Heilmann wins his quarterfinal match in OT.
GoHeels Exclusive: Heilmann & Ness Lead Wrestling To Landmark Season
March 20, 2018 | Wrestling, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
Troy Heilmann entered the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland looking to become North Carolina's first national champion since 1995.
But although he fell just short of that achievement, placing fourth at 149 pounds, he proved influential in helping the Tar Heels to their best overall NCAA meet in nearly 25 years.
UNC finished the competition with 27.0 team points, its most since recording 28.5 in 1996. The Tar Heels' score allowed them to place 20th, their highest finish since coming in eighth in 1995, when T.J. Jaworsky, Stan Banks, Marc Taylor and Justin Harty earned All-America honors.
Since that foursome accomplished the feat, UNC hadn't boasted multiple All-Americans in a single season. But Heilmann and Chip Ness snapped that streak.
Heilmann earned All-America honors by advancing to the semifinals at 149 pounds. He then beat Grant Leeth of Missouri 5-3 to claim a top-4 finish before losing the third-place match. He ultimately finished the season with a 32-6 record, and his fourth-place finish matched the highest by a UNC wrestler since Harty took second at heavyweight in 1996.
Joining Heilmann as an All-American was Ness, who entered the championship unseeded and upset three seeded opponents on his way to a seventh-place finish at 184 pounds.
Four other Tar Heels also scored team points at the event.
Gahagan's hot bat
After starting the season 7-for-34 at the plate, Zack Gahagan has hit his stride in recent weeks. And that continued in the baseball team's three-game weekend sweep of Pittsburgh.
Gahagan went 6-for-11 with a home run, a double, six RBIs and seven runs scored against the Panthers. Most of his production came in Friday's 15-3 victory, which he finished 2-for-4 with a solo home run and five RBIs.
Over his last 11 games, Gahagan is hitting .410 (16-for-39). He's raised his batting average from .206 to .315 in that span.
Hitt's career round
The men's golf team entered the second round of the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational on Sunday trailing North Florida by four strokes. But behind a 66 from Austin Hitt, the Tar Heels shot a 7-under-par 281 in the second round to finish the day with a two-shot lead over Jacksonville.
Hitt's 66 was a career-low score. He had shot a 67 twice this season, first at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate on Oct. 2 and then at the Lamkin San Diego Classic on March 12, when he played as an individual entry.
In Sunday's second round, Hitt made six birdies and an eagle. He entered Monday's final round tied for 10th with a 2-under 142.
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Lane excels in final home meet
As one of four seniors competing in their final home meet with the gymnastics team, Morgan Lane posted a career-high score of 39.550 in the all-around on Saturday, helping her earn first-place honors.
Lane matched career-high scores in three events. She registered a 9.875 on the vault, a 9.950 on the balance beam and a 9.925 on the floor exercise. She finished second, first and second in those events, respectively.
Behind Lane's performance, UNC beat Pittsburgh 196.600-196.050. The team score was the sixth highest in program history.Â
Hazar's record-setting day
Entering Saturday's game at Northwestern needing only three assists to become the women's lacrosse team's career leader in the category, Ela Hazar already seemed poised for a record-setting day.
But in the Tar Heels' 18-13 win, she set that record, plus another.
Hazar dished out eight assists against the Wildcats, besting the previous single-game UNC record of six set by Amy Fine in 1997 and tied by Sydney Holman in 2014. She finished the game with 98 assists in her career, breaking Becky Lynch's career assists record of 92.
Jensen's success at the plate
After registering only three at-bats in the softball team's first 16 games of the season, Hailey Jensen has seen an expanded role in recent weeks. And she's made the most of the opportunity.
In the Tar Heels' 2-1 weekend series loss against Pittsburgh, Jensen went 4-for-8 at the plate. Her most crucial hit came in Friday's game, when she hit a three-run home run that handed UNC the lead for good en route to an 8-4 win.
Over her last 11 games, Jensen is batting .441 (15-for-34). She's notched at least one hit in all but one of those games.
Baldwin shines at NCAAs
For the second straight year, Caroline Baldwin earned first-team All-America honors in the 50-yard freestyle at the 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. But she didn't stop there.
Two days later, Baldwin also earned All-America honors in the 100-yard freestyle, becoming the first Tar Heel to claim All-America honors in both events since Christy Watkins did so in 2002.
Baldwin finished eighth and 10th, respectively, in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events. She also swam on the 200-yard freestyle relay team that finished in 10th with a time of 1:28.22, the squad's best of the season.
Graham's clutch performance
Entering Friday with 21 straight road wins against ACC teams, the women's tennis team extended that streak to 23 with 4-3 victories at Miami on Friday and at Florida State on Sunday, thanks largely to Alexa Graham.
After the team dropped the doubles point for the first time all season Friday, Graham was one of four Tar Heels who won the first four singles matches to secure the win. She then proved even more key Sunday, when she defeated Florida State's Gabriella Castaneda 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-4 to clinch the victory over the Seminoles.
With her two singles wins, Graham improved to 16-0 in dual matches and 5-0 against the conference.
Track and field opens outdoor season
Competing in the UCF Black and Gold Challenge, the track and field team's first meet of the outdoor season, UNC found a majority of its success in the throwing events.
On Friday, Jill Shippee won the women's hammer throw with her throw of 199 feet, 6 inches (60.82 meters) on her first attempt. The throw marked the third longest in program history, behind Laura Gerraughty (205-8) and Avana Story (200-9).Â
Daniel McArthur continued the team's success in the throwing events on Saturday, when he won the men's shot put with a throw of 60-1 ¾ (18.33) on his fifth attempt. He also took third in the discus, throwing for a personal-best 179-3 (54.64).
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Troy Heilmann entered the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland looking to become North Carolina's first national champion since 1995.
But although he fell just short of that achievement, placing fourth at 149 pounds, he proved influential in helping the Tar Heels to their best overall NCAA meet in nearly 25 years.
UNC finished the competition with 27.0 team points, its most since recording 28.5 in 1996. The Tar Heels' score allowed them to place 20th, their highest finish since coming in eighth in 1995, when T.J. Jaworsky, Stan Banks, Marc Taylor and Justin Harty earned All-America honors.
Since that foursome accomplished the feat, UNC hadn't boasted multiple All-Americans in a single season. But Heilmann and Chip Ness snapped that streak.
Heilmann earned All-America honors by advancing to the semifinals at 149 pounds. He then beat Grant Leeth of Missouri 5-3 to claim a top-4 finish before losing the third-place match. He ultimately finished the season with a 32-6 record, and his fourth-place finish matched the highest by a UNC wrestler since Harty took second at heavyweight in 1996.
Joining Heilmann as an All-American was Ness, who entered the championship unseeded and upset three seeded opponents on his way to a seventh-place finish at 184 pounds.
Four other Tar Heels also scored team points at the event.
Gahagan's hot bat
After starting the season 7-for-34 at the plate, Zack Gahagan has hit his stride in recent weeks. And that continued in the baseball team's three-game weekend sweep of Pittsburgh.
Gahagan went 6-for-11 with a home run, a double, six RBIs and seven runs scored against the Panthers. Most of his production came in Friday's 15-3 victory, which he finished 2-for-4 with a solo home run and five RBIs.
Over his last 11 games, Gahagan is hitting .410 (16-for-39). He's raised his batting average from .206 to .315 in that span.
Hitt's career round
The men's golf team entered the second round of the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational on Sunday trailing North Florida by four strokes. But behind a 66 from Austin Hitt, the Tar Heels shot a 7-under-par 281 in the second round to finish the day with a two-shot lead over Jacksonville.
Hitt's 66 was a career-low score. He had shot a 67 twice this season, first at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate on Oct. 2 and then at the Lamkin San Diego Classic on March 12, when he played as an individual entry.
In Sunday's second round, Hitt made six birdies and an eagle. He entered Monday's final round tied for 10th with a 2-under 142.
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Lane excels in final home meet
As one of four seniors competing in their final home meet with the gymnastics team, Morgan Lane posted a career-high score of 39.550 in the all-around on Saturday, helping her earn first-place honors.
Lane matched career-high scores in three events. She registered a 9.875 on the vault, a 9.950 on the balance beam and a 9.925 on the floor exercise. She finished second, first and second in those events, respectively.
Behind Lane's performance, UNC beat Pittsburgh 196.600-196.050. The team score was the sixth highest in program history.Â
Hazar's record-setting day
Entering Saturday's game at Northwestern needing only three assists to become the women's lacrosse team's career leader in the category, Ela Hazar already seemed poised for a record-setting day.
But in the Tar Heels' 18-13 win, she set that record, plus another.
Hazar dished out eight assists against the Wildcats, besting the previous single-game UNC record of six set by Amy Fine in 1997 and tied by Sydney Holman in 2014. She finished the game with 98 assists in her career, breaking Becky Lynch's career assists record of 92.
Jensen's success at the plate
After registering only three at-bats in the softball team's first 16 games of the season, Hailey Jensen has seen an expanded role in recent weeks. And she's made the most of the opportunity.
In the Tar Heels' 2-1 weekend series loss against Pittsburgh, Jensen went 4-for-8 at the plate. Her most crucial hit came in Friday's game, when she hit a three-run home run that handed UNC the lead for good en route to an 8-4 win.
Over her last 11 games, Jensen is batting .441 (15-for-34). She's notched at least one hit in all but one of those games.
Baldwin shines at NCAAs
For the second straight year, Caroline Baldwin earned first-team All-America honors in the 50-yard freestyle at the 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. But she didn't stop there.
Two days later, Baldwin also earned All-America honors in the 100-yard freestyle, becoming the first Tar Heel to claim All-America honors in both events since Christy Watkins did so in 2002.
Baldwin finished eighth and 10th, respectively, in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events. She also swam on the 200-yard freestyle relay team that finished in 10th with a time of 1:28.22, the squad's best of the season.
Graham's clutch performance
Entering Friday with 21 straight road wins against ACC teams, the women's tennis team extended that streak to 23 with 4-3 victories at Miami on Friday and at Florida State on Sunday, thanks largely to Alexa Graham.
After the team dropped the doubles point for the first time all season Friday, Graham was one of four Tar Heels who won the first four singles matches to secure the win. She then proved even more key Sunday, when she defeated Florida State's Gabriella Castaneda 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-4 to clinch the victory over the Seminoles.
With her two singles wins, Graham improved to 16-0 in dual matches and 5-0 against the conference.
Track and field opens outdoor season
Competing in the UCF Black and Gold Challenge, the track and field team's first meet of the outdoor season, UNC found a majority of its success in the throwing events.
On Friday, Jill Shippee won the women's hammer throw with her throw of 199 feet, 6 inches (60.82 meters) on her first attempt. The throw marked the third longest in program history, behind Laura Gerraughty (205-8) and Avana Story (200-9).Â
Daniel McArthur continued the team's success in the throwing events on Saturday, when he won the men's shot put with a throw of 60-1 ¾ (18.33) on his fifth attempt. He also took third in the discus, throwing for a personal-best 179-3 (54.64).
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