University of North Carolina Athletics
White, Sossah Named Progress Energy Performers Of The Week
April 20, 2009 | Baseball
April 20, 2009
Right-handed starter Alex White struck out 10 and pitched a complete-game one-hit shutout against Miami and Mateo Sossah won the decathlon at the ACC Track and Field Championships to share Progress Energy Tar Heel of the Week honors for April 13-19, 2009.
White, a junior from Greenville, dominated No. 7 Miami in Friday's series opener, a 3-0 win for the Tar Heels. The All-America faced only 28 batters - just one over the minimum - and struck out a season-best 10 en route to his first career complete-game shutout.
White allowed just a third-inning single and a walk in the eighth for only two base runners all night. In between, he retired 14 straight Hurricanes. White closed his second career complete game by striking out the side to nail down Carolina's first one-hitter since 1994 and its first complete game shutout since 2007.
Over his last four starts, all against top-20 opponents, White owns a 1.93 ERA, 36 strikeouts and has allowed only 17 hits in 32 2/3 innings. He has pitched at least seven innings in five straight starts and has six straight outings with at least eight strikeouts. On the season, White is 6-1 with a 3.14 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 63 innings and he became just the seventh Tar Heel to reach the 25-win mark for a career.
Sossah, a junior, took the lead in the decathlon after the opening five events and never looked back at the ACC Outdoor Championships before setting the world's top mark in the event. Sossah finished with a personal-best 7,821 points in the event, good for the third-best mark in school history. The Mons-en-Baroeul, France, native took the top spot in the discus, javelin, long jump, high jump, 1,500-meters and 110-meter hurdles during the decathlon, while simultaneously competing in the high jump and the javelin, where he also scored with a seventh place finish.
Other nominees:
LISA NORRIS
Softball, Pitcher
Senior, Snellville, Ga.
Lisa Norris notched her 76th career victory over the weekend as the senior posted a perfect 3-0 record on the week. After striking out 11 in a 2-1 extra-inning victory over Winthrop on Wednesday, Norris posted a pair of wins over Virginia Tech en route to helping the Tar Heels to their season-long 21 game winning streak. Norris ranks second in the conference with a 1.00 ERA and now ranks in the top 10 in ACC history in both wins (76) and strikeouts (766).
BREANNA BROWN
Softball, OF
Senior, Durham, N.C.
Breanna Brown went 8 for 13 on the week scoring a run in every game for the 42-7 Tar Heels. The Durham, N.C., native scored five runs during Carolina's three-game sweep of Virginia Tech as she went 5 for 6 against the Hokies with a pair of RBIs and six runs scored. Brown reached base at a .688 clip on the week as she helped the Tar Heels maintain their stranglehold on the top spot in the ACC.
LATOYA JAMES
Track, Sprints/Hurdles
Sophomore, Burlington, N.C.
LaToya James broke her own school record in the 400-meter hurdles at the ACC Outdoor Championships on Saturday as she ran a 56.38 in the final for a second place finish after claiming a fourth place finish in the 100-meter hurdles earlier in the day when she ran a 13.76. The Burlington, N.C., native picked up her third regional mark of the weekend to close out the competition Saturday as she ran the opening leg of the 4x400-meter relay to a second place showing.
SHANE WALTERHOEFER
Men's Lacrosse
Senior Midfielder
Ellicott City, Md.
Senior Shane Walterhoefer won 17 of 25 face-offs and claimed a game-high 10 ground balls as the Tar Heels upset No. 6 Hofstra on its home field 13-8 Saturday night, ending Hofstra's seven-game winning streak and handing the Pride only their second loss of the season and their first at home. The face-off wins moved Walterhoefer into fourth place all-time in NCAA Division I and he has now moved into seventh place in NCAA Division I history in ground balls. He has won at least 15 face-offs in a game 18 times in his career. He has won 203 of 314 face-offs this year (.646) and is now at 113 ground balls. Walterhoefer went 7 for 7 on face-offs in the third quarter when UNC dominated possession, allowing UNC to outscore the Pride 5-1 and turn a 6-5 halftime deficit into a 10-7 lead entering the fourth quarter, He was 7 of 13 in the first half but dominated the X in the second half, winning 10 of 12.
LOGAN RIPLEY
Women's Lacrosse
Junior, Goalkeeper
Earlysville, Va.
Ripley held sixth-ranked Duke to a season-low seven goals in Friday's 9-7 Tar Heel win in Durham that clinched the No. 2 seed and an opening-round bye in next weekend's ACC Tournament. Duke's seven goals tied its season low for goals (set against No. 1 Northwestern earlier this month). Ripley and the UNC defense held Duke scoreless for more than 27 minutes, a stretch spanning the last 11:34 of the first half and the first 15:47 of the second half.
Ripley also tallied nine saves in Sunday's 13-10 win over No. 15 Stanford in Chapel Hill as the Tar Heels ended the 2009 regular season with a 10 wins in their last 11 games.
CATHERINE O'DONNELL
Women's Golf
Freshman
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Freshman Catherine O'Donnell led the Tar Heel women's golf team to a runner-up finish at the ACC Championship. This marks the Tar Heels' highest finish in the event since 1994 when they were also the runner-up. O'Donnell, who fired a one-under 70 on Sunday, led the Tar Heel effort in the final round when they climbed from fifth to second place. O'Connell fired rounds of 77-74 in the first two rounds.
The Tar Heels fired a three-over-par 287 in the final round for an 893 total. After earlier rounds of 300-306, Carolina's 287 on Sunday tied for the day's low round with team champion Wake Forest.
