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Denigan’s PK earns UNC win to end long road trip
After thousands of miles of travel that included a trip to Dublin and a pair of victories in Arizona, No. 9 North Carolina finally heads home. The Tar Heels closed out the road trip with stingy defense and a clutch penalty kick, escaping a match they controlled all day with a 1–0 victory Sunday over Arizona State at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
Ferri wins it in shootout, goaltender Skubisz stands as UNC knocks off No. 2 Princeton
CHAPEL HILL — While the shots were hard to come by for No. 10 North Carolina, goaltender Merritt Skubisz and her defense kept the Tar Heels in the game. The sophomore goaltender got her second shutout of the weekend to push No. 2 Princeton into a shootout, where Carolina prevailed 3–2 to earn a 1–0 victory Sunday at Karen Shelton Stadium.
Scorers, shooters and facilitators: Malone’s backcourt takes shape
CHAPEL HILL — Of the 16 players on Michael Malone’s first UNC roster, only two scholarship guards remain from last season’s group: Isaiah Dennis and Jaden Young. The rest of the backcourt had to be built from scratch after the departures of Seth Trimble, Derek Dixon, Kyan Evans and Jonathan Powell. Malone didn’t waste time.
Big expectations: Inside Malone’s retooling of UNC’s frontcourt
CHAPEL HILL — One of Michael Malone’s biggest early tasks was rebuilding a frontcourt gutted by the departures of Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar to the NBA. Months later, the first-year coach made clear he believes the group he assembled gives Carolina exactly the kind of size, length and versatility he wants to build around.
Malone’s career night helps No. 19 UNC stay unbeaten in five-set thriller
No. 19 Carolina volleyball needed every ounce of composure it could find Friday night, and Bridget Malone gave the Tar Heels more than enough to work with. UNC outlasted Colorado State 3–2 in a five-set battle at Carmichael Arena after winning the first two sets but needing to narrowly win the deciding set 16–14.
UNC field hockey turns corner after two early losses, rolls in shutout
CHAPEL HILL — After one-goal losses and its first 0–2 start in five years, North Carolina’s field hockey team clearly has turned an early corner. The young No. 10 Tar Heels, who lost 67% of their goal production from last season’s Final Four team, steamrolled Penn 7–0 Friday evening at Karen Shelton Stadium in the Conference Crossover event.
Film, film, film: Inside Malone’s five-month portal education
CHAPEL HILL — Michael Malone spent 25 years in the NBA, the last 12 as a head coach in Denver, working with players whose games he knew inside and out before they ever stepped on the floor for him. When he took over at North Carolina in April, he inherited a completely different job, one that started with a stack of names he didn’t recognize.
Positionless and proven: With deep backcourt, UNC women set sights on deep NCAA run
CHAPEL HILL — If there is a byword as North Carolina enters a women’s basketball season flush with talent and high expectations, it’s flexibility. Coach Courtney Banghart’s eighth Tar Heel team has plenty of lead guards after depending heavily last season on Elena Aarnisalo, who has returned to UCLA. Banghart said the shift reflects both a broader evolution in the sport and a specific need she identified when Aarnisalo carried much of the offensive burden down the stretch a year ago.
UNC women’s soccer continues challenging road trip with victory at Arizona
No. 9 North Carolina opened its western road swing during one of the program’s most challenging road trips in years with a hard-fought test Thursday night, escaping with a 2–1 women’s soccer win over Arizona in Tucson. The Tar Heels (4–1) were playing their first match since their 3–0 win over Shelbourne FC in Dublin on Friday, and they made the long trip Sunday from there to Arizona, with an eight-hour time difference.
No. 19 Heels rally after dropping first set of season, surge to 3-0 with win over JMU
CHAPEL HILL — No. 19 North Carolina jumped out to a 3–0 lead in the first set Thursday night and appeared poised to cruise. James Madison had other ideas. The Dukes became the first team in three matches to take a set off the Tar Heels, winning the opener 25–21, before Carolina regrouped to close out a 3–1 volleyball win at Carmichael Arena, taking the final three sets 25–21, 25–18 and 25–19.
Being ‘volleyball dad’ at UNC matches dramatically different for Malone this season
CHAPEL HILL — Michael Malone likes to call himself a “volleyball dad,” but the dynamics of that have changed dramatically from when he followed Bridget Malone’s freshman season with the Tar Heels. He might get recognized in the crowd because of his profile as an NBA coach who won a league title, but he could keep a low profile while watching his daughter’s matches.
Malone says his tough love about accountability, but comes with showing players he cares about them
CHAPEL HILL — Coach Michael Malone was known during his NBA coaching career for being direct with his players and applying tough love to make them better. Malone, about to start his first season as Carolina’s coach, said that will not change at the college level, but emphasized that it’s important to first let the players know that he loves them so that they know that any criticism is coming from a good place.
Malone deals with eligibility limbo of Fens, who can still practice with team
CHAPEL HILL — Cameron Fens spent the better part of August believing that he would finish his college basketball career in Chapel Hill. Now, with North Carolina’s season opener less than two months away, the 7–0 center still doesn’t know if he’ll be allowed to play in it. Fens, a graduate transfer from South Dakota, committed to Coach Michael Malone’s program on Aug. 8, filling what became North Carolina’s sixth transfer portal addition and 11th newcomer overall, seemingly completing the Tar Heels’ first roster under the first-year coach.
UNC women open ACC play on Dec. 13 at home against N.C. State
North Carolina navigates a trip to Paris, cross-country trips, and a loaded non-conference gauntlet in its women’s basketball schedule this season which was revealed in full on Wednesday. The Tar Heels, coming off a Sweet 16 appearance, have eight games against teams ranked in last season’s final Top 25.
Tar Heel Tribune Podcast
The “Tar Heel Tribune Podcast,” with hosts Britt Whitmire and R.L. Bynum, gives Tar Heel Tribune readers a conversational companion to the site’s written coverage of Carolina athletics with interviews, opinions and insights.