Sports weekend preview: NCAA Champion comes to town, ranked tennis teams take court

The North Carolina men's basketball team doesn't play this weekend, but there's still plenty going on in the world of UNC athletics, including the No. 1 Notre Dame women's basketball team coming to Chapel Hill.

Gymnastics

After a 4-1 start to the season, the North Carolina gymnastics team will take the Carmichael Arena floor against N.C. State this Friday at 7 p.m. The Tar Heels will look to continue a hot start to the season, as its only loss came to No. 1 Oklahoma. UNC narrowly missed cracking the College Gymnastics Association top-25, and has a chance to move into the polls with a win.

Women's Basketball

Notwithstanding a dominant first half against Wake Forest, Sylvia Hatchell's team has had another rough start to ACC play. UNC has a chance for a season-defining win, however, when defending national champion and No. 1 Notre Dame comes to town on Sunday at 2 p.m. 

The Tar Heels will host 2018 Final Four hero Arike Ogunbowale. Last season, Notre Dame beat UNC handily in South Bend, Ind., 94-62. UNC's trio of Paris Kea, Stephanie Watts and Shayla Bennett will hope to reverse that result.

Track and Field

On Friday, UNC track and field travels to South Carolina for the second straight weekend. This time, the Tar Heels are competing in the Bob Pollock Invitational in Clemson, S.C. on Friday and Saturday. Last weekend, Daniel McArthur highlighted the tournament for UNC, as he set the program record in the shotput. 

UNC is set to face tough competition in the Bob Pollock Invitational, as three top-10 teams await on the men's side, and two on the women's. 

Swim/Dive

Last weekend, the North Carolina swimming and diving teams faced tough competition against N.C. State, which was ranked in the top-ten of the TYR/CSCAA rankings for both the men's and women's teams. UNC dropped both of those matchups. The Tar Heels have their work cut out for them again this weekend with a home meet against Virginia, which has nationally ranked teams on both sides.

Wrestling

After a hot start to the season which saw the North Carolina wrestling team defeat Arizona State, the Tar Heels have cooled off. After a 3-0 start, UNC is now 7-5. On Saturday at 6:30 p.m., UNC will attempt to bounce back from a loss against Princeton when it takes on Virginia in Chapel Hill.

Tennis

The No. 2 North Carolina women's tennis team swept East Carolina, 7-0, on Wednesday. UNC is 3-0 and hosts the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. UNC faces Virginia Commonwealth Saturday at noon. The winner of that match will play the winner of the Michigan State - Princeton match in the championship Sunday at 1 p.m.

The No. 6 men's tennis team is also playing in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, and it faces a field of Utah, Duke and Middle Tennessee.

Men's Lacrosse

The UNC men's lacrosse team plays its second and final scrimmage before the season begins. The Tar Heels face Loyola on Saturday at noon. 

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