University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
GoHeels Exclusive: Our Women Are Winners
November 18, 2019 | Field Hockey, Women's Soccer, Volleyball, Featured Writers
Celebrating winning teams at UNC is a habit.
By Dave Lohse
Associate Athletic Communications Director
It's hard to imagine a week that might have turned out better for North Carolina's women's athletic teams than the one just concluded. In an eight-day span from Sunday to Sunday, accomplishments in field hockey, soccer, tennis and volleyball proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Carolina has one of the best women's athletics programs in the country and likely the best on a year-to-year basis in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Just a week ago on Sunday, the Tar Heel women's soccer and field hockey teams both won their Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championships on the same day. The field hockey team started the day with a win on the road at Boston College to earn its 22nd ACC Tournament championship. Just a few hours later, the Carolina women's soccer team defeated top-ranked and previously undefeated Virginia 2-1 in double overtime on an Alessia Russo goal in Cary. It was also the 22nd ACC Tournament title for the women's soccer team.
The double championships on the same day in those two sports was hardly the first time it has happened in school history. It happened as recently at 2017. Since the ACC began sponsoring a field hockey tournament in the early 1980s and a women's soccer tournament title in the late 1980s, Carolina has dominated those sports. When NCAA bids for those two teams came out within the next 24 hours, the field hockey team earned the tournament's No. 1 seed as it seeks it a second straight national championship. Women's soccer was rewarded with one of the four No. 1 seeds in its 64-team tournament, joining Stanford, Virginia and Florida State as No. 1 seeds. Coach Anson Dorrance's team is seeking a second straight College Cup trip and its third in four years.
Later that day, Sara Daavettila, a senior from Williamston, Mich., captured the singles championship at the Oracle Intercollegiate Tennis Association Singles National Championship in Newport Beach, Calif., downing the #6 seed Anna Turati of Texas in the final match, 7-6, 6-1. On the same day, coach Joe Sagula's volleyball team scored a 3-0 win at Wake Forest to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
Those episodes marked the start of a great week for Carolina. But it only got better. During the course of the week, the women's basketball team, under the leadership of first-year head coach Courtney Banghart, improved to 3-0 on the campaign with a pair of lopsided wins over Navy and Charleston Southern. In addition, senior Paige Hofstad earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Friday following her ninth-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional. Hofstad, a native of New Braunfels, Texas, received first-team All-Region accolades for her performance and is the first Tar Heel woman to advance to the national stage since the team competed in 2014.
Over the weekend, Carolina's women continued to prove that they know how to win. The Carolina field hockey team down Stanford 4-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Karen Shelton Stadium on Friday afternoon. On Saturday night, the Tar Heel women's soccer team began its quest for the program's 23rd national championship by beating Belmont 5-0 in the NCAA first round. The Tar Heel bench players got plenty of playing time, always a great thing, and Carolina tied an NCAA Tournament record for most shots in a game. Alessia Russo scored twice to lead the Tar Heel offense.
Which brings us to Sunday and a couple of important come-from-behind wins. The field hockey team found itself locked in a battle for its tournament life against Big Ten Conference champion Iowa in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels fell behind the Hawkeyes early 1-0 but they rallied to win 2-1 and in the process earned its 11th straight trip to the sport's final four where it will face Boston College for the second time in 12 days in the semifinals in Winston-Salem, N.C. on Friday. Carolina took only two shots in the game, scoring on both, notching the game-winner less than a half a minute into the final quarter. From then on, the defense took over and locked down the win. It truly was a nail-biting win and one born of true grit by a Tar Heel side extending its win streak to an uncanny 44 games.
Meanwhile, in Tallahassee, the Tar Heel volleyball team edged Florida State 3-2 to earn another key ACC win to keep its quest for an NCAA Tournament bid alive. UNC won the first two sets, dropped the next two and trailed 9-1 in the fifth set before staging a remarkable rally to win the match 15-13 in the final set. The win improved Carolina to 14-11 overall and 11-4 in the ACC. The Tar Heels have now won 11 of their last 13 matches. Upcoming matches against Duke, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech will determine the team's post-season fate but UNC is now in the thick of the action for an NCAA bid after starting the season just 3-9.
It truly has been a remarkable week for the women's teams at Carolina. And hopefully just the start of the excitement that may come UNC's way over the next several weeks of action. Stay glued to GoHeels.com as our staff of writers continue to chronicle these great squads.
Associate Athletic Communications Director
It's hard to imagine a week that might have turned out better for North Carolina's women's athletic teams than the one just concluded. In an eight-day span from Sunday to Sunday, accomplishments in field hockey, soccer, tennis and volleyball proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Carolina has one of the best women's athletics programs in the country and likely the best on a year-to-year basis in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Just a week ago on Sunday, the Tar Heel women's soccer and field hockey teams both won their Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championships on the same day. The field hockey team started the day with a win on the road at Boston College to earn its 22nd ACC Tournament championship. Just a few hours later, the Carolina women's soccer team defeated top-ranked and previously undefeated Virginia 2-1 in double overtime on an Alessia Russo goal in Cary. It was also the 22nd ACC Tournament title for the women's soccer team.
The double championships on the same day in those two sports was hardly the first time it has happened in school history. It happened as recently at 2017. Since the ACC began sponsoring a field hockey tournament in the early 1980s and a women's soccer tournament title in the late 1980s, Carolina has dominated those sports. When NCAA bids for those two teams came out within the next 24 hours, the field hockey team earned the tournament's No. 1 seed as it seeks it a second straight national championship. Women's soccer was rewarded with one of the four No. 1 seeds in its 64-team tournament, joining Stanford, Virginia and Florida State as No. 1 seeds. Coach Anson Dorrance's team is seeking a second straight College Cup trip and its third in four years.
Later that day, Sara Daavettila, a senior from Williamston, Mich., captured the singles championship at the Oracle Intercollegiate Tennis Association Singles National Championship in Newport Beach, Calif., downing the #6 seed Anna Turati of Texas in the final match, 7-6, 6-1. On the same day, coach Joe Sagula's volleyball team scored a 3-0 win at Wake Forest to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
Those episodes marked the start of a great week for Carolina. But it only got better. During the course of the week, the women's basketball team, under the leadership of first-year head coach Courtney Banghart, improved to 3-0 on the campaign with a pair of lopsided wins over Navy and Charleston Southern. In addition, senior Paige Hofstad earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Friday following her ninth-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional. Hofstad, a native of New Braunfels, Texas, received first-team All-Region accolades for her performance and is the first Tar Heel woman to advance to the national stage since the team competed in 2014.
Over the weekend, Carolina's women continued to prove that they know how to win. The Carolina field hockey team down Stanford 4-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Karen Shelton Stadium on Friday afternoon. On Saturday night, the Tar Heel women's soccer team began its quest for the program's 23rd national championship by beating Belmont 5-0 in the NCAA first round. The Tar Heel bench players got plenty of playing time, always a great thing, and Carolina tied an NCAA Tournament record for most shots in a game. Alessia Russo scored twice to lead the Tar Heel offense.
Which brings us to Sunday and a couple of important come-from-behind wins. The field hockey team found itself locked in a battle for its tournament life against Big Ten Conference champion Iowa in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels fell behind the Hawkeyes early 1-0 but they rallied to win 2-1 and in the process earned its 11th straight trip to the sport's final four where it will face Boston College for the second time in 12 days in the semifinals in Winston-Salem, N.C. on Friday. Carolina took only two shots in the game, scoring on both, notching the game-winner less than a half a minute into the final quarter. From then on, the defense took over and locked down the win. It truly was a nail-biting win and one born of true grit by a Tar Heel side extending its win streak to an uncanny 44 games.
Meanwhile, in Tallahassee, the Tar Heel volleyball team edged Florida State 3-2 to earn another key ACC win to keep its quest for an NCAA Tournament bid alive. UNC won the first two sets, dropped the next two and trailed 9-1 in the fifth set before staging a remarkable rally to win the match 15-13 in the final set. The win improved Carolina to 14-11 overall and 11-4 in the ACC. The Tar Heels have now won 11 of their last 13 matches. Upcoming matches against Duke, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech will determine the team's post-season fate but UNC is now in the thick of the action for an NCAA bid after starting the season just 3-9.
It truly has been a remarkable week for the women's teams at Carolina. And hopefully just the start of the excitement that may come UNC's way over the next several weeks of action. Stay glued to GoHeels.com as our staff of writers continue to chronicle these great squads.
Players Mentioned
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