ACC defensive player of year Honeycutt still day-to-day; all 26 suspended UNC players now available

CHAPEL HILL — The bad news for North Carolina headed into the ACC tournament this week is that star center fielder Vance Honeycutt still is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The good news is that Honeycutt is ACC defensive player of the year, and all of the Tar Heels have served the suspensions that the NCAA doled out in the wake of the incident in the Gardner-Webb game. UNC (33–21) opens round-robin play Tuesday at 3 p.m. against Georgia Tech (30–24) at Durham Bulls Athletic Park (ACC Network), with junior right-hander Max Carlson (4–2, 6.20) starting.

UNC opens ACC tournament play Tuesday, likely needing to repeat as league champ to have chance to be NCAA regional host

When Carolina opens ACC tournament pool play at 3 p.m. Tuesday against No. 11-seed Georgia Tech (30–24) at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, the Tar Heels will likely need four wins and the ACC title to have a chance to be an NCAA tournament regional host. The Tar Heels (33–21) are in Pool B, and also play No. 21-ranked and No. 2-seed Virginia (44–11) at 3 p.m. on Thursday. If UNC wins Tuesday and the Yellow Jackets lose Wednesday to Virginia, that Carolina-Virginia game would be for a berth in the semifinals.

No. 1 UNC tops No. 3 Pack for Heels’ first women’s tennis team national title, Carolina’s 49th team title

At last, Carolina has broken through to serve the program’s first women’s tennis national championship.
The No. 1-ranked Tar Heels avenged their only loss on Saturday with a 4–1 victory over No. 3 N.C. State at the USTA national campus in Orlando, Fla., in their sixth Final Four appearance. Singles wins by senior Elizabeth Scotty and sophomore Carson Tanguilig within a minute of each other clinched the title.

Carolina avoids ACC tournament pool with No. 1 Wake Forest, wouldn’t play Deacs until championship game

Carolina will not only avoid being in the same ACC tournament round-robin pool as No. 1 Wake Forest, but the Tar Heels also wouldn’t have to face the Deacons until the championship game. That was the good news for the Tar Heels after they lost their fourth consecutive game, and Clemson finished off a three-game sweep of their regular-season-ending series on Saturday.

Grice pitches, powers No. 7 Clemson as Tigers finish off sweep of UNC

Carolina finally pitched well throughout a game against No. 7 Clemson, but the Tar Heels couldn’t deal with versatile Tigers star Caden Grice. Grice, who usually plays first base, beat UNC from the mound and the plate as the Tigers finished off a sweep of the regular-season-ending three-game series with a 3–1 victory Saturday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium for their 12th consecutive victory.

How to watch UNC-N.C. State national championship women’s tennis match

No. 1 North Carolina and No. 3 N.C. State clash in women’s tennis for a third time this season on Saturday in Orlando, Fla., with the national championship on the line. The match at the USTA Tennis Campus is set for 5:30 p.m. and will air on the Tennis Channel. It’s the first time since 2014 that UNC has made the NCAA championship game. Carolina has won the last four ITA indoor titles and gets a chance to finally break through in the NCAA tournament.

Clemson routs UNC, which was without Honeycutt, for Tigers’ 10th straight win

Without star center fielder Vance Honeycutt and a rough outing for right-hander Max Carlson, it was a long night in Clemson for North Carolina. The No. 7 Tigers scored six runs of Carlson in the first two innings and rolled to a 14–7 victory Thursday over the Tar Heels at Doug Kingsmore Stadium for their 10th consecutive victory. UNC didn’t go down quietly, though, scoring four runs and getting six of its 15 hits in the ninth inning.

UNC goes scoreless for last 35:22 as unbeaten Denver rallies to oust reigning women’s lacrosse champions

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.

Love moving on from Michigan, reportedly because of issue with academic credits

There were rumors two weeks ago that Caleb Love would decommit from Michigan and the guard shot them down on Twitter. Now, multiple reports Wednesday indicate that he is indeed moving on. Love, who originally committed to Michigan on April 7, will look for another school, according to On3.com and 247 Sports, and Fox Sports is reporting that he didn’t have the needed academic credits to transfer.

UNC could win ACC Coastal, increase chances of being regional host with big weekend at Clemson

Entering North Carolina’s big regular-season-ending three-game series at No. 7 Clemson, the Tar Heels still have a shot at winning the ACC Coastal Division title while still being projected as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Tar Heels (33–18, 14–11 ACC) would need to sweep the Tigers (36–17, 17–10) and get help to win the division.

Reigning national champion UNC faces unbeaten Denver in NCAA women’s lacrosse quarterfinal

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.

With UNC missing four regulars, its offense isn’t enough against No. 8 Coastal Carolina

As North Carolina tried to work its way through the one-game player suspensions, the short-handed Tar Heels couldn’t generate enough offense without four big bats missing from the lineup. The Tar Heels took an early three-run lead, but No. 8 Coastal Carolina quickly took control on its way to an 8–6 victory Tuesday night at Springs Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C., to end their five-game win streak.