University of North Carolina Athletics
Morgan Lane
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
GoHeels Exclusive: Another Goal Achieved For Lane, Olympic Sports Notes
April 9, 2018 | Women's Gymnastics, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
Morgan Lane had come close before, twice to be exact.
But on Saturday evening at N.C. State's Reynolds Coliseum, Lane finally accomplished one of the few things she had yet to achieve in her storied North Carolina gymnastics career – she qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Lane earned an all-around score of 39.325 to finish in a tie for sixth place at the 2018 NCAA Southeast Regional competition. Despite her standing, she still qualified for the NCAA Championships, held April 20 in St. Louis, with the top all-around score of a non-advancing team from the Raleigh regional.
In the first rotation, Lane posted a score of 9.825 on the floor exercise. She followed that up with a 9.800 on vault for the second straight meet before tying her career-high score of 9.850 on uneven bars in the fourth rotation.
Finally, Lane ended her night with a score of 9.850 on balance beam. And with that result, she became the first Tar Heel to qualify for the NCAA Championships since 2012, when Morgan Evans qualified for the all-around competition.
Criswell's career night
The baseball team entered its three-game weekend series at Miami having not won a series in Coral Gables, Fla., since 2008. But after winning 8-4 Friday, the Tar Heels took Game 2 and the series Saturday behind a stellar relief performance by Cooper Criswell.
With the bases loaded with one out in the fourth inning and UNC leading 6-4, Criswell entered the game and limited the Hurricanes to just one run with a groundout and a strikeout. The strikeout marked his first of 13 over 5 2/3 innings of relief. He allowed one run and three hits in the 9-6 victory.
Criswell's 13 strikeouts were the most by a Tar Heel pitcher in a relief appearance during the Mike Fox era.
Montaño's strong finish
After entering the third and final round of the Western Intercollegiate on Sunday with a six-shot lead, the men's golf team shot a 4-under-par 346 to win its second tournament of the season.
Leading the charge Sunday was Jose Montaño, who carded a 5-under 65. He opened the day on the fifth hole and made birdies on 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14 and 17.
Montaño finished the tournament in a three-way tie for sixth with a 6-under 204. Much of his success came on par-4 holes. He, Joshua Martin and three others shot 4-under on those to pace the field in par-4 scoring.
Whaley notches another top-5 finish
Coming off her win at the Briar's Creek Invitational two weeks ago, Kelly Whaley continued her strong play at the Bryan National Collegiate, where she finished tied for fifth at 4-over 220.
On a day when no golfer in the 95-player field broke 70, Whaley shot a 5-over 77 during Saturday's third and final round. Still, her second-round 68 – which matched Ava Bergner's second-round 68 as the best round by any player in the field – carried her to her second straight top-five finish.
Whaley ultimately finished ahead of 15 other golfers in the Golfstat Top 100, helping the women's golf team to a tie for third.
Kelly shows improvement at faceoff X
Entering Saturday's 15-12 loss against Virginia, the men's lacrosse team had lost the faceoff battle in each of its last five games, all losses, by a combined total of 72-36. But Charles Kelly success at the faceoff X kept UNC in Saturday's game.
Kelly won a career-high 16 face-offs, going 16-for-28. His previous career high was 15 faceoff wins against Lehigh on Feb. 17. Of his 16 faceoff wins, 11 came in the second half.
Kelly also shared the team lead in ground balls with five.
Hoeg's outburst continues
With her goal just two minutes, six seconds into Saturday's game, Katie Hoeg handed the women's lacrosse team a 1-0 lead it wouldn't relinquish en route to a 16-6 win over Louisville. The goal also marked the beginning of yet another impressive showing by Hoeg.
Hoeg scored four more goals to finish with a career-high five. She also added two assists, helping her tie her career high of seven points. She previously tallied seven points at Northwestern on March 17.
With 27 points over her last five games, Hoeg leads the Tar Heels with 48 points on the season.
Doubles point key for men's tennis
After emphasizing the doubles point during practice last week, the men's tennis team claimed it in 6-1 victories over Louisville and Boston College on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
Benjamin Sigouin and Blaine Boyden opened Friday's doubles action with a 6-2 victory on Court 2. The fourth-ranked duo of William Blumberg and Robert Kelly then seized the doubles point with a 7-5 win over the 17th-ranked tandem of Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff and Parker Wynn.
On Sunday, Sigouin and Boyden once again won the first doubles match, beating Max Palmer and Chris Grasel 6-1. Moments later, Simon Soendergaard and Mac Kiger clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 win on Court 3.
Akkerman returns to singles play
After playing just one singles match since Jan. 23, Marika Akkerman moved into the singles lineup for the women's tennis team's 6-1 wins at Notre Dame and Louisville on Friday and Sunday, respectively. And she made the most of the opportunity.
Playing on Court 6, Akkerman won her first set Friday, 6-2. She dropped the second, 6-4. But she bounced back with a 6-3 victory in the third to beat Notre Dame's Ally Bojczuk.
Akkerman only needed two sets to win Sunday. She defeated Louisville's Ariana Rodriguez 6-2, 6-0 to win the first singles point.
Third varsity eight shines
Racing for the first time since earning ACC Crew of the Week honors on March 27, UNC's third varsity eight won gold in a four-boat field Saturday at the Sunshine State Invitational.
The 3V8 came in first during its Friday afternoon heat. In Saturday's finals, the boat finished in first in 6:53.40.
Ashley Lim (coxswain), Julianne Peters, Katie McMahon, Maddie Omeltchenko, Muskan Chhina, Corinne Martin, Liz Finnessy, Sarah Velarde, Lily Brown and Lydia Thompson represented the 3V8 across both days.
Parkinson proves clutch
After recording just one RBI over her previous 18 games and only six on the season, Sierra Parkinson drove in three runs during the softball team's three-game weekend sweep of Virginia Tech.
Parkinson's first RBI of the weekend came in Game 1 of Friday's doubleheader. With the Tar Heels and Hokies tied at 1 in the sixth inning, she singled in what proved to be the game-winning run in a 2-1 victory.
Parkinson continued her clutch hitting Sunday, when she delivered UNC a 4-3 walk-off win on a two-run single with two outs in the eighth inning.
Duncan becomes fastest woman in UNC history
Almost three months removed from breaking Crystal Cox's 20-year-old school record in the indoor 60-meter dash, Brianna Duncan broke another longstanding school record Friday.
Racing at the Battle of the Blues, Duncan won the 100-meter dash in 11.35 during her 2018 outdoor debut. Duncan's time set a new school record in the event. Kendra Mackey held the previous record of 11.37, which she set in 1991.
Duncan's time is also the third fastest in the ACC this season.
Morgan Lane had come close before, twice to be exact.
But on Saturday evening at N.C. State's Reynolds Coliseum, Lane finally accomplished one of the few things she had yet to achieve in her storied North Carolina gymnastics career – she qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Lane earned an all-around score of 39.325 to finish in a tie for sixth place at the 2018 NCAA Southeast Regional competition. Despite her standing, she still qualified for the NCAA Championships, held April 20 in St. Louis, with the top all-around score of a non-advancing team from the Raleigh regional.
In the first rotation, Lane posted a score of 9.825 on the floor exercise. She followed that up with a 9.800 on vault for the second straight meet before tying her career-high score of 9.850 on uneven bars in the fourth rotation.
Finally, Lane ended her night with a score of 9.850 on balance beam. And with that result, she became the first Tar Heel to qualify for the NCAA Championships since 2012, when Morgan Evans qualified for the all-around competition.
Criswell's career night
The baseball team entered its three-game weekend series at Miami having not won a series in Coral Gables, Fla., since 2008. But after winning 8-4 Friday, the Tar Heels took Game 2 and the series Saturday behind a stellar relief performance by Cooper Criswell.
With the bases loaded with one out in the fourth inning and UNC leading 6-4, Criswell entered the game and limited the Hurricanes to just one run with a groundout and a strikeout. The strikeout marked his first of 13 over 5 2/3 innings of relief. He allowed one run and three hits in the 9-6 victory.
Criswell's 13 strikeouts were the most by a Tar Heel pitcher in a relief appearance during the Mike Fox era.
Montaño's strong finish
After entering the third and final round of the Western Intercollegiate on Sunday with a six-shot lead, the men's golf team shot a 4-under-par 346 to win its second tournament of the season.
Leading the charge Sunday was Jose Montaño, who carded a 5-under 65. He opened the day on the fifth hole and made birdies on 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14 and 17.
Montaño finished the tournament in a three-way tie for sixth with a 6-under 204. Much of his success came on par-4 holes. He, Joshua Martin and three others shot 4-under on those to pace the field in par-4 scoring.
Whaley notches another top-5 finish
Coming off her win at the Briar's Creek Invitational two weeks ago, Kelly Whaley continued her strong play at the Bryan National Collegiate, where she finished tied for fifth at 4-over 220.
On a day when no golfer in the 95-player field broke 70, Whaley shot a 5-over 77 during Saturday's third and final round. Still, her second-round 68 – which matched Ava Bergner's second-round 68 as the best round by any player in the field – carried her to her second straight top-five finish.
Whaley ultimately finished ahead of 15 other golfers in the Golfstat Top 100, helping the women's golf team to a tie for third.
Kelly shows improvement at faceoff X
Entering Saturday's 15-12 loss against Virginia, the men's lacrosse team had lost the faceoff battle in each of its last five games, all losses, by a combined total of 72-36. But Charles Kelly success at the faceoff X kept UNC in Saturday's game.
Kelly won a career-high 16 face-offs, going 16-for-28. His previous career high was 15 faceoff wins against Lehigh on Feb. 17. Of his 16 faceoff wins, 11 came in the second half.
Kelly also shared the team lead in ground balls with five.
Hoeg's outburst continues
With her goal just two minutes, six seconds into Saturday's game, Katie Hoeg handed the women's lacrosse team a 1-0 lead it wouldn't relinquish en route to a 16-6 win over Louisville. The goal also marked the beginning of yet another impressive showing by Hoeg.
Hoeg scored four more goals to finish with a career-high five. She also added two assists, helping her tie her career high of seven points. She previously tallied seven points at Northwestern on March 17.
With 27 points over her last five games, Hoeg leads the Tar Heels with 48 points on the season.
Doubles point key for men's tennis
After emphasizing the doubles point during practice last week, the men's tennis team claimed it in 6-1 victories over Louisville and Boston College on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
Benjamin Sigouin and Blaine Boyden opened Friday's doubles action with a 6-2 victory on Court 2. The fourth-ranked duo of William Blumberg and Robert Kelly then seized the doubles point with a 7-5 win over the 17th-ranked tandem of Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff and Parker Wynn.
On Sunday, Sigouin and Boyden once again won the first doubles match, beating Max Palmer and Chris Grasel 6-1. Moments later, Simon Soendergaard and Mac Kiger clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 win on Court 3.
Akkerman returns to singles play
After playing just one singles match since Jan. 23, Marika Akkerman moved into the singles lineup for the women's tennis team's 6-1 wins at Notre Dame and Louisville on Friday and Sunday, respectively. And she made the most of the opportunity.
Playing on Court 6, Akkerman won her first set Friday, 6-2. She dropped the second, 6-4. But she bounced back with a 6-3 victory in the third to beat Notre Dame's Ally Bojczuk.
Akkerman only needed two sets to win Sunday. She defeated Louisville's Ariana Rodriguez 6-2, 6-0 to win the first singles point.
Third varsity eight shines
Racing for the first time since earning ACC Crew of the Week honors on March 27, UNC's third varsity eight won gold in a four-boat field Saturday at the Sunshine State Invitational.
The 3V8 came in first during its Friday afternoon heat. In Saturday's finals, the boat finished in first in 6:53.40.
Ashley Lim (coxswain), Julianne Peters, Katie McMahon, Maddie Omeltchenko, Muskan Chhina, Corinne Martin, Liz Finnessy, Sarah Velarde, Lily Brown and Lydia Thompson represented the 3V8 across both days.
Parkinson proves clutch
After recording just one RBI over her previous 18 games and only six on the season, Sierra Parkinson drove in three runs during the softball team's three-game weekend sweep of Virginia Tech.
Parkinson's first RBI of the weekend came in Game 1 of Friday's doubleheader. With the Tar Heels and Hokies tied at 1 in the sixth inning, she singled in what proved to be the game-winning run in a 2-1 victory.
Parkinson continued her clutch hitting Sunday, when she delivered UNC a 4-3 walk-off win on a two-run single with two outs in the eighth inning.
Duncan becomes fastest woman in UNC history
Almost three months removed from breaking Crystal Cox's 20-year-old school record in the indoor 60-meter dash, Brianna Duncan broke another longstanding school record Friday.
Racing at the Battle of the Blues, Duncan won the 100-meter dash in 11.35 during her 2018 outdoor debut. Duncan's time set a new school record in the event. Kendra Mackey held the previous record of 11.37, which she set in 1991.
Duncan's time is also the third fastest in the ACC this season.
Players Mentioned
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