By R.L. Bynum
Carolina honored the best athletes and performances of the last year at the annual Rammys on Monday night at Memorial Hall. The top male and female athletes were no surprise, as All-American guard R.J. Davis and four-time NCAA championship diver Aranza Vazquez took home the top honors.
There were other obvious winners, such as Drake Maye’s left-handed touchdown pass at Pittsburgh, which was named the Play of the Year, and co-host Alyssa Ustby’s triple-double against Syracuse, which was named the Best Record-Breaking Performance.
In addition to Ustby, other co-hosts were gymnast Bella Miller, football player J.J. Jones and Michael Spragley from cross country and track and field.
“Tonight, we’re celebrating Carolina athletics and all you’ve accomplished over the past year,” Jones said.
Harrison Ingram earned the honor as the Best Male Breakout Athlete.
Top Six for Service Awards, recognizing outstanding community service, went to Reilly Tran (women’s tennis), JJ Jones (football), Kaimon Rucker (football), Dorrit Eisenbeis (field hockey), Gracie Bolick (women’s track and field) and the men’s lacrosse team.
The members of the mascot team were honored with the Unsung Hero Rammy.
Fencer Ella Webb played the harp for the second straight Rammys and tennis player Abbey Forbes sang.
And the Rammys went to …
Male Athlete of the Year
RJ Davis, basketball
Other nominees — Omarion Hampton, football; Parker Wolfe, track and field; and David Ford, golf
Female Athlete of Year
Aranza Vazquez, diving
Other nominees — Fiona Crawley, tennis; Ally Sentnor, soccer; Mabrey Shaffmaster, volleyball; and Ryleigh Heck, field hockey
Outstanding Team
Field hockey and women’s tennis, each won NCAA titles
Other nominees — Men’s golf; men’s track and field/cross country; men’s basketball; and men’s fencing
Outstanding Male Newcomer
Owen Duffy, lacrosse
Other nominees — Boris Muga, fencing; Quenzi Huerman, soccer, Sebastian Luan, swimming; Patrick Schoen, tennis; and Dyland Menante, golf
Outstanding Female Newcomer
Charly Bruder, field hockey
Other nominees — Alex Coleman and Sanaa Thompson, softball; Savy King, soccer; and Lindsey Troftgruben, rowing
Best Play
Drake Maye, football, left-handed touchdown pass at Pittsburgh
Other nominees — Indya Nivar, women’s basketball, half-court buzzer-beater at the end of the first quarter against Gardner-Webb; Eva Ingrilli, women’s lacrosse, overtime goal at Virginia; and Bella Sember, women’s soccer, game-winning goal in NCAA tournament third-round game at Texas Tech.
Best Championship Performance
Parker Wolfe, men’s track and cross country, won the ACC cross country title and indoor track ACC titles in the 3,000 meters and the mile
Other nominees — Aranza Vazquez, women’s diving, who defended one-meter and three-meter NCAA titles; Carson Tanguilig, women’s tennis, who won the clinching point in the 2023 NCAA title-clinching match; and Maddie Kahn, field hockey, who was the most outstanding player in NCAA tournament as the Tar Heels won the national championship.
Best Individual Performance
David Ford, men’s golf, who was 2023 ACC Player of Year and first-team All-America; Sofia Kovacs, women’s fencing, earned All-America honors for a second straight season
Other nominees — Lachlan McNeill, wrestling, finished 6th in NCAA championships to be All-American for a second straight season, and went 24–8; Lali Dekanoidze, gymnastics, won the ACC title on the uneven bars; Kayla Smith, women’s golf, won the St. Andrew’s Link tournament, is the all-time UNC career stroke average leader.
Best Male Breakthrough Athlete
Harrison Ingram, basketball
Other nominees — Andrew Czech, soccer; Sonny Santiago, wrestling; Alberto Osuna, baseball; Benjamin Kittay, tennis
Best Female Breakthrough Athlete
Skyler Smith, swimming
Other nominees — Megan Streicher, golf; Fatima Alanis, track and field; Kiley Mottice, lacrosse; and Isabelle Schaefer, gymnastics
Biggest Upset
Men’s fencing win over No. 1 Notre Dame to capture ACC title
Other nominees — Women’s basketball win over No. 6 N.C. State 80–70 on Feb. 22; back-to-back men’s soccer road ACC tournament wins over Wake Forest and Syracuse; Gwen Fink, gymnastics, set career marks on bars, beam and all-around in win over N.C. State
Best Record-Breaking Performance
Alyssa Ustby, women’s basketball, produced the program’s first triple-double in a win over Syracuse
Other nominees — Elizabeth Scotty, women’s tennis, eight national championships; RJ Davis, men’s basketball, set UNC record with 42 points against Miami (Smith Center record), hit program-record 116 3-pointers; Parks Harber, baseball, hit home runs in a school-record five consecutive games, including a three-homer game; Ethan Strand and Parker Wolfe, men’s track and field, at ACC indoor championships, Strand broke UNC’s indoor mile record and Wolfe beat that mark a few weeks later.
John Lotz Award
(Athlete who demonstrates passion to succeed under adverse circumstances)
Sam Forrest, women’s lacrosse and Patrick Anderson, men’s track and field & cross country
Mildred McCaskill Award
(Award to senior, focusing on excellence in athletics, scholarships and service to the community)
Avery Patterson, women’s soccer lacrosse and Patrick Alvarez, baseball
Photo, graphic courtesy of UNC Athletics
tarheeltribune.com 
