University of North Carolina Athletics
McGill and White Share Carolina Performer Of The Week Honors
November 21, 2005 | Women's Soccer
Nov. 21, 2005
Tailback Ronnie McGill rushed for 146 yards, including a game-saving fourth-down conversion and the winning touchdown to beat Duke, and midfielder Kacey White set an NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament record with five assists as UNC routed Pepperdine to reach the quarterfinals. McGill and White share honors as the Tar Heel Performers of the Week for November 14-20, 2005.
McGill, a junior from Clover, S.C., rushed for a season-high 146 yards on 28 carries to lead Carolina past Duke, 24-21. McGill opened the game with a 37-yard carry, his longest of the season, and had five straight carries on the Tar Heels' opening scoring drive. In the fourth quarter, trailing 21-17 on 4th-and-1, McGill got the first down to keep Carolina's hopes alive. Later on that drive, he scored from three yards out to give Carolina the 24-21 victory.
White led second-ranked Carolina past No. 15 Pepperdine 6-0 in the NCAA Tournament third round Saturday evening. White's five assists broke the NCAA Tournament record that had been held by four Tar Heel players. White's five assists also tied the UNC record for assists in a match. White has 58 career assists, the third most in UNC history. Mia Hamm had 72 from 1989-1993 and Alyssa Ramsey had 71from 2000-03.
OTHER NOMINEES
WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING
Whitney Sprague
Freshman
ronxville, N.Y.
Sprague won the championship in the 200-yard freestyle and had runner-up finishes in the 500-yard and 1650-yard freestyles to lead UNC to the championship of the 2005 Nike Cup. In the process, Sprague obliterated her three career best times in the events and in the 500-yard freestyle she broke a UNC school record which has stood for seven years. Sprague's performance was a key as Carolina trailed ACC rival Virginia Tech after the first two days before rallying on the third day to win by 30 points. On the first day of competition Sprague finished second in the 500-yard freestyle but her time of 4:44.25 beat Chrissy Miller's school record by over .70 of a second. That record had stood for seven years. On Friday, Sprague captured the title in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:49.02, a time which was 3.25 seconds better than her previous career best. Sprague also finished second in the 1650-yard freestyle and moved into No. 3 all-time on the UNC career chart in the event in 16:18.71, besting her previous personal best by over 24 seconds. Sprague also swam the second leg on UNC's 800-yard freestyle relay which placed second in a season best 7:25.26. Sprague has the best split on that UNC relay at 1:50.67.
MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING
Ryan Funderburk
Sophomore
Summerville, N.C.
Funderburk dominated the two diving events as the Tar Heels finished second in the 2005 Nike Cup competition. On Thursday, Funderburk won the one-meter diving with a score of 643.55. He finished 15 points ahead of his nearest rival, his teammate Jon Fox, in that event. In three meter diving Funderburk captured the championship with a score of 338.35, almost 12 points ahead of runnerup Ryan Hunt of East Carolina.
WRESTLING
Spencer Nadolsky
Junior, Heavyweight
Holland, Mich.
Nadolsky went 8-1 at the East Stroudsburg Open to finish third in the heavyweight division. He opened with a 6-0 loss to Jake Lininger of Shippensburg but followed with eight straight wins in the consolation bracket. Six of Nadolsky's victories came via fall, and he claimed the event's pin award with the six falls coming in a total of 7:12. Nadolsky recorded three pins in less than a minute, including a 58-second fall over The Citadel's John Buck in the consolation final. He advanced to the final with a pin of Jon Andriac of Hofstra in 1:19. Nadolsky has a team-best 11 victories this season against just one loss.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Ivory Latta
Junior, Guard
McConnells, S.C.
UNC's season opener and only game of the week, an 86-48 win over Davidson, Latta led the No. 7 Tar Heels (1-0) with 20 points and seven assists, despite playing only 26 minutes. She was 7-for-12 from the field and 4-for-7 from three-point range in the win.
