April 2007 Blog Archive
April 29, 2007 RHGC Auction Raises Over $125,000 In the biggest year ever, Sunday night's Reece Holbrook Golf Classic auction raised over $125,000 to fight pediatric cancer. A star-studded group of attendees that included Eric Montross, Steve Robinson, Mike Fox, Wanda Williams, a very tall auctioneer assistant who wore number-34 for the Tar Heels on the hardwood this past season, and auctioneer Woody Durham celebrated the biggest year ever at the Hampton Inn and Suites on Farrington Rd. The evening, which included a dinner hosted by Hampton owner Manish Atma, sets the stage for tomorrow's golf portion of the event, which begins at 10 a.m. at the Chapel Hill Country Club and Governors Club. Items on the block included a Pebble Beach golf trip, a seat on the Carolina bench and access to the locker room for a 2007-08 home game, a pair of lower level Final Four tickets, and the watch worn by Roy Williams in the 2005 national title game. Several lucky winners will also add celebrities--including Williams, Dean Smith, Bill Guthridge, and Durham--to their RHGC foursomes on Monday. The RHGC is in its third year and will pass a cumulative $400,000 raised during tomorrow's golf outing. Check back tomorrow evening for golf photos.
April 28, 2007 Blake's Connection To NFL Draft; Durant's Brother Goes In Second Round No North Carolina player had his named called during the first round of today's NFL Draft, but there is a Carolina connection with the 13th overall pick Adam Carriker (St. Louis). A two-time All-Big 12 defensive lineman, Carriker was coached at Nebraska by John Blake who joined Butch Davis on the Tar Heel staff as soon as the Huskers' season ended. Blake coached three seasons in Lincoln before reuniting with Davis at UNC. During ESPN's endless day of NFL Draft coverage, analyst Mel Kiper called Blake "one of the best in the business" as a defensive line coach. Look for Ola Dagunduro, another Blake pupil to be drafted later tonight or tomorrow. Another member of Carolina's football family, Darian Durant, received some good news today when his brother, Justin, was taken in the second round of the NFL Draft by Jacksonville (48th overall). Justin played linebacker at Hampton and was a two-time All-MEAC and All-America winner. Darian has been in Chapel Hill for the past few months preparing for the upcoming Canadian Football League season where he expects to challenge for the starting spot with the Saskatchewan Rough Riders.
April 27, 2007 Students Select Winning T-Shirt Design
Several football players were on hand today at The Pit when Carolina Fever chairman Kellan White announced the winning t-shirt design for the 2007 football season. Three separate designs were submitted with voting concluding last night at 10 p.m. Several schools have had success with a student t-shirt and Fever officials quickly adopted the idea after Butch Davis was hired as football coach. The student section in the end zone will be dubbed "The Tar Pit" next season and students are encouraged to wear the t-shirt to all home football games.
April 27, 2007 Davis Thanks Rams Club Attendees
North Carolina head coach Butch Davis recently wrapped up a two-week Rams Club tour of several North Carolina cities, including Greenville, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Charlotte, Burlington and Chapel Hill. Including a kickoff event in Richmond, Va., Davis has spoken at seven Rams Club events in the last 10 days. Davis, who will undergo his final chemotherapy treatment today at UNC Hospitals, said he could not be more appreciative of the support and well wishes he's received during the recent tour. "It was a great experience to get out and meet so many Carolina fans throughout the state," said Davis. "I wish I could have stayed longer at each event and talked Tar Heel football all night long. I'm thankful to the Rams Club for altering the schedule at some of the events and letting me address the crowds first so I could return to Chapel Hill and rest. I feel great and with today's last treatment i look forward to an offseason filled with recruiting, planning for next season and perhaps the occasional round of golf."
At the Charlotte event, George Clooney and Renee Zellweger were in town and staying at the same Westin hotel while shooting scenes for the move, "Leatherheads." As we detailed earlier in the blog, former Tar Heel wide receiver Kory Bailey is an extra in the movie. No word on weather Clooney or Zellweger purchased season tickets. If not, they only have seven more days unti the deadline of May 4.
April 26, 2007 Brooks Breaks Down Draft on SI.com Former North Carolina wide receiver Bucky Brooks (1990-93) is now a columnist for Sports Illustrated's web site. In his most recent column, he examines the key debate for each NFL team as it approaches this weekend's draft. Brooks played in the NFL for five teams from 1994-99 and has also spent time as a professional scout since retiring. At Carolina, Brooks still owns the single-season school record for most yards per catch (20.6 in 1993). He played his best game as a Tar Heel in the 1992 regular-season finale at Duke as he made five grabs for 185 yards and two scores. He caught passes of 47, 29, 43, 46 and 20 yards and added a 68-yards run in a 31-28 comeback win.
April 25, 2007 Frasor Stops By Broadcast Booth You never know what you might hear when you tune into a Carolina baseball broadcast. Jones Angell and Adam Lucas were joined in the booth by Tar Heel guard Bobby Frasor, who has been a regular at Boshamer Stadium this spring, during Tuesday's 10-0 victory over ECU. Frasor said the scouting report on him during his baseball career (which ended in middle school) was as follows: "I was a shortstop and pitcher. I threw nothing but gas and an occasional changeup." On the hardwood, Frasor is coming off a sophomore season that saw him battle a pesky foot injury. "Individually, it was the most frustrating season I've ever been part of," he said. "Coach says adversity makes a player that much stronger, so hopefully I'll be a heck of a player next year." Frasor spent an inning and a half in the booth, during which he also displayed some of the wit that has made him notorious among the Tar Heels for his vast array of sometimes corny but always entertaining jokes. A sample: What did one eye say to the other? Answer: Between you and me, something smells. Think about it for a second. And OK, maybe it's funnier when Frasor is delivering it. But he also had one of the best off-the-cuff on-air moments of the baseball season when Angell informed the radio listeners, "There are two Pirates in the bullpen." Frasor: "Not literal pirates. Maybe Jack Sparrow is the righty out there." The baseball booth has hosted the beginnings of a pretty good team already this year. Frasor becomes the third hoopster to drop by, joining Marcus Ginyard and Wes Miller. Who will be the next special guest? There are a variety of ways to find out. All games are broadcast on 1360 AM in Chapel Hill, and listeners around the world can tune into every game for free on TarHeelBlue.com. WBAG 1150 AM in Burlington is the newest member of the baseball family, as they will air selected games throughout the rest of the year. Today's game against High Point will also be part of ACC Select's pay-per-view video package, which contains the Tar Heel Sports Network audio. In addition, all three games of this weekend's series against NC State will be picked up by WRBZ 850 AM in Raleigh.
April 24, 2007 Students Can Vote On Football Shirt Today The dawn of the Butch Davis era will hopefully mean more trips to the end zone for the Tar Heels in Kenan Stadium. But it will also mean a new look in the Kenan end zones. Students will christen a new "Tar Pit" seating era in 2007. Carolina Fever chairman Kellan White is spearheading the effort, which is designed to make the end zone seats more attractive to students and create a more frenzied atmosphere among the student body at home games. As part of that effort, a Tar Pit t-shirt will make its debut at the first home game. What will the shirt look like? That's what students can decide today, as they can vote online until 10 p.m. to determine the design that will be used. Several schools have had impressive success with student-wide t-shirts, including Penn State and Texas A&M.
April 23, 2007 Halberstam Had Carolina Connection Acclaimed author David Halberstam, who was killed in a car crash Monday, had Carolina connections. In addition to penning the illuminating 1999 book on Tar Heel Michael Jordan, Playing for Keeps, Halberstam was a close friend of fellow New Yorker Tom Kearns, a member of the 1957 national championship team. In fact, Halberstam was Kearns's personal guest at the Feb. 10 banquet in Chapel Hill honoring the '57 team. Condolences go out from Chapel Hill to Halberstam's family and friends. Tar Heel Football Players Promote "Real Men Rock"
Several football players also participated in a Habitat for Humanity event on Saturday.
Butch, Roy Touring State This Week Butch Davis and Roy Williams will visit Tar Heel fans across the state this week as part of the Rams Club's Tar Heel Tour. Williams is in Hickory for lunch today; Davis, Williams, and Sylvia Hatchell will have dinner in Greensboro tonight, and that same trio will be in Charlotte Tuesday night and the Triangle Thursday night. Davis and Williams will also have dinner in Burlington Wednesday night. Space is still available for all events on one of the most appealing Tar Heel Tour slates ever. Call the Rams Club at 919-843-2000 for more information. The format for the Triangle event will be very special, as fans will get an inside look at the Smith Center in addition to enjoying the Q&A format with all three coaches.
April 21, 2007 Snyder Gets Win After Yanks Collapse Boston Red Sox pitcher Kyle Snyder, a UNC alum, earned his first win of the season on Friday evening against the New York Yankees. Snyder recorded two outs in the eighth after starter Curt Schilling's ineffective performance. Snyder kept the Yanks' bats under control while his teammates mounted a five-run rally, including two runs against closer Mariano Rivera, for the win. Snyder pitched three seasons at North Carolina from 1997-99. He was originally drafted by Kansas City.
April 20, 2007
Tennis Edges Hokies To Advance For the second time in seven days, Tar Heel junior Benjamin Carlotti clinched the match against the Virginia Tech Hokies with Friday's 4-2 victory over Tech sending the Tar Heels on to the ACC Men's Tennis Tournament semifinals Saturday. UNC will play at 1 p.m. Saturday against either Duke or Florida State. This is the third time in the past four years the Tar Heels have advanced to the tournament semifinals. UNC (22-2) won the doubles point for the 22nd time in 24 matches this season and then got straight set victories by Carlotti at No. 1, Stefan Hardy at No. 3 and Sebastian Guejman at No. 5. In singles play, four of the first sets went to tiebreakers indicating the close nature of the match. Tech, seeded No. 10, upset No. 7 seed NC State in a 4-3 marathon on Thursday. The play of the Hokies' men's tennis team in the ACC Tournament certainly brought a sense of pride to a campus that earlier this week rocked by tragedy. North Carolina will meet either Duke or Florida State Saturday. Duke handed Carolina one of its only two losses of the season, beating the Tar Heels nine days ago in Chapel Hill 5-2. Last month, Carolina beat Florida State 4-3 in Chapel Hill. The Seminoles knocked UNC out of the ACC Tournament in both 2005 and 2006. Virginia and Wake Forest will play in the first semifinal match Saturday.
April 16, 2007
Hovis Closing In Charleston The lone senior on the 2006 Carolina baseball squad, Jonathan Hovis, is off to a quick start in his second professional season. A member of the Charleston RiverDogs, a Class-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, Hovis is closing in the early season and has two saves in four appearances. The 2006 NCAA ERA leader has not allowed a run over four innings and has stuck out six. A year ago with Staten Island, Hovis went 5-1 with a team-best 1.73 ERA and held opponents to a .200 average. Stay tuned to TarHeelBlue.com for updates on former Diamond Heels in pro ball in the near future.
April 15, 2007 Women's Lax Delayed Carolina's women's lacrosse game with Longwood University, scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. today, has been delayed until at least 1:45 p.m. due to a lightning warning.
April 14, 2007 Carlyle Cup Tied With Carolina's 7-4 win in the rubber game of the baseball series vs. Duke, the Tar Heels have earned one point towards the Carlyle Cup, the all-sports competition between Carolina and Duke. The 2006-07 event is tied at 9.5 after UNC claimed the baseball point Saturday.
April 13, 2007 Tom Donahoe Stops By UNC Football Tom Donahoe, former President and GM of the Buffalo Bills and longtime friend of UNC head coach Butch Davis, visited the UNC football program over the last three days. Donahoe visited with the Carolina coaching staff and spoke to the team prior to Thursday's practice. "It was great to have Tom here," says Davis. "I want to do everything we can to make this an outstanding program and having Tom visit with our coaches and come to our practice was beneficial."
The Buzz At The Bosh
April 12, 2007 Dean Smith To Be Profiled Former Carolina men's basketball coach Dean Smith will be profiled on the statewide television program NC SPIN on Sunday April 15 on WRAL-TV at 6:30 a.m. and on WRAZ-Fox 50 at 8:30 a.m. Consult complete local listings and other television markets statewide at ncspin.com. Smith retired in 1997 with more wins (879) than any other coach in NCAA Division I history. He led the Tar Heels to NCAA championships in 1982 and 1993 and was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame. April 11, 2007 Football Mugs With A New Twist
There were a couple of highlights from behind the scenes. Connor Barth, who turned 21 on Wednesday, got a haircut. It wasn't much, but Barth trimmed the long locks without losing the surfer look. Several players, including Joe Dailey and Scott Lenahan, took pride in tying their own tie, while most others went with the pre-tied tie. The coat and tie photo was actually easier for most players. You would be shocked to see these guys try to fit in their jerseys. The jerseys are designed to be tight to prevent opponents from holding, but you can't imagine how difficult it is for Garrett Reynolds to pull his jersey over a t-shirt, much less shoulder pads. It literally takes two people. The other highlight was 100 percent attendance, a first in recent memory.
April 10, 2007 Hansbrough, Lawson To Return In 2007-08 Tonight at the annual Carolina men's basketball awards ceremony, Tar Heels Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson both announced they will return to Chapel Hill for the 2007-08 season rather than enter the NBA Draft. Hansbrough, a rising junior and a consensus first-team All-America this past season, jokingly remarked that he would remain a Tar Heel only if Roy Williams agreed to fire longtime assistant coach Joe Holladay. The rising junior was joking, however, and both Holladay and Hansbrough will return next season. "I've definitely decided that I will be back [for] my junior year," Hansbrough said afterward. "Personally, I'm not ready for the next step of the NBA. Playing [another] year with coach [Roy] Williams will help me improve my game individually. There's also some team things that I want to accomplish. College is a great experience for me, and I'd like to be here another year." The same is true of rising sophomore point guard Lawson, who led the Atlantic Coast Conference in assist/turnover ratio in 2006-07. He first tried to trick the audience by saying during his acceptance of the team's assist award, "After thinking about things, talking to my parents, I think it would be best if I took my skills to the NBA. I'm sorry." After a few moments of silence, he laughed, "I'm just playing -- I'll be back next year." After the ceremony, Lawson said to the media, "I just like being a college basketball player." April 6, 2007 ESPN Follows Davis
April 5, 2007 Diamond Heels Enjoying Off Days In Boston With damp, cold weather and the Easter holiday weekend coming into play, Carolina's baseball team now has unexpected back-to-back off days in Boston. Once the team got the news that today's game had been postponed, they hit the gym across the street from The Colonnade Hotel for a workout. With lots of family in town, the guys will have the rest of the day off to sightsee and catch up on school work. Friday, the team will have a morning workout at Shea Field before an exciting afternoon and evening. With an assist from Red Sox skipper Terry Francona, whose daughter Alyssa is a member of UNC's 22nd-ranked softball team, the Diamond Heels scored a tour of Fenway Park in the afternoon. They'll then head to TD Banknorth Garden for the Celtics-Miami Heat game. Not a bad way to spend an off day. Then it's back to business Saturday with a doubleheader set to begin at 11 a.m. An audio broadcast of all three games of the series will be available on TarHeelBlue.com and on AM-1360 WCHL with Jones Angell and Adam Lucas on the call.
UNC Tennis Achieves Highest Ranking Ever Out of superstition, the TarHeelBlue.com staff did not post the factoid of the UNC men's tennis team earning its highest ranking in history when the news became available Tuesday afternoon. With a match at No. 20 NC State Wednesday, there was little reason to fire up the Pack by making a big deal of UNC's No. 5 national ranking in Tuesday's Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll. There was certainly no need to give another "we need to upset those Tar Heels" boost to a vastly improved NC State team which has not beaten Carolina since 1988. So with the match now finished and a 4-3 UNC win in the books, let the truth be told that this week, UNC's men's tennis team is ranked higher than at any other time in poll history, which now spans some three decades. UNC is No. 5 this week. Twice before the Heels were No. 6 -- last week (March 27, 2007 poll) and in the poll on March 9, 1993. In UNC's 1992 season, when the Tar Heels advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals (only time that has happened since 1977 in the team tournament format), the Tar Heels got as high as No. 7 on April 7, 1992. All this from a team whose starting lineup was decimated off a 25-5, NCAA Final 16 team of 2006. Graduation took the No. 1 singles player (All-America), No. 2 singles player (All-America), No. 3 singles player and No. 6 singles player. It must be the coaching. Kudos to Sam Paul. April 4, 2007
Tennis Stays Undefeated North Carolina's men's tennis won again Wednesday afternoon, beating No. 20 NC State 4-3 in Raleigh to go to 18-0 overall and 6-0 in the ACC. The Tar Heels have not started a season 18-0 since 1970 and the last time they started better was a 20-0 beginning to the season in 1965. Carolina has won an uncanny number of 4-3 and 4-2 decisions this season, matches that were literally inches away from tipping one way or the other with a line call here or there. Five of UNC's six ACC wins have been by 4-3 or 4-2 scores. NC State has its best team in a quarter century and came in ranked No. 20, looking to beat Carolina for the first time since 1988, a 6-3 win over the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. But once again it was UNC which found the way to win, beating State for the 19th straight year in the regular season. The deciding point in the match was at No. 6 singles where Will Plyler, a Raleigh native playing his first ACC match of the season, split sets and then ran off a 6-1 third set triumph. The Tar Heels are back home for their next three matches -- BC Saturday, Maryland Sunday and Duke next Wednesday when the Heels will be looking for their first regular season win over the Blue Devils since 1996. WNBA Draft Today One unique aspect of women's basketball is the timing of the WNBA draft the day after the NCAA championship game. Fans of seniors Ivory Latta and Camille Little can follow along online starting at 1 p.m. or watch the first round live on ESPN2. WNBA.com's Adam Hirschfeld spoke with Ivory before the draft.
April 2, 2007 Men's Soccer Downs RailHawks Carolina's men's soccer team picked up a win Saturday night over the Triangle's newest professional sports franchise, the Cary RailHawks, at SAS Soccer Park. Midfielder Scott Campbell scored the lone goal of the match in the 27th minute. Former Tar Heels Chris Carrieri and Caleb Norkus were the first signings by the USL First Division club last December. April 1, 2007
Tennis Team Continues Clutch Play It's now April and the University of North Carolina men's tennis team has yet to taste defeat. Coming off a 25-win season in 2006 when the Tar Heels had four seniors in their starting lineup, even head coach Sam Paul probably didn't believe in his wildest dreams that UNC could be 17-0 overall and 5-0 in the ACC on April 1. Carolina has had an uncanny knack of winning close matches as this season is filled with hard-fought 4-3 and 4-2 decisions against teams like Rice, VCU, San Diego, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Wake Forest and most recently Florida State. Every one of those matches could easily have gone the other way in a sport where the difference between a Top 10 team and a Top 50 team may not be all that great. The only players in the lineup with significant starting singles experience on the collegiate level are Benjamin Carlotti, who plays No. 1, and Sebastian Guejman, who plays No. 4. Juniors Lenny Gullan and David Stone are veteran players who compete as the Tar Heels' designated doubles specialists at the No. 1 spot. A year ago UNC tied the school record for wins in a season with 25, hosted and won an NCAA regional and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1993. That team included All-Americas Raian Luchici and Brad Pomeroy as well as Derek Porter, a four-year starter, and Aly Mandour, a dependable presence at No. 6 singles. All were seniors. Nevertheless the beat has gone on for Carolina with two freshmen joining 2006 reserves Taylor Fogleman and Karl Wishart in the starting lineup. The last time the Tar Heels won their first 17 matches was 1970 and the No. 6 ranking equals the highest ever attained by UNC in the national Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll. Yet, the margin for error is a thin one. UNC has been resolute in winning all these close matches and amazingly they have won the doubles point in all 17 matches. The ride may not last forever as the remaining schedule is very difficult. But head coach Sam Paul and his young team should enjoy what they have accomplished so far. This team is the No. 1 surprise story of college tennis so far in 2007. Keep at it Tar Heels.
Francella Ties For Fifth At LPGA's Kraft Nabisco Championsip Former Tar Heel golfer Meaghan Francella, who was one stroke behind the leader going into the final round, tied for fifth place at the LPGA's Kraft Nabisco Championship. Francella fired a two-over-par 74 in the final round for a one-under 287 total to finish just two shots behind champion Morgan Pressel who fired a 69 to grab the title. Francella fired rounds of 72-72-69-74 and tied for fifth place with three others. Francella is in her first full season playing on the LPGA Tour after three appearances in 2006. She captured her first LPGA title three weeks ago winning the MasterCard Classic in Mexico after defeating Annika Soremstam in a four-hole playoff. Francella, who played for the Tar Heels in 2003 and 2004, captured the ACC Championship in 2003 and was a first-team All-America in 2004. Francella Tied For Lead At LPGA Major Former Tar Heel Meaghan Francella is tied for the lead at the LPGA's first major, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, after a birdie on the first hole of today's final round. She is tied with Se Ri Pak and Suzann Pettersen at four-under par. Final round coverage begins at 3 p.m. on CBS. Francella won her first tournament earlier this year with a victory at the MasterCard Classic. Touch Of Class For Flack Tar Heel third baseman Chad Flack continues to be mired in the worst slump of his college career, as he's hitting an uncharacteristic .212 and leads the squad in strikeouts with 15. But Flack quietly had an important game Saturday against Wake Forest. His most notable contribution came at the plate, where he picked up a big 2-out RBI single in the third inning that tied the game 1-1. But his contribution that may have the long-lasting ramifications came in the seventh inning, when the Tar Heels were coming back from a 5-1 deficit. Carolina had already plated three runs and trailed just 5-4 with two outs with Flack due up. Wake had a right-handed pitcher on the mound; Flack is a right-handed batter. In an effort to gain the lefty/righty advantage, head coach Mike Fox turned to freshman Kyle Seager, a lefty hitter. Owing largely to his walk-off home run in Alabama, Flack is probably the most well-known player on the 2007 roster. He's played in every game this season and missed just four in his three-year Tar Heel career. He's not used to being pinch-hit for, no matter what kind of pitcher is on the mound. Mired in a difficult slump, he could have been excused for sulking. But when Seager ripped a two-run triple down the right-field line, the first Tar Heel celebrating out of the dugout was...Chad Flack. That's the kind of selfless approach Mike Fox loves, and it's the kind of team chemistry Carolina rode all the way to Omaha in 2006.
Hatchell Ad Gains Cult Status
ESPN has been running a commercial promoting the NCAA Women's Tournament this season, and Coach Hatchell is prominently featured towards the end, getting her team pumped up by yelling, "Are you ready?" three times. It has become a bit of a cult classic, as do most heavily-run commercials, and she has quite a few fans. "I've had a lot of people when I'm walking down the street and somebody will holler, `Are you ready?' A guy in front of the hotel this morning is hollering at me, `Are you ready?' Actually, I walked into the Kodak this morning and they had all the players in a holding room signing some balls. When I walked in, one of the players came up and she looked at me and said, `Coach, are you ready?' and I said, `Yeah.' She said, `I just had to come talk to you. I love that. That's my favorite part of all the commercials,'" Coach Hatchell said. It's not something she did just for the cameras, though. Immediately before each game, the Tar Heels get in a huddle, pray, and then Hatchell asks, "Are you ready?" three times. The team then says "Beat (insert name of opponent)," then adds "Rebound!" and takes the floor. "I didn't realize they were in the locker room, to tell you the truth, when it happened, but I try to be calm on the sideline so the players will be. But I can get feisty if I need to. It's just something that I've done for the 21 years I've been at North Carolina and it's the last thing out of the locker room just to make sure that we are ready and to show my players my enthusiasm for the game and what we're getting ready to go out on the court and do," Coach Hatchell said. Coach Hatchell provokes all kinds of reactions with this routine. Visiting honorary coaches are often startled by it. Christina Dewitt stands next to Hatchell in the huddle, and over the last two years has gotten quite a kick out of the whole thing. "In the line, we stand together and I'm right next to Coach Hatchell. Before we finish the Lord's Prayer, she already has her hand up getting ready, so I'm just doing what she's doing and I copy what she does. I laugh every time," Dewitt said. The normally mild-mannered Southern coach - both in person and generally on the sidelines - does not seem like the type to get that pumped up, but Ivory Latta insists that she is. "She does things like that. To get us hype, to get us ready for the game, she'll say something real funny and we'll just be like, `What?' Then we'll just bust out laughing, `Okay, Coach, yeah.' We'll just be in here getting ready for the game and she'll get in the middle of the floor and start doing the twist or whatever. `Oh my God, where did that come from?' She's crazy. She busts moves and keeps us smiling," Latta said. Coach Hatchell also likes to give Latta a bit of a bizarre piece of advice: "Dream on, little broomstick cowboy." When asked what that meant, Latta responded, "Exactly. Before I leave, I want to know what that means myself."
Errant Pass Helped Lax Team Win
The events that unfolded at Kenan Stadium Saturday were certainly pleasing to the eye of any Tar Heel fan, particularly those who grew fond of UNC's success in the sport over the past three decades. It was 31 years ago that UNC earned its first NCAA bid and four NCAA titles and 11 ACC crowns later, Saturday's 13-10 win over fifth-ranked Johns Hopkins may have gone a very, very long way in putting the Tar Heels back into NCAA play for only the second time since 1998. Whatever UNC head coach John Haus put in the Koolaid this week it obviously worked. A week ago, the Heels were listless, fell behind 8-1 and were beaten badly at Maryland. This Saturday the Tar Heels fell behind 3-0 but were in the game because goalkeeper Grant Zimmerman made eight first-quarter saves which kept the powerful Blue Jays from building a bigger lead. Carolina rallied, tying the game 6-6 at the half with an explosive second quarter performance. UNC scored first in the second half to take its first lead of the game but Hopkins went on one of its patented runs and moved ahead 9-7 late in the third quarter. In response, UNC struck back with three goals in less than three minutes to regain the lead. After Hopkins tied the game, the momentum changed on an unusual sequence. With 8:15 left, the Tar Heels were whistled for a 30-second holding foul on Tim Kaiser. Zimmerman saved Michael Kimmel's shot eight seconds later and Kimmel ran through the crease on the follow through, giving UNC the ball. The Heels cleared successfully, killed off the penalty and went into their offensive set. As attackman Michael Burns was feeding cross crease from the left side, the pass proved errant but was tracked down by Gavin Petracca just a few feet off the right sideline. Closely guarded by two defensemen, Petracca was able to loft a pass back toward the midline to Brian Connors and the Tar Heels suddenly had a chance in what in lacrosse parlance is called an unsettled situation. With two Hopkins defenders now near the right sideline after chasing the ground ball, Connors quickly found, of all people, Burns , all alone in the middle of the field. The sophomore took the pass and bounced a wicked shot past Hopkins goalie Jesse Schwartzman. That proved to be the the game-winner. Sean Burke and Ben Hunt added goals to build the lead to the closing 13-10 total and Burke's was a thing of utter beauty (go back and watch it on ACC Select). But of all ironies, it was Burns' errant pass that led to Burns' winning goal and the Heels had plenty to celebrate. Dame Fortune smiled on the Tar Heels this day and for the first time since 2000 it was Johns Hopkins that faced back-to-back losses. And Carolina took a big step towards a return to post-season play. |
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