What you missed at the 2016 Rammys

The fourth annual Rammy Awards featured plenty of fanfare — from rap videos and sword fights to Theo Pinson accepting awards he didn’t win.

Here’s what you missed on Monday at Memorial Hall.

Going out on top

The men’s basketball team fell short of an NCAA Championship trophy earlier this month, but the national runners-up took home plenty of hardware at the event.

The squad stole the spotlight from the beginning, drawing cheers with every mention and inciting chills from the crowd with every tournament highlight.

The team won four Rammy awards, accepting the honor of Most Outstanding Team before a roaring applause for the final award of the night.

Personalities aplenty

Though there was seemingly no end to the awards given out at the event, personalities trumped accomplishments throughout the night.

Within minutes, Pinson crashed the opening monologue and received a commemorative Rammys name plaque. The sophomore men’s basketball player also accompanied Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson for their Record-Breaking Performance award and was the first on stage to accept the Most Outstanding Team award.

Pinson’s teammate Joel James also entertained the crowd, eating pudding and beating fencer Ezra Baeli-Wang in a duel.

Swimmer Patrick Riess didn’t disappoint as the event’s co-host, taking shots at fellow athletes with an edgy demeanor.

Different type of show

While the event mostly recognized UNC’s athletic prowess, it also showcased the vocal and instrumental talent of the University.

The Rammys included three moments of featured entertainment, ranging from renditions of Adele’s “Remedy” to a performance of James Bay’s “Let It Go” played on the electric and acoustic guitar.

But the standout performance of the night was when track athlete Blake Dodge performed an emotional original song on the banjo. Diver Kali Becker, whose brother is autistic, interpreted the song in sign language.

Overcoming adversity

In perhaps the most touching moment of the night, soccer player Paige Nielsen and swimmer Mitch DeForest accepted the John Lotz Award — named after a former men’s basketball assistant coach and administrator who died of a brain tumor in 2001.

The award honors players who have “demonstrated a passion to succeed under adverse circumstances.”

Months after her mother died of lymphoma, Nielsen anchored the women’s soccer team’s defense during the 2015 season and served as an emotional leader for the team.

After a car accident limited his ability to train early in the season, DeForest returned to the pool in 2015-16 as the team’s co-captain.

sports@dailytarheel.com