University of North Carolina Athletics
Volleyball was one of 11 UNC teams to finish in the top 10 in postseason play in 2016-17.
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
2016-17 UNC Athletics Year In Review
August 18, 2017 | General
CHAPEL HILL—The 2016-17 athletic and academic year was the latest example in a long line of successful seasons at the University of North Carolina.
"Those of us who favor the Carolina Blue are inclined to say 'It's a Great Day to a Be a Tar Heel,'" says athletic director Bubba Cunningham. "Well, 2016-17 was a great year to be a Tar Heel. Whether it was in the classroom, competition or the community, Carolina student-athletes, coaches and staff made us proud to be Tar Heels."
Here's a sampling of Carolina's highlights from 2016-17:
• Carolina finished fifth in the Learfield Directors Cup with 1,154 points. It was the 18th time UNC was the highest-finishing ACC school and the 20th top-10 finish for the Tar Heels in the 24-year history of the Directors Cup.
• Men's basketball defeated Gonzaga, 71-65, in Phoenix to win the 2017 NCAA championship. It was Carolina's sixth NCAA Tournament title in men's basketball and the 43rd NCAA team title for UNC overall. The Tar Heels became the first school to reach the men's basketball Final Four 20 times. It marked the fourth time a school won the men's basketball championship one year after losing in the national title game (UNC in 1981-82, Duke in 1990-91, Kentucky in 1997-98 and UNC in 2016-17).
• Twenty-five of Carolina's 28 teams participated in NCAA postseason competition.
• Men's basketball won the national title and was one of seven UNC teams to finish in the top five nationally in NCAA postseason play.
• Field hockey and men's tennis were national runners-up, men's and women's soccer played in the College Cup and tied for third, and women's lacrosse and women's tennis reached the quarterfinals and tied for fifth.
• Women's golf and men's lacrosse finished ninth and volleyball reached the round of 16 (tied for ninth) at the NCAA Championship, giving Carolina 11 teams in the top 10 in postseason play.
• Three other programs finished in the top 25 in NCAA post-season play, including women'swimming and diving (17), men's golf (18) and fencing (24).
• Football finished second in the ACC's Coastal Division and played in the Hyundai Sun Bowl. It was UNC's seventh bowl game appearance in the last eight years.
UNC was one of six schools to finish in the top 10 in both men's and women's standings in the Capital One Cup, which rewards points for top 10 finishes. The Tar Heel men finished third and the women placed ninth.
• Carolina won four Atlantic Coast Conference championships (matching Virginia Tech for the most in 2016-17): men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, women's tennis and volleyball.
• Volleyball won the ACC title with a 19-1 record in conference play. Men's lacrosse beat Notre Dame in the ACC Tournament final, women's lacrosse beat Syracuse in the ACC Tournament championship game and women's tennis beat Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament final.
• Baseball and men's soccer won ACC division titles and men's basketball, women's lacrosse and women's tennis joined volleyball in winning regular-season ACC titles.
• Three Tar Heels won individual events at ACC Championships: Hellen Moffitt in the 100-yard butterfly (swimming), and Kenny Selmon in the 400 hurdles and Ceo Ways in the 400 meters in men's outdoor track and field.
• Hayley Carter (women's tennis), Justin Jackson (men's basketball) and Ryan Switzer (football) won the Patterson Medal, Carolina's most prestigious award for outstanding career achieve-ment.
• A record number (385) of Tar Heel student-athletes earned spots on the ACC Academic Honor Roll (minimum 3.0 grade point average).
• Men's cross country, women's fencing, women's golf, gymnastics, men's soccer, men's tennis, women's tennis and volleyball ranked in the top 10 percent nationally in Academic Progress Rates in their respective sports.
• Men's basketball, men's cross country, men's and women's fencing, field hockey, men's and women's golf, gymnastics, women's lacrose, rowing, men's soccer, softball, women's swim-ming and diving, men's and women's tennis and volleyball scored 1000 in the Academic Progress Rate for 2015-16.
• Nineteen programs had multi-year APRs that exceeded the national averages for their re-spective sports – baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, women's fencing, field hockey, women's golf, gymnastics, women's lacrosse, rowing, men's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, men's track and field and volleyball all exceeded their national averages. Women's track and field equaled the national average.
• Emma Bozek (field hockey), Hayley Carter (women's tennis) and Marie McCool (women's lacrosse) earned ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors in their respective sports, recognizing the student-athlete who performs at the highest level academically and athletically.
• UNC swept the Elite 90 Awards for soccer, with Frances Reuland winning on the women's side and Alex Comsia on the men's. The award goes to the College Cup participant with the highest GPA.
• Six Tar Heels earned Academic All-America honors: Hayley Carter, at-large (first team); Sarah Howard, women's track and field/cross country (first team); David October (men's soccer, first team), Nils Bruening, men's soccer (third team); Alex Comsia, men's soccer (third team); RJ Alowonle, men's track and field/cross country (third team).
• Hayley Carter became just the third Tar Heel to earn multiple first-team All-America and Aca-demic All-America honors.
• Carolina student-athletes performed approximately 5,000 hours of community service.
"Those of us who favor the Carolina Blue are inclined to say 'It's a Great Day to a Be a Tar Heel,'" says athletic director Bubba Cunningham. "Well, 2016-17 was a great year to be a Tar Heel. Whether it was in the classroom, competition or the community, Carolina student-athletes, coaches and staff made us proud to be Tar Heels."
Here's a sampling of Carolina's highlights from 2016-17:
• Carolina finished fifth in the Learfield Directors Cup with 1,154 points. It was the 18th time UNC was the highest-finishing ACC school and the 20th top-10 finish for the Tar Heels in the 24-year history of the Directors Cup.
• Men's basketball defeated Gonzaga, 71-65, in Phoenix to win the 2017 NCAA championship. It was Carolina's sixth NCAA Tournament title in men's basketball and the 43rd NCAA team title for UNC overall. The Tar Heels became the first school to reach the men's basketball Final Four 20 times. It marked the fourth time a school won the men's basketball championship one year after losing in the national title game (UNC in 1981-82, Duke in 1990-91, Kentucky in 1997-98 and UNC in 2016-17).
• Twenty-five of Carolina's 28 teams participated in NCAA postseason competition.
• Men's basketball won the national title and was one of seven UNC teams to finish in the top five nationally in NCAA postseason play.
• Field hockey and men's tennis were national runners-up, men's and women's soccer played in the College Cup and tied for third, and women's lacrosse and women's tennis reached the quarterfinals and tied for fifth.
• Women's golf and men's lacrosse finished ninth and volleyball reached the round of 16 (tied for ninth) at the NCAA Championship, giving Carolina 11 teams in the top 10 in postseason play.
• Three other programs finished in the top 25 in NCAA post-season play, including women'swimming and diving (17), men's golf (18) and fencing (24).
• Football finished second in the ACC's Coastal Division and played in the Hyundai Sun Bowl. It was UNC's seventh bowl game appearance in the last eight years.
UNC was one of six schools to finish in the top 10 in both men's and women's standings in the Capital One Cup, which rewards points for top 10 finishes. The Tar Heel men finished third and the women placed ninth.
• Carolina won four Atlantic Coast Conference championships (matching Virginia Tech for the most in 2016-17): men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, women's tennis and volleyball.
• Volleyball won the ACC title with a 19-1 record in conference play. Men's lacrosse beat Notre Dame in the ACC Tournament final, women's lacrosse beat Syracuse in the ACC Tournament championship game and women's tennis beat Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament final.
• Baseball and men's soccer won ACC division titles and men's basketball, women's lacrosse and women's tennis joined volleyball in winning regular-season ACC titles.
• Three Tar Heels won individual events at ACC Championships: Hellen Moffitt in the 100-yard butterfly (swimming), and Kenny Selmon in the 400 hurdles and Ceo Ways in the 400 meters in men's outdoor track and field.
• Hayley Carter (women's tennis), Justin Jackson (men's basketball) and Ryan Switzer (football) won the Patterson Medal, Carolina's most prestigious award for outstanding career achieve-ment.
• A record number (385) of Tar Heel student-athletes earned spots on the ACC Academic Honor Roll (minimum 3.0 grade point average).
• Men's cross country, women's fencing, women's golf, gymnastics, men's soccer, men's tennis, women's tennis and volleyball ranked in the top 10 percent nationally in Academic Progress Rates in their respective sports.
• Men's basketball, men's cross country, men's and women's fencing, field hockey, men's and women's golf, gymnastics, women's lacrose, rowing, men's soccer, softball, women's swim-ming and diving, men's and women's tennis and volleyball scored 1000 in the Academic Progress Rate for 2015-16.
• Nineteen programs had multi-year APRs that exceeded the national averages for their re-spective sports – baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, women's fencing, field hockey, women's golf, gymnastics, women's lacrosse, rowing, men's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, men's track and field and volleyball all exceeded their national averages. Women's track and field equaled the national average.
• Emma Bozek (field hockey), Hayley Carter (women's tennis) and Marie McCool (women's lacrosse) earned ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors in their respective sports, recognizing the student-athlete who performs at the highest level academically and athletically.
• UNC swept the Elite 90 Awards for soccer, with Frances Reuland winning on the women's side and Alex Comsia on the men's. The award goes to the College Cup participant with the highest GPA.
• Six Tar Heels earned Academic All-America honors: Hayley Carter, at-large (first team); Sarah Howard, women's track and field/cross country (first team); David October (men's soccer, first team), Nils Bruening, men's soccer (third team); Alex Comsia, men's soccer (third team); RJ Alowonle, men's track and field/cross country (third team).
• Hayley Carter became just the third Tar Heel to earn multiple first-team All-America and Aca-demic All-America honors.
• Carolina student-athletes performed approximately 5,000 hours of community service.
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