University of North Carolina Athletics
Sprague, Ackley Named Progress Energy Performers Of The Week
February 25, 2008 | Baseball
Feb. 25, 2008
Swimmer Whitney Sprague won two ACC titles and left fielder Dustin Ackley went 10 for 14 with three home runs and seven runs batted in to share Progress Energy Tar Heel of the Week honors for February 18-24, 2008.
Sprague, a junior from Bronxville, N.Y., repeated as the ACC champion in the 500-yard and 1650-yard freestyles in the 2008 ACC Women's Swimming & Diving Championships last week at Georgia Tech, giving the junior four individual league titles in the past two years. Sprague won the 500-yard freestyle in 4:42.80, a full 2.38 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. On Saturday night, Sprague swam to her triumph in the 1650 in 16:02.76, a margin of 8.02 seconds over the second-place swimmer.
Ackley, a sophomore from Walnut Cove, N.C., had at least three hits in each game this weekend and finished with a .714 average (10-14), three home runs, seven RBI and five runs scored. He belted a pair of solo shots Friday and added a three-run blast in Sunday's series finale for six home runs in his last seven games dating to last year's College World Series. The Walnut Cove, N.C., native was 4-for-4 Friday for his sixth career four-hit game and followed with back-to-back three-hit games to close the series. Ackley finished with a 1.429 slugging percentage on the weekend.
Other nominees:
TYLER HANSBROUGH
Men's Basketball, Forward
Junior, Poplar Bluff, Mo.
Averaged 30.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 steals in wins over NC State and Wake Forest. Made 20 of 32 shots from the floor (62.5 percent) and 21 of 27 from the free throw line (77.8 percent) in the two wins. Led all players with 32 points, 12 rebounds and a season-high five steals in the 84-70 win at NC State, Carolina's 11th road win in as many starts this year. He scored 18 of UNC's 50 second-half points. Three-point play tied the game at 31 with 41 seconds left in the first half, then scored 10 of UNC's first 16 points in the second half to give UNC a 12-point lead. Was the third time in the last five games he scored 30 or more points. Led all players with 29 points and four steals and added five rebounds in 89-73 win over Wake Forest. Scored 16 points in the opening half as UNC built a 50-41 edge at the break. Averaging 28.0 points in the seven games without starting point guard Ty Lawson (UNC 6-1 in those games).
LAUREN HUNT
Women's Golf
Junior, Little River, S.C.
Lauren Hunt finished in sixth place at the SunTrust Lady Gator Invitational, the first event of the spring campaign. Hunt fired an even par 70 in the final round after carding a 72 in the first round and a 74 in the second round. She posted a six-over-par 216 total, seven strokes behind individual champion Tiffany Chudy of Florida.
Carolina carded a fifth-place finish with a 598 total. The Tar Heels posted rounds of 292-310-296. They return to action March 3-4 at the SJSU Spartan Invitational in San Jose, Calif.
JUSTIN DOBIES
Wrestling, Heavyweight
Junior, Garfield Heights, Ohio
Twentieth-ranked heavyweight Justin Dobies needed just over three minutes to record a pair of pins in the Tar Heels' sweep of The Citadel and Campbell Saturday. After pinning Aaron Brown in 2:35 in the 37-9 win over the ulldogs, Dobies needed only 32 seconds to pin Rob Yoder of the Camels in a 46-6 UNC victory. Dobies finishes his regular season with a 26-6 record, which includes a 15-1 dual record and six pins.
GRANT ZIMMERMAN
Men's Lacrosse, Goalkeeper
Junior, Cockeysville, Md.
Behind Zimmerman's outstanding play in the goal, UNC overcame Denver's decided home field advantage, leading the Tar Heels to a 6-5 win over the Pioneers, avenging a loss to Denver two years ago on the same field. Zimmerman made 10 saves and allowed only five goals in 60 minutes of play while also sharing the team lead in ground balls with four. In 105 minutes of play in the season's opening two games, Zimmerman has allowed only seven goals, an average of 3.94 per game while compiling a .696 save percentage.
TAYLOR FOGLEMAN
Men's Tennis
Junior, New Orleans, La.
Junior Taylor Fogleman won in both doubles and singles to help lead eighth-ranked North Carolina to its third successive victory over a Top 25 team as the Tar Heels beat No. 21 VCU Sunday 4-1, handing the Rams only their second loss of the season. Fogleman combined with Stefan Hardy to beat No. 48-ranked Thibault Charron and Martin Shulhauser of VCU 8-6 at #2 doubles. Although Carolina lost the double point overall, the Tar Heels came back and won four singles to win 4-1 before the other two matches were suspended. Fogleman broke Alex Israel's serve at 4-4 in the first set, starting a run in which he won eight of the final nine games of the match, leading to a 6-4, 6-1 straight sets win. Fogleman's singles win put UNC up 3-1 and senior Benjamin Carlotti then went on to clinch the match for the Tar Heels.
Players Mentioned
