University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Dana Gentry
Tar Heels Celebrate Championship With Governor
February 10, 2020 | Field Hockey
RALEIGH, N.C. – The celebration continues for UNC field hockey. Even as spring workouts get underway and the team looks toward the 2020 season, the Tar Heels recently enjoyed another opportunity to look back at the undefeated 2019 campaign, this time in the company of North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper.
The Carolina team – and its NCAA trophy – boarded a bus on Wednesday afternoon in Chapel Hill for the 30-minute trip to the Governor's mansion in Raleigh. Joined by staff and members of the field hockey band (aka the Fockey Band) the team toured the mansion and then gathered on the central staircase for a ceremony.
After Cooper welcomed the Tar Heels, associate head coach Grant Fulton spoke about the team's season, emphasizing the way the 2019 team, although coming off a championship season in 2018, stayed humble and worked hard.
Fulton, filling in for head coach Karen Shelton, who was out of town and unable to attend, also talked about the team's achievement in the classroom in the fall, with a cumulative GPA of 3.14. "We believe the better we perform in the classroom, the better we will be on the field," he told the crowd.
Courtnie Williamson, who will complete her undergraduate degree in May and play the 2020 season as a graduate student, then spoke about the opportunities she's had at UNC, including a Kenan-Flagler Business School trip to Tokyo she's taking part in this spring. Erin Matson, a rising junior, spoke of leaving the team behind for three games during the season as she traveled to India to compete with the U.S. National Team, and how happy she was to return. She also gave a shout-out to the Tar Heel parents and their outstanding postgame tailgates.
All three thanked the Governor for the invitation and the opportunity to visit the mansion. (Fulton invited the Governor and his wife, Kristin Cooper, to visit the Tar Heels over in Chapel Hill at their own "mansion" for a game during the 2020 season.)
Kristin Cooper then read a proclamation, recognizing February 5th, 2020 as a date to honor the team's outstanding season. The seniors in attendance – of the eight on the 2019 team, five graduated in December, but Megan DuVernois, Feline Guenther and Yentl Leemans are still on campus and will graduate in May – presented the Coopers with a signed hockey stick.
After mingling with UNC administrators and North Carolina legislators and meeting the First Dog, Ben, the team head back for Chapel Hill, focused once again on the semester ahead.
The Carolina team – and its NCAA trophy – boarded a bus on Wednesday afternoon in Chapel Hill for the 30-minute trip to the Governor's mansion in Raleigh. Joined by staff and members of the field hockey band (aka the Fockey Band) the team toured the mansion and then gathered on the central staircase for a ceremony.
After Cooper welcomed the Tar Heels, associate head coach Grant Fulton spoke about the team's season, emphasizing the way the 2019 team, although coming off a championship season in 2018, stayed humble and worked hard.
Fulton, filling in for head coach Karen Shelton, who was out of town and unable to attend, also talked about the team's achievement in the classroom in the fall, with a cumulative GPA of 3.14. "We believe the better we perform in the classroom, the better we will be on the field," he told the crowd.
Courtnie Williamson, who will complete her undergraduate degree in May and play the 2020 season as a graduate student, then spoke about the opportunities she's had at UNC, including a Kenan-Flagler Business School trip to Tokyo she's taking part in this spring. Erin Matson, a rising junior, spoke of leaving the team behind for three games during the season as she traveled to India to compete with the U.S. National Team, and how happy she was to return. She also gave a shout-out to the Tar Heel parents and their outstanding postgame tailgates.
All three thanked the Governor for the invitation and the opportunity to visit the mansion. (Fulton invited the Governor and his wife, Kristin Cooper, to visit the Tar Heels over in Chapel Hill at their own "mansion" for a game during the 2020 season.)
Kristin Cooper then read a proclamation, recognizing February 5th, 2020 as a date to honor the team's outstanding season. The seniors in attendance – of the eight on the 2019 team, five graduated in December, but Megan DuVernois, Feline Guenther and Yentl Leemans are still on campus and will graduate in May – presented the Coopers with a signed hockey stick.
After mingling with UNC administrators and North Carolina legislators and meeting the First Dog, Ben, the team head back for Chapel Hill, focused once again on the semester ahead.
Players Mentioned
Midfielder/Forward
/ Field Hockey
Midfield
/ Field Hockey
Midfielder
/ Field Hockey
Forward
/ Field Hockey
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