the 400- and 800-freestyle relay teams.
On the baseball field, Lynch was regarded as one of then-coach Bill Hillier's favorite players and one of the hardest workers. Lynch played in 10 games and started two in 1999, finishing with three hits and two RBI while batting .273 as a backup catcher. In 2000, Lynch played in 30 games for the Blue Devils, starting 13 and amassing 13 hits and seven RBI with a .217 batting average.
After graduating from Duke in 2001, Lynch joined the Marine Corps and enrolled in OCS (Officer Candidate School) at Quantico, Va. His brother, Tim, was already a Marine, and his father had served in the Marine Corps in the 1960s.
Lynch completed officers training in December 2002 and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant. He served with 1st Marine Division, 1 Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton, Calif. He was deployed to Iraq in March 2003. He returned to Camp Pendleton in August, but was sent back in March 2004. Returning in July he volunteered for a third tour on August 31.
"He said he wanted to get back with his guys," his father, Bill Lynch said. "He wound up around Ramadi and kept writing us letters, telling us 'Nothing dangerous is going on around here.' Yet if you read...about how the Marines near Fallujah and Ramadi were getting the daylights shot out of their vehicles, it seemed pretty dangerous... He phoned us from Iraq...and said, 'It's not as bad as it sounds.'
"Matt was just a wonderful kid," he added. "He and people like him represent the best that the country has to offer. Maybe he even gave a little too much of himself. He was supposed to be there for seven months, but he only got through about two."
In a story in the Duke alumni magazine, Lynch's dad recalled the moment he knew his son was definitely enlisting.
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Lynch was in a dentist chair having his wisdom teeth pulled. "He sits in the chair and we're at peace," his father explained. "They knock him out; when he wakes up, we're at war."
Matt was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant, and was an exemplary officer according to one of his best friends and fellow officers, Shawn Maurer.
"Matt's Marines knew that he was there for them," said Maurer. Matt's Bronze Star cites him as an "unshakeable, courageous leader...He led his platoon from the front in the face of enemy fire."
Lynch was admired widely within his fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and on the swim team. Trevor Yates, who graduated in 2004 and was the team captain, said he looked up to Lynch as a mentor on the team.
"I was a freshman, and he was a senior, and he was very intimidating to me because he was such a leader in practice and competitions," Yates said.
"I was thinking of the last time I saw Matt. He came back to school to meet with some swimming friends of his, and he missed his flight to get back to the base," Yates added. "He knew he was going to have to get back the next day, but the two of us just played pool all night and hung out.
"I'm really grateful he missed that flight so that I had one last time with him."
In his honor, the 1st Lt. Matthew D. Lynch Memorial Scholarship Fund was established at Duke to provide whole or partial scholarships to undergraduate students.
Lynch is buried at Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, N.Y., but his memory is very much alive on the Duke campus — a sterling tribute to what being a hero is truly all about.
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