Women's basketball upset of Notre Dame headlines strong weekend for UNC athletics

The UNC womem's basketball team throw confetti to celebrates Coach Sylvia Hatchell's record-breaking victory after the win against UNCG in Carmichael Arena on Friday, Dec. 14 2018. With her 740th win, she has coached more women's basketball victories than any other ACC coach.

The North Carolina women's basketball players sprinted to mob each other following a historic upset of No. 1 Notre Dame, 78-73, on Sunday, knowing they had achieved what head coach Sylvia Hatchell described as a "wow moment."

The win was a long time coming for a program that has experienced more than its fair share of ups and downs since the 2014-2015 season — the last time the Tar Heels made the NCAA Tournament. It's also the first time UNC has taken down the No. 1 team in the country since 2006.

However, the women's basketball team was not the only North Carolina squad that got a hard-fought victory over the weekend.

Wrestling

No. 17 UNC faced No. 25 Virginia on Saturday in a battle of ranked squads. The Tar Heels emerged victorious for their first ACC win this season, 22-13, thanks to four major decision victories that gave North Carolina some needed bonus points.

UNC is now 8-5 and 1-0 in ACC play with six regular season matches remaining.

Barron Northrup
Chip Ness celebrates his victory in the 184 lb weight class match during the home wrestling match vs. Nebraska on Saturday, Dec. 15 2018.

Tennis

The No. 3 women's tennis team clinched a berth to the 2019 ITA National Team Indoor Championships with a 4-0 win over Princeton on Sunday at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. Senior Jessie Aney led the way with both a singles and doubles win. Now, the Tar Heels face Vanderbilt before attempting to defend their title in February.

Stella Reneke
Junior Makenna Jones returns a volley against her opponent from Virginia Commonweatlh University on Jan. 26, 2019.

The No. 6 men's team took care of Duke on Saturday night, 4-1, thanks to contributions from first-year Brian Cernoch and sophomore Benjamin Sigouin. The Tar Heels play two more matches before traveling to their fifth consecutive ITA National Team Indoor Championships in February.

Alicia Robbins
Sophomore Benjamin Sigouin, undeclared major, playing for the UNC men's tennis team against Duke on Jan. 26, 2019, in the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. UNC won 4-1 against Duke.

Track and field

Fourteen different Tar Heels broke career records this weekend at the Bob Pollock Invitational in Clemson, S.C. Senior Morgan Isle led the women with a time of 4:40.10 in the one-mile run. On the men's side, UNC clinched a first-place finish in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:10.00.

Dustin Duong
Jake McEneaney (center), a sophomore distance runner for UNC, tries to pull ahead of a runner from Eastern Carolina during the Men's One Mile Run in the Dick Taylor Carolina Cup at Eddie Smith Field House on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019. McEneaney placed eighth in the event with a time of 4:27.67.

Gymnastics

On Friday, the UNC gymnastics team hosted its Diversity and Inclusion meet. The Tar Heels fell to N.C. State, 195.200-194.650, but the squads stood up together for equality.

“Equality means any person, regardless of their gender, ethnic background, race or sexual orientation, any person should be respected and treated and valued in whatever they pursue,” head coach Derek Galvin said. “The message from Chancellor Folt during the time she’s been here within this community is that Carolina takes pride in the fact that this is a community where diversity is valued, and people are treated equally for the most part.”

Men's lacrosse

The No. 12 men's lacrosse team took on No. 6 Loyola in a rematch of the 2016 Final Four. UNC lost the scrimmage, 15-10, in a match that showed head coach Joe Breschi what his team needs to do to improve moving forward.

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Barron J. Northrup

The North Carolina men's lacrosse team celebrates a goal against Notre Dame on April 21 at Kenan Stadium.

UNC kicks off its regular season in Atlanta against Mercer on Saturday.

Swimming and diving

Sophomore Alvin Jiang and first-year Grace Countie impressed for the UNC swimming and diving teams in a meet against Virginia on Friday. Jiang won the 100-yard backstroke almost a second faster than the next closest swimmer. Countie also placed first in the 100-yard backstroke.

Barron Northrup
Head coach Rich DeSelm addresses the swim and dive teams after the home meet against Virginia in Koury Natatorium on Friday, January 25, 2019. Both women and men lost to Virginia.

The men's team fell to Virginia, 187-112, and the women lost, 172-126.

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