Carolina Celebrates Outstanding Performances With Rammy Awards

The eighth-annual Rammy Awards had a different look from previous years but recognized the same outstanding level of Tar Heel talent, honoring top performances by UNC student-athletes and teams over the past year. The 2020 edition of the Carolina Athletics awards show took place online, with honors announced on the @GoHeels Twitter account.

The finale was Friday afternoon's announcement of the NCAA Champion Carolina field hockey team as the recipient of the Outstanding Team Award for the second year in a row.

"The Rammys are always one of the highlights of the year, and I am glad that we were able to honor the outstanding accomplishments of our students and teams with an online version of our blue carpet event,'' said Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham. "All of the nominees had incredible and memorable performances. Congratulations to all who were selected and contributed to another special year at Carolina."

It's RAMMYS winners week!#RAMMYs2020 pic.twitter.com/Du24dTYZY8
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 14, 2020

The event is typically held at Memorial Hall, where student-athletes, staff and guests dress to the nines to walk the Carolina blue carpet then enjoy an evening filled with awards and performances. (Click here to read about last year's event.) Rammys are based on the span from the previous event (in this case, April 22, 2019) to the next year's show, so include spring sports play from the 2019 postseason.

And the RAMMY for Outstanding Team goes to ... Field Hockey @UNCFieldhockey #RAMMYs2020 presented by @Bojangles pic.twitter.com/wYgPYtjppF
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 17, 2020

In addition to the team award, field hockey took the Outstanding Female Athlete Rammy for the second year in a row, with sophomore Erin Matson honored. (Ashley Hoffman won the award in 2019.) Matson was the 2019 Honda Sport Award winner and NFHCA National Player of the Year and has yet to lose a game through two years at UNC.

And the RAMMY for Female Outstanding Athlete goes to ... Erin Matson @UNCFieldhockey #RAMMYs2020 presented by @Bojangles pic.twitter.com/xQQGX43J3y
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 17, 2020

The Outstanding Male Athlete went to men's tennis senior William Blumberg, who was a finalist in that category for the third year in a row. Blumberg earned All-America honors six times as a Tar Heel – in both singles and doubles in his freshman, sophomore and junior seasons – and was ranked No. 9 in singles this spring.

And the RAMMY for Male Outstanding Athlete goes to ... Will Blumberg @carolinatennis#RAMMYs2020 presented by @Bojangles pic.twitter.com/Hxx6EJjjMm
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 17, 2020

Outstanding Newcomer Rammys went to Maycee Bell (women's soccer) and Sam Howell (football).

Bell was the ACC Freshman of the Year and helped UNC to an ACC title and a spot in the NCAA championship game, starting 25 games at defender.

And the RAMMY for Female Outstanding Newcomer goes to ... Maycee Bell @uncwomenssoccer#RAMMYs2020 presented by @Bojangles pic.twitter.com/XsjXtohqKa
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 16, 2020

Howell started at quarterback for UNC as a true freshman, earning ACC Rookie of the Year honors. He was MVP of the Military Bowl and led all ACC quarterbacks in passing touchdowns. He also earned All-ACC Academic honors.

And the RAMMY for Male Outstanding Newcomer goes to ... Sam Howell @TarHeelFootball#RAMMYs2020 presented by @Bojangles pic.twitter.com/RFiTIA2d0K
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 16, 2020

Breakthrough Athlete Rammy winners were Taylor Koenen (women's basketball) and Chazz Surratt (football).

Koenen led UNC in scoring as a senior, setting career single-game highs in scoring, field goals, three-pointers, free throws and steals and earning All-ACC honorable mention honors.

And the RAMMY for Female Breakthrough Athlete goes to ... Taylor Koenen @UNCWBB#RAMMYs2020 pic.twitter.com/yVdp1iIxtR
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 14, 2020

Surratt switched from quarterback to linebacker in 2019 and earned first-team All-ACC honors after leading UNC and ranking second in the conference in tackles with 115. He was runner-up for ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

And the RAMMY for Male Breakthrough Athlete goes to ... Chazz Surratt @TarHeelFootball#RAMMYs2020 pic.twitter.com/AVFzzmPfB1
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 14, 2020

The Best Upset Rammy went to the men's tennis team for its win over No. 1 Ohio State in quarterfinals of the 2019 NCAA Championship. The Tar Heels reached the final four for the second time in program history.

And the RAMMY for Best Upset goes to ... Men's Tennis @carolinatennis#RAMMYs2020 presented by @Bojangles pic.twitter.com/YSlGqe61Al
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 15, 2020

The Best Play Rammy went to Alessia Russo (women's soccer). She scored the game-winning goal in the second overtime period to beat Virginia in the 2019 ACC Championship game.

And the RAMMY for Best Play goes to ... Alessia Russo @uncwomenssoccer#RAMMYs2020 presented by @Bojangles pic.twitter.com/I47q79TfmR
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 16, 2020

Best Individual Performance Rammy Awards went to Sara Daavettila (women's tennis) and Daniel McArthur (men's track & field).

Daavettila was honored for her victory at the 2019 Oracle ITA Fall National Championships last November in Newport Beach, Calif.

And the RAMMY for Female Individual Performance goes to ... Sara Daavettila @UNC_wtennis#RAMMYs2020 presented by @Bojangles pic.twitter.com/yjo6LG0ixR
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 15, 2020

McArthur won the shot put title at the 2020 ACC Indoor Championships, defending his 2019 victory.

And the RAMMY for Male Individual Performance goes to ... Daniel McArthur @UNCTrack_Field#RAMMYs2020 presented by @Bojangles pic.twitter.com/LP8rTAQOnq
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 15, 2020

Women's lacrosse senior Katie Hoeg was honored with the Rammy for Record-Breaking Performance. With four goals and four assists in UNC's 20-18 win over Northwestern in March, Hoeg boosted her career point total to 261, breaking Corey Donohoe's record of 256, set from 2008-11.

And the RAMMY for Record Breaking Performance goes to ... Katie Hoeg @uncwlax#RAMMYs2020 presented by @Bojangles pic.twitter.com/9fpVR2ry02
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 16, 2020

Matson also won the Rammy for Championship Performance for her play in the 2019 NCAA field hockey final four. The sophomore forward totaled six goals in the two games in Winston-Salem, with four against Boston College in the semifinals and two against Princeton in the championship.

And the RAMMY for Best Championship Performance goes to ... Erin Matson @UNCFieldhockey #RAMMYs2020 pic.twitter.com/7hgxCUKVuo
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 14, 2020

Carolina Celebrates Outstanding Performances With Rammy Awards

Players Mentioned

Maycee Bell

William Blumberg

Sara Daavettila

Katie Hoeg

Ashley Hoffman

Sam Howell

Taylor Koenen

Erin Matson

Daniel McArthur

Alessia Russo

Chazz Surratt

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