University of North Carolina Athletics
Chapel Hill Regional Opponent Capsules
Carolina is hosting an NCAA regional for the first time since 2013. Here's a quick look at the three teams headed to Chapel Hill this weekend.
No. 2 Florida Gulf Coast University
Location: Fort Myers, Fla.
Record: 42-18, 13-8 Atlantic Sun
Bid: Automatic
FGCU is making its first Division I postseason appearance after beating regular-season A-Sun champion Jacksonville twice last Saturday to grab the league's tournament title. The Eagles have amassed a program-best 42 wins in 2017 and beat Florida, Florida State and Miami in midweek contests this season. Nick Rivera powers the offense with a team-best 17 homers while staff ace Kutter Crawford is 7-1 with a 1.58 ERA.
Should Carolina and FGCU meet this weekend in Chapel Hill, it would be the first contest between the two schools.
No. 3 Michigan
Location: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Record: 42-15, 16-8 Big Ten
Bid: At-large
Michigan is back in the tournament for the second time in three years, but the Wolverines earned an at-large for the first time in a decade. U-M closed with four straight series wins to finish a half-game behind Nebraska for the Big Ten regular season title before going 0-2 at the conference tournament in Bloomington. Michigan is led by a league-high five first-team All-Big Ten selections, including top hitter Ako Thomas (.368, 21 steals), usual Friday starter Oliver Jaskie (8-2, 3.30 ERA) and closer Jackson Lamb (3-1, 0.96 ERA, 12 saves).
U-M holds a slight 7-6 advantage in the all-time series with Carolina, though the teams haven't met since 2010, when the Tar Heels handed the Wolverines a three-game sweep in Chapel Hill. UNC won the lone postseason meeting between the two programs, a 7-6 victory at the 1978 College World Series.
No. 4 Davidson
Location: Davidson, N.C.
Record: 32-24, 13-11 Atlantic 10
Bid: Automatic
Head coach Dick Cooke's Wildcats are making their first NCAA tournament appearance after claiming a conference title for the first time in the program's 115-year existence. Once a Southern Conference rival of UNC prior to the formation of the ACC in 1953, Davidson grabbed the automatic bid in the Atlantic 10 in just its third season in the league. Led by Will Robertson (18) and Brian Fortier (15), the Wildcats rank in the top 25 nationally with 70 total home runs.
With 111 all-time meetings, Davidson is the most common UNC opponent that has never been a member of the ACC. Carolina has played Davidson each year since Mike Fox took over in Chapel Hill, and the Tar Heels are 18-1 against the Wildcats under Fox. This season, Carolina was a 7-6 winner in 10 innings.