Tag: NCAA

Maye, RBs impress as much as defense disappoints in UNC win

CHAPEL HILL — Drake Maye quickly threw away any concerns about Carolina’s quarterback situation after Sam Howell’s departure, and the Tar Heels’ young running backs looked impressive. Still, other worries from last season popped up against a short-handed FCS team Saturday. While Maye looked poised and polished, his offensive line wasn’t much better than the one Howell played with at times. Although the defense made some big plays, it couldn’t contain the passing game of a Florida A&M team missing three starters and many top reserves much of the night.

Davis, Love are top scorers as fans get an early look at Carolina basketball

CHAPEL HILL — The dramatically different college sports landscape has led to never-before-seen events, one of which happened Saturday afternoon at the Smith Center. Fans got a rare August chance to see RJ Davis, D’Marco Dunn, Puff Johnson and Justin McKoy, and, yes, even Armando Bacot, sink 3-pointers. Some of Caleb Love’s 3s were from beyond the NBA arc.

After many offseason changes, UNC impressively wins men’s soccer opener

CHAPEL HILL — After an offseason with a lot of roster turnover, North Carolina will need the type of leadership fifth-year midfielder Milo Garvanian gave the Tar Heels in Thursday’s opener. Garvanian (top photo) notched a goal and an assist in the first half to lead No. 24 UNC to a dominant 2–1 victory at Dorrance Field over Air Force to remain undefeated in openers under 12th-year Coach Carlos Somoano.

UNC rockets up nine spots to No. 1 in women’s soccer poll

National observers may not have been that impressed with Carolina’s women’s soccer team before the season began, but that has quickly changed. The Tar Heels were ranked No. 10 in the preseason United Soccer Coaches poll, but after defeating a pair of teams ranked in the top 11 of the preseason poll, they zoomed all the way to No. 1 in the latest poll Tuesday while some other ACC teams dropped. UNC got all eight first-place votes.

Maye to start for UNC at QB in opener but Criswell will also play

Ultimately, the legacy quarterback who flipped his original commitment from powerhouse Alabama won Carolina’s starting quarterback battle. Redshirt Drake Maye, the brother of former basketball star Luke Maye (2015–19) and the son of former quarterback Mark Maye (1983–88), will start Saturday’s 8:15 p.m. season opener against Florida A&M (ACC Network), getting the nod in a close competition with Jacolby Criswell.

Documentary spotlights UNC’s ‘Road to Redemption’ for perfect women’s lacrosse title season

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.

No. 10 Heels look dominant in dispatching elite Tennessee team in women’s soccer opener

CHAPEL HILL — A North Carolina program that has won more than half of the NCAA women’s soccer titles is ready to reassert its dominance on the national stage. After a 12-win total a year ago that was their lowest since 2011, the No. 10 Tar Heels took the first step Thursday night by knocking off No. 11 and SEC favorite Tennessee 3–0 at Dorrance Field before a nice opening-night crowd of 4,028. UNC’s eighth consecutive opening-game win came five days after a 2–0 exhibition win over No. 3 BYU.

ACC Network will air UNC games in several fall sports

Highlighted by the field hockey battle against fellow national power Iowa, North Carolina teams will appear on ACC Network this fall several times. There will be 12 Tar Heels games involving football, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, field hockey and volleyball on the network. That total will likely rise, with the football opener at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27 unlikely to be the only ACCN appearance for Coach Mack Brown’s team.

Ustby makes U.S. three-on-three team

North Carolina junior Alyssa Utsby was named to the USA Basketball Women’s 3×3 U23 Nations League roster on Tuesday. She joins Duke senior Celeste Taylor and Notre Dame junior Maddy Westbeld on the six-player roster after 11 players were invited to try out. Others on the team are Aaliya Moore of Texas, Kayla Wells of Texas A&M and Maddy Siegrist of Villanova.

Davis’ four-out offense spreads floor but so did Smith’s Four Corners

Many say that Coach Hubert Davis’ more spread-out brand of Carolina offense, which sometimes includes four players outside the 3-point arc, is something Tar Heels fans have never previously seen from Tar Heels teams. But many older Tar Heels fans can give you a two-word response if you say that spreading out the offense is new to the program: Four Corners.

Woody Durham treasured note from Vin Scully

Sports broadcasting legend Vin Scully, who died Tuesday at the age of 94, made the day of another broadcast legend with a note he sent. Scully, the iconic Hall of Fame baseball announcer who called Dodgers games for 67 years, first in Brooklyn and then in Los Angeles, sent a note on Los Angeles Dodgers stationery to Woody Durham. It congratulated the longtime Voice of the Tar Heels, who passed away in 2018, on his career.

UNC women face challenging nonconference schedule

Coming off a Sweet 16 appearance last season, North Carolina’s women’s basketball team faces a challenging nonconference schedule that includes two opponents who also made it that far in last season’s NCAA tournament. The Tar Heels (25-7 last season) open at home on Nov. 9 against Jackson State, which won the SWAC and made the NCAA tournament.