2019-20 UNC Sports Recap

It’s Memorial Day 2020. An appropriate moment to turn the page and close the book on what has been the absolute wonkiest college sports academic year that has happened in my 36 years on earth. The entire spring sports calendar was stripped bare. The winter sports schedule concluded before any of them were able to finish their championships. Only the fall sports teams were able to enjoy their full life cycle.

Specifically for the University of North Carolina, it was another stellar athletics year for many of the teams. Others were rebuilding. Some struggled due to injury. Regardless, all represented the university well and should be honored for their dedication to school and sport.

In order to gain something of a broader appreciation for all the student-athletes at UNC, let’s end the year with a rundown of each team and celebrate the year that was.

Fall Sports

Cross Country (Men’s)

The Tar Heels finished 10th in the ACC Championships and were led by Senior Alex Milligan, who finished 27th. At the Southeast Regionals, the Heels finished eighth, paced again by Milligan, who finished 26th.

Cross Country (Women’s)

The Tar Heels finished eighth in the ACC Championships. Senior Paige Hofstad led the way, finishing fifth in the race. At the Southeast Regionals, the Heels took sixth and Hofstad individually finished ninth, qualifying her for the Nationals, where she took 48th (just outside All-American honors).

Field Hockey

The field hockey team defended their national championship with another undefeated season, meaning they have now won 46 games in a row. Sophomore Erin Matson was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player and was joined by three other Tar Heels on the All-NCAA Tournament Team. Carolina has made 11 straight Final Fours and won three straight ACC titles (22 overall).

Football

After back-to-back losing seasons during which Carolina won exactly two total ACC games, the Heels went 7-6 (4-4) under first-year (for the second time) head coach Mack Brown. The Heels finished tied with Miami and Pittsburgh for third in the Coastal Division. After a dominant bowl game performance over Temple (55-13), paired with continued recruiting success, year two of Sam Howell, and Chazz Surratt running all over the field, Carolina looks to keep building on the new success they found last year.

Soccer (Men’s)

Carolina finished the season at 7-7-4 including a 3-5-0 mark in ACC play. The Heels were the seventh seed in the ACC Tournament and lost a heartbreaker to Syracuse in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Mauricio Pineda finished on the All-ACC First Team while Jeremy Kelly and jack Skahan landed on the All-ACC Second Team.

Soccer (Women’s)

The women’s soccer team came up just shy of their 23rd National Championship, losing to Stanford 5-4 on penalty kicks after a scoreless regulation and multiple overtimes. Emily Fox, Brianna Pinto, and Alessia Russo were all named First Team All-Americans while Maycee Bell was part of the Third Team.

Volleyball

The volleyball team finished their season with a record of 15-13 (12-6 ACC). The Heels lost a heartbreaker at Virginia Tech to wrap up the season. Lauren Harrison was selected to the All-ACC First Team while Parker Austin and Skyy Howard made the All-Freshman Team.

Winter Sports

Basketball (Men’s)

The men’s basketball team finished with the worst record of the Roy Williams era – 14-19 (6-14 ACC). Injuries wreaked havoc on the roster resulting in the most games lost to injury in the Roy Williams era. The Tar Heels lost in the second round of the ACC Tournament just before sports shut down.

Basketball (Women’s)

First-year head coach Courtney Banghart led the Heels to a 16-14 (7-11 ACC) record. At one point, Carolina was 16-6 overall with a 7-4 ACC record, before losing their final eight games of the season. Coach Banghart will have things moving in the right direction in 2020-21.

Fencing (Men’s)

The men’s fencing team finished third at the ACC Championships. 12 Tar Heels qualified for the NCAA Regional, in which Beni Rabinowitz led the way by placing fourth in sabre. James Mulligan and Rabinowitz both qualified for the NCAA Championships, which were unfortunately canceled as part of coronavirus shutdowns.

Fencing (Women’s)

The women’s fencing team finished second at the ACC Championships. 12 Tar Heels qualified for the NCAA Regional, in which Abigale Parker led the way by finishing ninth in sabre. Sophia Mandour qualified for the NCAA Championships, but unfortunately didn’t get to compete because they were canceled as part of coronavirus shutdowns.

Swimming & Diving (Men’s)

In the first year with a new coaching staff, the men’s team finished seventh in the ACC. Valdas Abaliksta, Chris Thames, and Fabian Stepinski all qualified for the NCAA Championships, which were ultimately canceled as part of coronavirus considerations. Abaliksta, Thames, Stepinski, and Dimitrios Dimitriou were selected as All-Americans.

Swimming & Diving (Women’s)

The women’s swimming and diving team finished fourth in the ACC under new coach Mark Gangloff. Bryanna Cameron, Emma Cole, Carolina Hauder, Brooke Perrotta, Grace Countie, Lilly Higgs, Sophie Lindner, and Ellie VanNote qualified for the NCAA Championships, which were ultimately canceled due to coronavirus concerns. Cameron, Cole, Countie, Hauder, Higgs, Lindner, Perrotta, VanNote, Emily Grund, and Heidi Lowe were selected as All-Americans.

Wrestling

2019-20 turned out to be one of the best in program history for the wrestling team. The Tar Heels finished third at the ACC Championships, including individual ACC Championships for Zach Sherman (141), Austin O’Connor (149), and Clay Lautt (174). Seven different Heels qualified for the NCAA Championships, including Jaime Hernandez (133), Sherman (141), O’Connor (149), AC Headlee (157), Kennedy Monday (165), Lautt (174), and Andrew Gunning (285). As with other winter sports, the Championships were canceled due to coronavirus concerns.

Spring Sports

Baseball

The baseball team ended their truncated season with a 9-2 win over VMI on March 11. They finished the season with a 12-7 record.

Golf (Men’s)

The men’s golf team won the final tournament it played in, the General Hackler Championship, by 13 strokes. Ryan Burnett was on pace to record the lowest stroke average in UNC history. The season was canceled before Carolina could play in the ACC Tournament or the NCAA Tournament. Thankfully, the golf season extends back into the fall, so the team got a lot of golf under their belt.

Golf (Women’s)

The women’s golf team only got to compete in six events this season, and finished ranked 25th in the nation when the season was canceled. Sophomore Jennifer Zhou was named a 2020 WGCA Honorable Mention All-American.

Gymnastics

The gymnastics team competed in their last meet on March 8, a less than one point loss to Ball State (195.850-195.375). The Tar Heels had just one more regular season meet on the schedule before the EAGL Championships were to take place.

Lacrosse (Men’s)

The men’s lacrosse team finished the season with a 7-0 record and ranked fifth in the nation. Their final game was on March 10, an 18-16 victory over Bryant. Despite the coronavirus shutdown, lacrosse still named All-America teams. Chris Gray made the first team, while Tanner Cook was on the second, and Justin Anderson on the third. Additionally Will Bowen made the All-Freshmen First Team.

Lacrosse (Women’s)

The women’s lacrosse team finished the season with a 7-0 record (2-0 ACC) and most importantly ranked first in the country. We all would have loved to see this season play out. Carolina won its final game, 20-18 over Northwestern while Katie Hoeg broke the UNC career points record. Hoeg and Jamie Ortega were named Inside Lacrosse’s Co-National Players of the Year. Emma Trenchard joined Hoeg and Ortega on the All-American First Team, with Emily Nalls being named to the All-Rookie Team.

Rowing

The rowing team unfortunately only had the opportunity to compete in one event, the Carolina Cup, hosted by Clemson, before the season was shut down for coronavirus concerns. The Tar Heels took third in the event.

Softball

Similar to the baseball team, the softball team played their final game of the shortened season on March 11, a 12-2 loss to Lipscomb. The Heels finished the season with a 10-14 record.

Tennis (Men’s)

After another successful fall campaign, Carolina was enjoying an equally successful spring season before things were put on hold. The Heels were ranked second in the final ITA poll released before the suspension. They also finished second at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in February. UNC was manhandling ACC opponents but never got the chance to finish things off in the ACC or NCAA Tournament.

Tennis (Women’s)

All due respect to the women’s lacrosse team, the women’s tennis team might have lost the most in the coronavirus shutdown. At the time, Carolina was 18-0 overall (6-0 in the ACC), was ranked first in the nation, had won the team ITA National Championships in February, and had won a singles ITA National Championship in the fall Sara Daavettila). On February 18, they had seven individual players ranked simultaneously in singles in the ITA (including three in the top six). It would have been fun to see what happened in the NCAA Tournament.

Track & Field

This was the first season under coach Chris Miltenberg, and a season that indicated change. The first change was obvious: coronavirus shortened everything. The 2020 track & field season never made it to the outdoor season slated to start on March 19. The season also didn’t make it to the Indoor National Championships, scheduled for March 13-14. Secondly, the new coach brought new energy and the athletes responded. During the ACC Indoor Championships, Carolina set all sorts of school records and personal bests, as well as achieving multiple All-ACC honors. Additionally, six Tar Heels received National Championship Invitations: Daniel McArthur, Isaiah Palmer, Ari Cogdell, Brandon Cachon, Ryan Saint-Germain, and Jadon Johnson.

There you have it. That was the 2019-20 sports year. A year unlike any other. With the impending reality of Name, Image, and Likeness legislation for the fall of 2021, we might not get many more years as we know them today.

To all the athletes that sacrificed so much to compete this year, we say thank you. To those who had their seasons cut short (especially seniors and graduate students), we offer our condolences. That is unless you are one of the spring sport seniors who chooses to come back, in which case, we can’t wait to see you for one last hurrah.

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