DURHAM, N.C. (AP) – Five months after its season was canceled because of a rape scandal, the Duke men’s lacrosse team returned to practice Monday.

The Blue Devils opened a five-week fall training camp under new coach John Danowski, the first time the team had practiced on campus since rape allegations surfaced against three players in March.

The case touched off a nationwide debate about sports, race and class. But for all the commotion, the players appeared so at ease Monday the workout seemed almost routine.

The only sign it wasn’t was the dozen or so reporters watching from the sideline, a rare sight for a nonrevenue program that competes in the shadow of Mike Krzyzewski’s basketball team.

“I haven’t played lacrosse with those guys in six or seven months,” said Matt Danowski, Duke’s All-American attackman and the son of the new coach. “You can see there’s a lot of excitement.”

The case began when a woman told police she was raped at a team party where she was hired to perform as a stripper.

All but one of the lacrosse team’s players gave DNA samples to investigators and were considered suspects for weeks, until a grand jury indicted three on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense: Reade Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J.; Collin Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, N.Y.; and David Evans, 23, of Bethesda, Md.

The school suspended the highly ranked team – which had appeared in the NCAA championship game in 2005 – and eventually canceled the rest of the season.

Longtime coach Mike Pressler resigned while the university faced widespread criticism of the program and the players’ behavior, which included alcohol-related criminal charges.

After an internal investigation, the school reinstated the program in June.

The following month, Duke hired John Danowski from Hofstra to coach the Blue Devils.

He leads a team in which all the players could be potential witnesses in a trial that is not expected to begin before spring 2007.

“I wasn’t here last year,” Danowski said. “And I don’t know these young men yet. … I guess it’s in the back of your mind. It’s still something where you move forward. I can’t relive the past.

“I can’t rewind the clock and I wasn’t here. This is what I know now, being with them for two meetings and one practice.”

The team opens preseason practice in January and plays its first game in late February. Danowski said he hopes to have the schedule completed by Friday.

AP-ES-09-04-06 1105EDT