University of North Carolina Athletics
Sara Daavettila
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
GoHeels Exclusive: Olympic Sports Notes
January 29, 2018 | General, Featured Writers
by Pat James, GoHeels.com
For the fourth straight year, both the North Carolina men's and women's tennis teams will be heading to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
As part of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center, the fifth-ranked UNC women defeated Winthrop 4-0 on Friday before beating Illinois 4-0 on Saturday. The latter win earned the team a spot in the championship, held Feb. 9-12 in Madison, Wisconsin.
The Tar Heels have been in the 16-team championship field every year since their first appearance in the tournament in 2002. They won the 2013 and 2015 titles and have finished as the runner-up the past two years.
The UNC men have also found recent success at the tournament. The team claimed the 2016 crown and advanced to the semifinals last season.
The third-ranked Tar Heels secured a fourth consecutive appearance in the tournament with a 4-0 win over Drake on Saturday and a thrilling 4-2 victory against No. 17 Michigan on Sunday. They'll head to Seattle for the championship, held Feb. 16-19.
Since 2015, Georgia is the only other school in the country to send its men's and women's teams to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships each year. The Bulldog women have already earned a spot in this year's field. The men will play for one against Memphis at 2 p.m. Monday.
Lane leads gymnastics to road win
Senior Morgan Lane ended last season as the only member of the gymnastics team to participate in each meet as an all-around competitor. But in each of the first two meets of this season, she performed on every apparatus except the vault.
That changed Friday. Lane posted a first-place score of 39.100 in her season debut in the all-around, helping UNC (194.600) to a first-place win in their road opener against Towson (194.275), Yale (192.050), and Ursinus (187.425).
Lane's best events were the balance beam and the vault. She scored a 9.800 on both, finishing third and tying for second with Madison Nettles, respectively.
Senior swimmers shine
In their final regular-season dual meets as members of the men's and women's swimming and diving teams, seniors Caroline Baldwin and Henry Campbell won multiple individual events.
Baldwin took first in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 49.05 seconds against N.C. State on Friday. She also won that event at Duke on Saturday, finishing in 49.52, after taking the 50-yard freestyle at 22.51, a record time at the Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion.
Campbell finished fourth and third, respectively, in the 200- and 500-yard freestyles on Friday. But against the Blue Devils, he won the 500-yard freestyle in 4:28.91 and the 200-yard individual medley in 1:50.52.
The men's and women's teams went 0-4 across both meets. The Tar Heel men fell 186-109 against third-ranked N.C. State and 157.5-142.5 against Duke. The 21st-ranked UNC women lost 164-136 against the 14th-ranked Wolfpack and 151-149 against the Blue Devils.
Dunston's dash
After racing in the 200-meter dash at the Dick Taylor Carolina Cup and Notre Dame Invitational, senior Cierra Dunston made her season debut in the 400 on Friday. An NCAA East Preliminary Round qualifier in the event last season, she looked the part at the Bob Pollock Invitational.
Dunston finished seventh in the event with a time of 54.41 seconds. The time is an indoor personal best and the fastest in the ACC this season.
She's the third member of the track and field teams to lead the ACC in an event this season. The others are junior Nicole Greene and freshman Anna Keefer, who took first in the high jump and third in the long jump, respectively, at the Bob Pollock Invitational.
Headlee helps wrestling to ACC win
Through Friday's first two bouts against Pittsburgh, the wrestling team trailed 7-0. But the Tar Heels seized momentum with an overtime decision from No. 16 A.C. Headlee at 141 and never looked back on their way to a 26-10 win.
Starting with Headlee's win, UNC claimed seven of the final eight bouts. The victory over No. 17 Nick Zanetta marked Headlee's fifth over his last seven bouts and third against a ranked foe.
The Tar Heels improved to 8-8 overall with Friday's win. Their 2-0 start to ACC play is their best since 2009, when they went 4-1 in the conference.
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For the fourth straight year, both the North Carolina men's and women's tennis teams will be heading to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
As part of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center, the fifth-ranked UNC women defeated Winthrop 4-0 on Friday before beating Illinois 4-0 on Saturday. The latter win earned the team a spot in the championship, held Feb. 9-12 in Madison, Wisconsin.
The Tar Heels have been in the 16-team championship field every year since their first appearance in the tournament in 2002. They won the 2013 and 2015 titles and have finished as the runner-up the past two years.
The UNC men have also found recent success at the tournament. The team claimed the 2016 crown and advanced to the semifinals last season.
The third-ranked Tar Heels secured a fourth consecutive appearance in the tournament with a 4-0 win over Drake on Saturday and a thrilling 4-2 victory against No. 17 Michigan on Sunday. They'll head to Seattle for the championship, held Feb. 16-19.
Since 2015, Georgia is the only other school in the country to send its men's and women's teams to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships each year. The Bulldog women have already earned a spot in this year's field. The men will play for one against Memphis at 2 p.m. Monday.
Lane leads gymnastics to road win
Senior Morgan Lane ended last season as the only member of the gymnastics team to participate in each meet as an all-around competitor. But in each of the first two meets of this season, she performed on every apparatus except the vault.
That changed Friday. Lane posted a first-place score of 39.100 in her season debut in the all-around, helping UNC (194.600) to a first-place win in their road opener against Towson (194.275), Yale (192.050), and Ursinus (187.425).
Lane's best events were the balance beam and the vault. She scored a 9.800 on both, finishing third and tying for second with Madison Nettles, respectively.
Senior swimmers shine
In their final regular-season dual meets as members of the men's and women's swimming and diving teams, seniors Caroline Baldwin and Henry Campbell won multiple individual events.
Baldwin took first in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 49.05 seconds against N.C. State on Friday. She also won that event at Duke on Saturday, finishing in 49.52, after taking the 50-yard freestyle at 22.51, a record time at the Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion.
Campbell finished fourth and third, respectively, in the 200- and 500-yard freestyles on Friday. But against the Blue Devils, he won the 500-yard freestyle in 4:28.91 and the 200-yard individual medley in 1:50.52.
The men's and women's teams went 0-4 across both meets. The Tar Heel men fell 186-109 against third-ranked N.C. State and 157.5-142.5 against Duke. The 21st-ranked UNC women lost 164-136 against the 14th-ranked Wolfpack and 151-149 against the Blue Devils.
Dunston's dash
After racing in the 200-meter dash at the Dick Taylor Carolina Cup and Notre Dame Invitational, senior Cierra Dunston made her season debut in the 400 on Friday. An NCAA East Preliminary Round qualifier in the event last season, she looked the part at the Bob Pollock Invitational.
Dunston finished seventh in the event with a time of 54.41 seconds. The time is an indoor personal best and the fastest in the ACC this season.
She's the third member of the track and field teams to lead the ACC in an event this season. The others are junior Nicole Greene and freshman Anna Keefer, who took first in the high jump and third in the long jump, respectively, at the Bob Pollock Invitational.
Headlee helps wrestling to ACC win
Through Friday's first two bouts against Pittsburgh, the wrestling team trailed 7-0. But the Tar Heels seized momentum with an overtime decision from No. 16 A.C. Headlee at 141 and never looked back on their way to a 26-10 win.
Starting with Headlee's win, UNC claimed seven of the final eight bouts. The victory over No. 17 Nick Zanetta marked Headlee's fifth over his last seven bouts and third against a ranked foe.
The Tar Heels improved to 8-8 overall with Friday's win. Their 2-0 start to ACC play is their best since 2009, when they went 4-1 in the conference.
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