Covering Carolina sports beyond just men's basketball and football — with the most complete women's basketball coverage
Hubert Davis has made a point to hire a coaching staff of Carolina alums, figuring there are many advantages, particularly on the recruiting trail. Who better to convince an athlete to play and study at UNC than a coach who did just that? With recent hirings, more head coaches on campus will have that advantage.
With Coach Brian Kalbas’ Carolina women’s tennis team winning the NCAA title on Saturday, here is a look at the University of National Champions by the numbers.
CHAPEL HILL — Denver came to Dorrance Field undefeated and barely challenged all season, but the reigning women’s lacrosse national champion Carolina didn’t make it easy for the Pioneers. The Pioneers’ defense, led by All-American defender Sam Thacker, was too much for the Tar Heels, who went scoreless for the final 35:22 of the game in Denver’s 5–4 victory in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals Thursday at Dorrance Field.
The reigning national champion North Carolina women’s lacrosse team was battle-tested heading into the NCAA tournament quarterfinals, where the young Tar Heels face the latest of many huge challenges this season. UNC (16–4) faces No. 5 Denver (21–0) at 5 p.m. (ESPNU) at Dorrance Field with a trip to the Final Four in Cary on the line as the Tar Heels seek their fourth national title. It will be the Tar Heels’ fifth top-five opponent and third in the last five games.
A young Carolina women’s lacrosse team took No. 17 Richmond’s best shot and withstood it Sunday to reach the NCAA tournament quarterfinals for the 20th consecutive season.
CHAPEL HILL — Although the Tar Heels are the reigning women’s lacrosse national champions, many of Carolina’s offensive leaders trying to continue the program tradition of excellence this season aren’t battle-tested in NCAA tournament play. No. 4 UNC rolled to a 16–5 first-round victory Friday over Sacred Heart for the Heels’ 20th consecutive win in an NCAA tournament opener on a beautiful afternoon at Dorrance Field as the young team keeps improving.
After years of Boston College losing at the hands of North Carolina in the ACC Tournament, the Eagles finally broke through for their first ACC women’s lacrosse title. No. 4-ranked and No. 1-seed BC ended UNC’s streak of seven consecutive ACC championships with an 11–9 victory Sunday in the ACC tournament championship at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte. The Eagles’ 10th consecutive victory, keyed by a late 5–0 run, avenged a regular-season loss to the Tar Heels.
North Carolina hasn’t replicated its dominant previous two women’s lacrosse seasons. But the young Tar Heels are putting it together at the right time and are a win away from their seventh consecutive ACC title. No. 6-ranked and No. 3-seed UNC scored the first eight goals and rolled to a 15–9 upset of No. 2-ranked and No. 2-seed Syracuse on Friday in the semifinals of the ACC tournament at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte.
Two individual national champions — wrestler Austin O’Connor and diver Aranza Vazquez — earned Athlete of the Year honors at the Rammy Awards on Monday night at Memorial Hall. The awards program recognizes excellence in Carolina athletics over the previous year. Women’s basketball center Malu Tshitenge of women’s basketball and football defensive lineman Kaimon Rucker were the hosts for the event, which was back at Memorial Hall for the first time since 2019.
DURHAM — For a program with one loss in the previous three seasons, North Carolina has faced unfamiliar challenges after losing plenty of talent from last season’s unbeaten national champions. No. 6 UNC added another new challenge Friday when they trailed Duke for the first time since 2018. The Tar Heels haven’t overcome all those challenges this season but withstood a spunky Blue Devils team to win 13–12 in the regular-season finale for their 14th consecutive win over their rivals.
CHAPEL HILL — Top-ranked North Carolina’s biggest early test early in the women’s lacrosse season just showed more evidence that the Tar Heels are again one of the best teams in the country. After UNC (2–0) blanked No. 7 Florida in the first half, the Gators’ first scoreless half since their inaugural season 13 years ago, the contrast between the teams was evident.
CHAPEL HILL — Even after losing six multiple-year All-Americans from last season’s undefeated national champions, the No. 1 North Carolina’s women’s lacrosse team doesn’t look any less dominant. With the type of leadership junior attacker Caitlyn Wurzberger gave the Tar Heels on Wednesday, they look hard to beat again.
You can relive North Carolina’s amazing undefeated run to the NCAA women’s lacrosse championship in the documentary “Road to Redemption,” which is available on YouTube. The UNC Hussman School of Media and Journalism production, in conjunction with UNC Athletics, includes interviews with Coach Jenny Levy and numerous players as well as highlights of key games on the Tar Heels’ way to finishing off a perfect 22–0 season.
When it’s UNC’s turn during ACC Network School Takeovers on Tuesday, you’ll see 10 memorable victories in nine sports from the last school year that aired on an ESPN channel. You won’t see the Tar Heels’ Final Four victory over Duke because that aired on TBS, but you’ll get a chance to relive their 94–81 victory in Durham to ruin Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s last home game (6 p.m.), a softball no-hitter, an amazing football comeback and three ACC Tournament championship wins.
Led by the national champion women’s lacrosse team, North Carolina finished sixth in the final Division I Directors’ Cup standings for the 2021–22 school year. Coach Jenny Levy’s unbeaten Tar Heels team was one of eight UNC teams to finish in the top 10 in NCAA championship play to help the school finish with an ACC-leading 1,087.25 points. Her team earned UNC 100 points and Coach Hubert Davis’ men’s basketball team earned 90 for playing in the national championship game.
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