Joining the Lady Bulldogs golf to team as a sophomore, she went on to earn All-Orange Belt Conference three times.  This past season, she added an OBC Championship, helped her team advance to regionals and became the first female golfer from St. Cloud High School to advance to the state tournament.
For those impressive accomplishments, Dukes is the Osceola Osceola News-Gazette Female Golfer of the Year.”
“Getting to states was always the goal,” Dukes said.  “Coach (Eric) Godfrey and I talked about it before the season started and he mentioned that no one off the St. Cloud team had made it to the state tournament before.  It was a great feeling to reach that goal.”
Godrey said Dukes was not only a good player, but a good teammate as well.
“Erica is a great leader and a great team player,” Godfrey said.  “Golf is an individual sport with team implications and she is the main reason our team made some great strides this year.  She practices hard and is really intense on the course, but she always is the first player to make time to help her younger teammates out.”  
For Dukes the post-season began Oct. 9 when she fired an impressive 5-over 77 to win the Orange Belt Conference championship by seven shots over Liberty’s Alice Munn.  Although it was her first OBC crown, it marked the third consecutive year that Dukes finished in the top seven to earn All-Conference honors.   
One week later, Dukes posted an 83 to finish second in the 2A District 17 tournament.  Her second-place finish was three shots back of Munn, who won the district crown with an 8-over score of 80.   It was Dukes’ score, however, that led St. Cloud to a third place finish in the tournament and a trip to regionals.  
The season would come to an end for the Lady Bulldogs at regionals. The top two teams advance from regionals to the state tournament, as well as the top two individual players from non-qualifying teams.  Dukes shot a 10-over, 82 at the difficult Challenger Course at Suntree Golf Club.  That total gave Dukes sole possession of eighth place and edged Munn, Harmony’s Lauren Bishop and two others by two strokes for the second and final at-large spot for the state tournament.
Dukes says she will miss the friendly rivalry she has developed with Munn over the last two years.
“She’s really a good, young player,” Dukes says of the Liberty sophomore.  “We’ve gone head-to-head a lot of times, but it has always been friendly.  We always congratulate and encourage each other.  In a lot of ways, I think we’ve made each other better players.”
At states, Dukes posted rounds of 91-87 at the Harbor Hills Golf and Country Club in Lady Lake.  The score was good for a 54th place tie in the large school division and bested or tied 43 other golfers at the state meet.
“The state tournament was such a great experience,” Dukes said.  “But the first day was really rough.  It was a tough course and it was really cold.  When I added in the realization that I was playing against the best high school players in the state, my nerves got to me a little bit.  On the second day I settled down a bit and realized it was just golf.”
“The overall thing about Erica has been her consistency,” Godfrey added.  “She’s good off of the tee and extremely confident on the greens.  I think the thing that impresses me most about her game is she never has those blowup rounds. We could always count on her to shoot a low round.”
Erica’s game has caught the attention of college recruiters.  Several colleges have contacted her about playing and she is narrowing her choices down.  Right now, she saids she’s leaning towards Scad College, an NAIA member in Atlanta.
“Whether I am awarded a scholarship or have to walk-on, I want to play at the next level,” Dukes said.