Sports Briefs

Women's Tennis Sweeps in Arizona

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The No. 12 UNC women's tennis team capped a three-match road swing Friday with a 6-1 victory against Purdue. The Tar Heels returned with a 3-0 record during the road trip, including a 4-3 victory over ninth-ranked host Arizona State on Wednesday.

Kate Pinchbeck and Julie Rotondi led the way for the Tar Heels (12-3) with easy victories. Pinchbeck defeated Gretchen Haynor, 6-0, 6-2 to score the point at No. 2, while Rotondi swept Melissa Woods, 6-0, 6-1 at No. 3. Pinchbeck's victory improves her record to 15-0 on the season.

Other Tar Heel winners were Marlene Mejia at No. 1, Caroline Hill at No. 5 and Kendall Cline at No. 6. Carolina also scored the doubles point with victories at Nos. 1 and 2.

Women's Indoor Track Takes 5th at NCAAs

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- UNC's women's indoor track team totaled 25 points to finish in a fifth-place tie with Rice and Stanford at the 2002 NCAA Championships held last weekend.

The Tar Heel men totaled 13 points to tie Northern Iowa for 12th place. LSU won the women's title with 57 points, while Tennessee tallied 62.5 points to win the men's.

The finish for the women was the highest ever for UNC, and the men's finish was the third-highest.

Senior Sal Gigante had a career-best throw of 71 feet, 8 inches in the weight throw to take fourth for the men.

Friday, UNC's distance medley relay team of Erin Donohue, Anissa Gainey, Alice Schmidt and Shalane Flanagan set a new American record with a time of 10 minutes, 59.76 seconds.

The team finished second to UCLA, which ran 10:58.19 but is credited with the American record since all four team members are from the United States. UCLA had a Swedish team member.

Kenny Wins 4th Title At Wrestling ACCs

RALEIGH -- The UNC wrestling team totaled 72.5 points to finish second to N.C. State's 83 points on March 8 at the 2002 ACC wrestling championships held at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh.

UNC's Matt Kenny was the Tar Heels' lone champion, but four Tar Heels placed second and four added third-place finishes.

Kenny captured his fourth-consecutive title in the heavyweight division and joins Justin Harty as the only Tar Heels to win four ACC heavyweight titles.

After the championship round, NCAA Tournament qualifiers were announced, and five Tar Heels earned berths. Kenny, Chris Rodrigues, Evan Sola, Brad Byers and Mark Canty will represent UNC at nationals on March 21-23 in Albany, N.Y.

Women's Golf Takes 8th Place in S.C.

BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. -- The North Carolina women's golf team shot an 895 over the weekend to take eighth place at the Lady Gamecock Classic.

Ashley Prange shot 73 all three days to take fourth place individually with a score of 219.

North Carolina's score was 21 strokes back of No. 3 Duke, which posted a tournament-record 10-over-par 874 to capture its sixth title in seven years.

Softball Goes 4-6 During Trip to Florida

The North Carolina softball team returned to school after going 4-6 in its week-long trip to Florida.

The Tar Heels (12-13) lost four of their first five games, before winning three of their final five.

Among UNC's triumphs was Coach Donna Papa's 600th career win, a 9-1 victory against Rhode Island on March 12.

Gymnastics Wins Regular-Season Finale

HARRISONBURG, Va. -- The No. 21 North Carolina gymnastics team won its last regular season meet Friday against James Madison University 193.750-191.025 after losing at No. 9 Minnesota on March 9.

Sophomore Anna Wilson won the all-around with a score of 38.825. Wilson claimed first place on floor with a score of 9.925 and second place on bars with a 9.750.

Against the Golden Gophers, UNC lost 195.725-194.275. Monica Middleton captured second place in the all-around with a 38.925.