Carolina Celebrates Year Of Successes At Rammy Awards

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Volleyball players pose for before the beginning of the Rammys.

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Sara Daavettila, Alexa Graham, Makenna Jones

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Taylor Koenen, Naomi Van Nes, and Liz Roberts take a selfie before the Rammys.

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Remmington poses before the Rammys begin.

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Softball players take a selfie before the Rammys.

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(L to R): Toby Song, Ashton Brown, Elizabeth Mitchell, Joey Souza, Sara Daavettila

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Alexa Graham and Mauricio Pineda - Breakthrough Athletes

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Kevin Guskiewicz, Bubba Cunningham, Sarah Haney

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Brianna Pinto, second from left, and Marcus Krah, second from right - Best Dressed

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Brianna Pinto and Jace Ruder
2019 Rammys

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Cam Johnson, center - Male Athlete of the Year

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Cricket Lane, center -
Diversity & Inclusion Award

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Remmington, Terri Jo Rucinski, and Emily McMurtie

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Erin Matson, center - Outstanding Newcomer

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(L to R): Toby Song, Ashton Brown, Sara Daavettila, Elizabeth Mitchell

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2018 Field Hockey - Most Outstanding Team

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April 23, 2019 | Field Hockey, Athletics

Photo Gallery

By: UNC Athletic Communications

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Carolina Athletics celebrated the success of the past year Monday night at the seventh-annual Rammy Awards, held at Memorial Hall on the UNC campus. Each spring, the evening highlights student-athlete achievement in athletics, academics and outreach, with plenty of laughs among the cheers.

Hosted this year by field hockey junior Marissa Creatore and men's basketball sophomore K.J. Smith, the event included the fun for which it's known, along with way more sun than usual. Rainy weather has become the norm on Rammys night, but this year brought lovely weather for the pre-show reception and blue carpet.

RJ representin 😤 #UNCRAMMYS pic.twitter.com/FNIfCLi7mg
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 22, 2019

The evening, which opened with a video highlighting Carolina's 28 teams and an appearance by the UNC Marching Tar Heels drum line, recognized both unsung heroes and those already sung on many other occasions. In the latter category was the UNC field hockey team, which won NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference championships in 2018, when the Tar Heels finished the year a perfect 23-0. Monday night they added more trophies to the year's haul, winning Team of the Year, Female Athlete of the Year (December graduate Ashley Hoffman), Outstanding Championship Performance (Hoffman) and Female Newcomer of the Year (freshman Erin Matson).

Men's basketball shared the stage on two of those awards: Hoffman's counterpart for Male Athlete of the Year was graduate student Cameron Johnson, and freshman Coby White was honored as the Male Newcomer of the Year.

The Tar Heels took time to celebrate titles from the past year, including one that had happened just over 24 hours earlier. Carolina women's tennis won its fourth-consecutive ACC crown on Sunday (Jessie Aney, a senior on the team, wore her championship cap to present the award for Best Play) and the team took home another trophy Monday, with junior Alexa Graham named Female Breakthrough Athlete of the Year.

Joining her as Male Breakthrough Athlete of the Year was Mauricio Pineda from men's soccer.

Best Play went to December graduate Julia Ashley, whose double-overtime goal gave UNC women's soccer a 1-0 win over Georgetown in the College Cup semifinals.

Record-Breaking Performance went to Jill Shippee, a sophomore on the women's track & field team who is responsible for the four best hammer throws in program history.

The Best Upset Award went to women's basketball for its win over top-ranked Notre Dame.

pic.twitter.com/fy7MTPZEed
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 23, 2019

Alicia Chen (women's fencing) and Tom Bilden (men's swimming and diving) were honored with the ACC Scholar-Athlete Award for having the highest grade point averages in the senior class. Chen, a biology major, graduated in December. Bilden, a business major, will graduate in May.

Honored with ACC Top Six for Service Awards for outstanding participation and leadership in community outreach were Tailin Song (Men's Golf), Jocelyn Jones (Women's Basketball), Morgan Goetz (Field Hockey), Jacob Henkels (Men's Fencing), Leah Murray (Softball) and Kate Morris (Women's Soccer).

Song returned to the stage minutes after winning to perform as part of a five-student-athlete ensemble. He and Elizabeth Mitchell (rowing) played guitar, Sara Daavettila (women's tennis) played violin, Joey Souza (men's track & field) played drums and Ashton Brown (rowing) sang for a stirring rendition of "Still Rolling Stones," displaying the diversity of talents among UNC student-athletes.

Two Tar Heels who have proven themselves as all around talents were announced as winners of the Mildred McCaskill Award, which goes to seniors who have excelled in all areas. This year's winners were Luke Maye (men's basketball) and Madison Laufenberg (volleyball).

Taylor Moreno (women's lacrosse) and Hansen Butler (baseball) were recipients of the John Lotz Award, which goes to two students who have overcome adversity. Both Moreno and Butler have battled injuries to return to competition and help their teams.

"One of the pleasures of this job is to acknowledge excellence and tonight we celebrate excellence on the field, on the court, in the swimming pool, on the track, in the classroom, and in the community," said UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz, who took the stage late in the program along with Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham. "On behalf of Carolina I express my appreciation to our 800-plus student-athletes who demonstrate excellence every day. Thank you for that."

Several staff members also received honors. The Diversity and Inclusion Award, a second-year honor, went to Cricket Lane, UNC's Associate A.D. for Student-Athlete Development.

The Unsung Hero Award went to the UNC Grounds Crew, which battles constant challenges to maintain outstanding playing surfaces for Tar Heel teams.

Cunningham recognized and thanked the members of the Faculty Athletics Committee in attendance and then introduced rowing coach Sarah Haney, who announced that her team will be naming a new boat in honor of Roy and Wanda Williams, the UNC men's basketball coach and his wife, in recognition of their support of the Carolina athletic program. "Everybody talks about the Carolina family and this is just a tangible example," Haney said of the Williamses' support for all of UNC's teams.

More videos, a t-shirt cannon, a hula hoop contest (won by football's Michael Carter), and announcement of Brianna Pinto (women's soccer) and Marcus Krah (men's track & field) as the evening's best-dressed student-athletes rounded out the night.

Best Dressed at the #UNCRAMMYS goes to Marcus Krah from @UNCTrack_Field and Brianna Pinto from @UNCwomensSoccer pic.twitter.com/24jXWQMwVk
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 23, 2019

To end the evening, the field hockey team again took the stage, this time to lead the crowd – the sung and the unsung – in singing "Hark the Sound" to cap a stellar night.

2019 Rammy Awards

Outstanding Team
Field Hockey

Other finalists: Women's soccer, women's tennis, baseball, men's basketball

Athletes of the Year
Ashley Hoffman (Field Hockey)
Cameron Johnson (Men's Basketball)

Other finalists: Women – Paris Kea (women's basketball), Brittany Pickett (softball), Khazia Hislop (gymnastics), Alessia Russo (women's soccer), Makenna Jones (women's tennis)
Men – Alex Comsia (men's soccer), William Blumberg (men's tennis), Michael Busch (baeball), Austin O'Connor (wrestling)

Outstanding Championship Performance
Ashley Hoffman (Field Hockey)

Other finalists: Daniel McArthur (men's track and field), Makenna Jones (women's tennis), Jamie Ortega (women's lacrosse), Samantha Leshnak (women's soccer)

Outstanding Newcomers
Erin Matson (Field Hockey)
Coby White (Men's Basketball)

Other finalists: Women – Cameron Morra (Women's Tennis), Enyaeva Michelin (Women's Cross Country), Emily Grund (Women's Swimming & Diving); Jennifer Zhou (Women's Golf), Brianna Pinto (Women's Soccer); Men – Austin O'Connor (Wrestling), Beni Rabinowitz (Men's Fencing), Brian Cernoch (Men's Tennis), Caden O'Brien (Baseball)

Breakthrough Athletes of the Year
Alexa Graham (Women's Tennis)
Mauricio Pineda (Men's Soccer)

Other finalists: Women – Taylor Moreno (women's lacrosse), Wei Chee Chen (women's fencing), Amanda Hendry (field hockey), Hunter Atherton (volleyball); Men – Cameron Johnson (men's basketball), Dazz Newsom (football), Ike Freeman (baseball), Austin Hitt (men's golf)

Record-Breaking Performance
Jill Shippee (Women's Track and Field)

Other finalists: Katie Hoeg (women's lacrosse), Caton Johnson (men's lacrosse), Berlynne Delamora (softball), Ryan Gerard (men's golf)

Best Upset
Women's basketball for the team's win over top-ranked Notre Dame

Other finalists: Chip Ness (wrestling) beats the No. 2 seed at NCAA Championships; Men's lacrosse upsets No. 5 Duke; Softball beats No. 8 Georgia and No. 9 South Carolina

Best Play
Julia Ashley – double OT goal in the College Cup semifinals

Other finalists: Erin Matson (field hockey), behind-the-back goal in ACC Championship game; Jake Bargas (football), Hail Mary touchdown against Western Carolina; Jelani Peters (men's soccer), game-winning goal against Duke in the ACC Tournament); Second Varsity Eight (rowing), overtaking Duke during the 2018 ACC Championship heats

McCaskill Award
Luke Maye (Men's Basketball)
Madison Laufenberg (Volleyball)

ACC Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Alicia Chen (Women's Fencing)
Tom Bilden (Men's Swimming & Diving)

ACC Top Six for Service
Tailin Song (Men's Golf), Jocelyn Jones (Women's Basketball), Morgan Goetz (Field Hockey), Jacob Henkels (Men's Fencing), Leah Murray (Softball), Kate Morris (Women's Soccer)

John Lotz Award
Taylor Moreno
Hansen Butler

Diversity and Inclusion Award
Cricket Lane

Unsung Hero Award
UNC Grounds Crew