University of North Carolina Athletics
2016 Season Review
June 8, 2016 | Women's Lacrosse
Third-seeded Carolina (20-2) won its second NCAA championship when it beat top-seeded Maryland (22-1) at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pa., in the national final on May 29, 2016.
Carolina and Maryland were meeting in the national title game for the third time in four years. In 2013, the Tar Heels beat the Terrapins in triple overtime for the NCAA championship. In 2015, Maryland beat UNC, 9-8. Carolina got its second title with a dominant, 13-7 win in 2016.
UNC also won its second ACC title, sweeping to the championship with wins over Virginia Tech, Duke and Syracuse in Blacksburg, Va. The Tar Heels went 7-0 in the ACC regular season.
WINNING STREAK
♦ The Tar Heels closed the 2015 season with 17 consecutive victories, the longest winning streak in program history. UNC last lost on Feb. 27 and went undefeated in the months of March, April and May.
♦ The previous program record was a 15-game winning streak by the Tar Heels in 2013-14 (the last four games of the 2013 national title run and the first 11 games of 2014).
♦ Carolina also has won seven consecutive games decided by one goal after losing back-to-back, one-goal decisions to Florida and Maryland in late February.
SCHOOL RECORD FOR WINS
♦ Carolina's win over Maryland in the NCAA semifinal was its 20th of the season, a new program record for wins in a season. The two losses in 2016 also were a school record.
♦ The NCAA champion Tar Heels in 2013 won 18 games (18-3). UNC also won 18 games in 2015 (18-4).
RETURNING TO THE FINAL FOUR IN PHILLY
♦ Carolina returned to the NCAA Final Four in the Philadelphia area for the third time in four years (2013 in Villanova, 2015 and 2016 in Chester).
♦ UNC recaptured more of its success from three years agao, when the Tar Heels won the 2013 national title in Villanova. That year, third-seeded Carolina beat second-seeded Northwestern and top-seeded Maryland to win the first championship in program history.
♦ Seven players from the 2013 national championship team were still active on the UNC roster in 2016 as seniors, including five who played in the title game vs. Maryland (title-game starters Mallory Frysinger, Aly Messinger and Megan Ward and reserves Kelly Devlin and Sammy Jo Tracy).
CAROLINA'S NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
♦ UNC is 29-16 all-time in NCAA Tournament games and has made nine semifinal appearances (1997, 1998, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016), including six in the last eight years.
♦ The Tar Heels are 2-2 in NCAA championship games, beating Maryland in 2013 and 2016, losing to Northwestern in 2009 and losing to Maryland in 2015.
♦ Carolina is 4-5 in NCAA semifinal games (with wins in 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2016). UNC has won three consecutive NCAA semifinals (2013, 2015, 2016).
♦ Head coach Jenny Levy has led Carolina to 18 NCAA Tournament berths, including 12 in a row.
♦ Levy's 29 NCAA Tournament wins are fourth in the history of the sport.
♦ Carolina is 20-2 at home in NCAA Tournament games, losing only in 2000 to Loyola and in 2014 to Virginia. UNC has won 19 of its last 20 home NCAA Tournament games.
♦ The Tar Heels are 9-8 in NCAA Tournament quarterfinal games and have won six of their last eight quarterfinals.
♦ Carolina is 8-2 in quarterfinal games played in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels are 1-6 in NCAA quarterfinal appearances played on the road.
♦ UNC is 14-1 with 14 consecutive wins in the NCAA Tournament second round.
♦ Carolina in 2016 made its 18th NCAA appearance in 21 years as a varsity program (since 1996).
♦ UNC in 2016 was a top-five seed in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth year in a row.
FIVE TAR HEELS NAMED ALL-AMERICA BY IWLCA
♦ Five Tar Heels have earned All-America honors from the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Assocation, the IWLCA announced on May 18.
♦ Molly Hendrick and Marie McCool earned first-team honors, while Mallory Frysinger, Aly Messinger and Sammy Jo Tracy grabbed second-team accolades.
SIX NAMED ALL-SOUTH
♦ Six Tar Heels earned All-South honors from the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association, the IWLCA announced on May 13.
♦ Senior defender Mallory Frysinger, junior attacker Molly Hendrick, sophomre midfielder Marie McCool, senior attacker Aly Messinger and senior attacker Sammy Jo Tracy earned first-team honors. Senior goalie Megan Ward was on the second team.
McCOOL, HENDRICK ARE TEWAARATON NOMINEES
♦ The Tewaaraton Foundation announced the 25 women's nominees for the 2016 Tewaaraton Award in late April, and the list includes North Carolina's Molly Hendrick and Marie McCool.
♦ The Tewaaraton Award is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award, annually honoring the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States.
♦ Five women's finalists will be invited to the 16th annual Tewaaraton Award Ceremony, to be held on June 2 in Washington, D.C., at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.
SIX TAR HEELS LEAD ALL-ACC TEAM
♦ A league-high six Carolina players earned spots on the 2016 All-ACC teams. UNC led the conference with four first-team choices and six total selections.
♦ Junior attacker Molly Hendrick, senior attacker Sammy Jo Tracy, sophomore midfielder Marie McCool and senior defender Mallory Frysinger all made the first team. Senior attacker Aly Messinger and junior goalie Caylee Waters made the second team.
LEVY NAMED ACC COACH OF THE YEAR
♦ Jenny Levy is the 2016 Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Lacrosse Coach of the Year, the conference announced on May 5. Levy and her staff win the award for a fourth time, having earned the honor in 1997, 2002 and 2010 as well.
♦ Levy and assistants Phil Barnes, Katrina Dowd and Taylor Chumney Scotton led the Tar Heels to the ACC Tournament championship and the NCAA championship game this spring.
ACC TOURNAMENT CHAMPS
♦ Carolina won its second Atlantic Coast Conference championship on May 1 with a 15-14 overtime win over Syracuse. UNC also won the ACC title in 2002.
♦ The Tar Heels won this year's championship with a 19-6 win over Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals, a 7-6 win over Duke in the semifinals and the overtime win over Syracuse in the final.
♦ Marie McCool was named ACC Tournament MVP and was joined on the All-ACC Tournament team by Mallory Frysinger, Molly Hendrick, Carly Reed and Megan Ward.
TAR HEELS WIN ACC REGULAR SEASON TITLE
♦ Carolina is the ACC regular season champion for the second year in a row and the seventh time overall: 1998 (outright), 2000 (tie), 2006 (tie), 2010 (tie), 2012 (outright), 2015 (outright) and 2016 (outright).
SIX TAR HEELS PICKED IN UWLX DRAFT
♦ Six former UNC players were selected in the inaugural United Women's Lacrosse League (UWLX) Draft, held in April in Boston. The new league will include four teams: The Balitmore Ride, Boston Storm, Long Island Sound and Philadelphia Force.
♦ The six Tar Heels drafted include: defender Jen Russell (UNC 2010, Boston Storm, 8th overall pick) went in the second round, followed by defender Kristen Carr (UNC '10, Baltimore Ride, 9th overall) in the third round, midfielder Kara Cannizzaro (UNC '13, Boston Storm, 16th overall) in the fourth round, attacker Becky Lynch (UNC '12, Philadelphia Force, 19th overall) in the fifth round, defender Sloane Serpe (UNC '14, Long Island Sound, 22nd overall) in the sixth round and midfielder Emily Garrity (UNC '13, Philadelphia Force, 35th overall) in the eighth round.
♦ Carolina's six players drafted tied as the second-highest figure of any school with Syracuse. Maryland led the way with eight. Northwestern had five and Florida had three. Eight schools (including the ACC's Boston College and Duke) had one each.
TRACY BREAKS UNC RECORD FOR DRAW CONTROLS
♦ Sammy Jo Tracy won a school-record 108 draws in 2016. She had eight draw controls in Carolina's win at Boston College on March 26, breaking the North Carolina single-season record.
♦ Sarah Scott had 75 draw controls in 2014, setting the previous program record.
SIX TAR HEELS LEAD 2016-17 U.S. NATIONAL TEAM
♦ Six current and former University of North Carolina players dot the roster of the 2016-17 U.S. National Team, most in the nation.
♦ The Tar Heels on the team include midfielder Laura Zimmerman (UNC '12), goalie Caylee Waters ('17) and four of the team's seven defenders in Kristen Carr ('10), Jen Russell ('10), Sloane Serpe ('14) and Courtney Waite ('15).
