University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Reload For Another Run At An ACC Championship
January 14, 2003 | Softball
Jan. 14, 2003
Chapel Hill, N.C. - The 2003 Tar Heels enter the season with high expectations. Last season Carolina finished the regular season with a 2-6 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference, but rebounded in the tournament finishing runner-up to Georgia Tech. UNC appeared in the title game for the second consecutive season. After losing Carolina's career home run leader Natalie Anter and some other key seniors, the Heels will turn to a tremendous recruiting class to help fill the voids.
"This team has heart, cohesion and a strong will to win," said head coach Donna Papa. "They are extremely coachable and want to push one another to get better each day.
"The freshmen that we have brought in this year have a lot of talent and energy and have fit in well with the returners."
The returners coach Papa refers to are seniors Tiffany Tolleson (Winter Haven, Fla.), Anna Tharrington (Rocky Mount, N.C.) and Quinn Porter (Wesley Chapel, Fla.). Tolleson is coming off a tremendous season in which she set school records in stolen bases, at bats and runs scored, along with hitting a team high .411.
Tharrington, a captain, was a backup to Natalie Anter who earned All-ACC honors for four straight seasons.
Porter is a three-year starter for the Tar Heels and is also a captain. She led the team with 45 RBI last year and solidifies the outfield for Carolina.
"I think we have tremendous leadership in our captains and within the team," says Papa. "The freshmen have come in and learned what it takes to work hard at practice day in and day out and I think that's a tribute to our upperclassmen."
Junior captain Dionne Streete (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) also returns to the starting lineup for the Tar Heels in 2003. Streete can play anywhere in the infield and has a strong throwing arm. She finished last season with a .936 fielding percentage at short stop.
Carolina has a very young but talented pitching staff heading into this season-two sophomore returnees, Ashley Allen (Houston, Texas) and Brandi Griffin (Wilmington, N.C.), along with two freshmen, Crystal Cox (Harrisburg, N.C.) and Alison Yin (Glendale, Calif.).
Allen was in the starting rotation for the Tar Heels last season before she broke her wrist with 11 games remaining. She ended the season 13-7, with a 3.08 ERA.
Griffin threw the only no hitter for UNC last season against UNC Greensboro and led the team with a 1.96 ERA.
Cox comes into this season after winning two games in the Carolina Fall Classic Tournament and completing one of the top senior years in North Carolina history. She threw eight perfect games to set a national record and was named North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year.
Yin is another highly-touted freshman that Carolina grabbed from the West Coast. As a senior, she led her high school team to an undefeated regular season, before falling in the state quarterfinals.
"This is definitely the youngest pitching staff we've ever had," said Papa. "It's one of the deepest staffs also, which provides us with flexibility.
"The advantage of having a deep pitching staff is we can use our pitchers in combination with one another to give us the best chance to win."
Other returnees include senior Lauren Parker (Charlotte, N.C.), juniors Emily Price (Decatur, Ill.), Natashalyn Snipes (Durham, N.C.) and Jessica Robinson (Asheboro, N.C.), plus sophomore Jessica Young (Santa Ana, Calif.).
Parker has missed a year-and-a-half due to injuries and may miss most of this season due to surgery on her throwing arm.
Price is a two-year starter for the Tar Heels and finished last season with a .250 batting average. Snipes became UNC's top pinch runner last season and has a lot of speed. She finished last year with four stolen bases in seven attempts.
Robinson hit very well for Carolina in the fall tournament and had two game-winning RBI hits against East Carolina and UNC Wilmington.
Young appeared in 46 games last season, hitting .266, with eight doubles and three home runs.
Papa understands that she has a good blend of upperclassmen and underclassmen and recognizes that the work ethic in practice has picked up.
"The freshmen have come in and really fought hard at practice," says Papa. "I think their intensity has picked up all the returner's intensity and has created competitive practices.
"We are two deep at every position and everyone is trying to win a spot. They are making it very difficult on the coaching staff."
The Tar Heels will be tested early and often with their schedule. UNC begins the season at South Carolina on Feb. 2, and plays in eight tournaments, including the Leadoff Classic, in Columbus, Ga. Top teams like Stanford, Nebraska, Michigan and Florida State will all be at the tournament (Invitations to the Leadoff Classic go only to teams that have finished in the top two in their regions, a feat the Tar Heels accomplished in 2001).
Along with a tough non-conference schedule, Carolina plays in one of the most difficult conferences in the country. The ACC was rated second by the NCAA RPI rankings on May 27, 2002.
"We've really tried to upgrade our schedule over the last three years," said Papa. "Having previously been on the regional committee and All-America committee, I know the importance of having a really strong schedule. Playing in numerous tournaments will help prepare us for ACC's and the NCAA's."
The schedule should provide the young Tar Heels with plenty of experience and knowledge of what they need to accomplish to get back to the ACC title game. UNC has four teams on its schedule that made it to the College World Series a year ago.
The 2003 season will have a lot of tests for the Tar Heels. The tough schedule will test UNC's courage, ability and heart throughout the season. The blend of veterans and rookies should balance out the Tar Heel attack and have them fighting for their second ACC Championship in three years.
