North Carolina Tar Heels | |
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Founded | 1996 (varsity) |
University | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Head coach | Jenny Levy (29th season) |
Stadium | Dorrance Field (capacity: 4,200) |
Location | Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
Conference | Atlantic Coast Conference |
Nickname | Tar Heels |
Colors | Carolina blue and white [1] |
NCAA Tournament championships | |
2013, 2016, 2022 | |
NCAA Tournament Runner-Up | |
2009, 2015 | |
NCAA Tournament Final Fours | |
1997, 1998, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 | |
NCAA Tournament appearances | |
1997, 1998,1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 | |
Conference Tournament championships | |
2002, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 | |
Conference regular season championships | |
1998, 2000, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022 |
The North Carolina Tar Heels women's lacrosse team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I women's lacrosse [2] and currently competes as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). [2] The North Carolina women's lacrosse team won the ACC tournament in 2002 and their first Division 1 national championship in 2013. [3]
UNC started a women's lacrosse program in 1994 due to Title IX. [4] Jenny Levy, a recent graduate from the University of Virginia was hired as the head coach. [4] Reflecting on why she was hired Levy stated, “I was 24 years old, and I think I got hired because I was pretty cheap, very ambitious and high energy, I believed in the school and what we could sell here to student-athletes with academic opportunity and great tradition. I focused on what I knew and could do.” [4]
The task of creating a successful women's lacrosse team was challenging; during the preliminary years of the program Levy had only a part-time assistant and a small budget. [5] She still managed to bring in talented recruits, some of which were transfers and some were members of the UNC women's soccer team, which at the time had 14 NCAA Championships in 16 years. [4]
Another obstacle was being a part of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), which had the University of Maryland and the University of Virginia, two established women's lacrosse teams. [5] Levy stated, “we rose pretty quickly, but there was not a lot of foundation, and it is very hard to establish tradition when you are a young program; sitting where I am today, I have learned that it takes a while to establish things that identify with the program that is unique to just that program.” [5]
Although the task at hand was difficult the Tar Heels started out with success early on with a 12–4 record in its first varsity season of 1996. [5] In their second year, UNC made the NCAA semifinals with a 14–4 record, tallying two victories against the Virginia Cavaliers. In UNC's third season, the Tar Heels beat the eventual NCAA champion Maryland two times and reached the semifinals of the NCAA again. [5] By the third season in program history UNC claimed the number 2 overall ranking. [4]
Levy's program grew stronger as years passed and certain perks came along with that success; Levy was granted a full-time assistant and UNC started to increase their athletic support staff overall. [4]
Levy spoke of the early years saying “It was a gradual process of pushing and asking; it was a process for all Carolina sports, and slowly we have made progress with that, but even with it, the athletic program has been very successful.” [4]
The UNC Women's Lacrosse team is in their 19th season of program history. Phil Barnes has served as the Assistant Coach for 10 seasons. [6] Katrina Dowd joined the Tar Heels in 2012–2013 season to help them win their first national championship. [7]
Record | Number | Player | Years |
---|---|---|---|
Goals | 334 | Jamie Ortega | 2018-2022 |
Assists | 233 | Katie Hoeg | 2017-2021 |
Points | 466 | Jamie Ortega | 2018-2022 |
Ground balls | 200 | Jenn Cook | 2004–07 |
Draw controls | 360 | Ally Mastroianni | 2018-2022 |
Saves | 667 | Taylor Moreno | 2018-2022 |
Save % | .592 | Debbie Castine | 1996–99 |
GAA | 6.13 | Debbie Castine | 1996–99 |
Record | Number | Player | Year |
---|---|---|---|
Goals | 82 | Jamie Ortega | 2021 |
Assists | 73 | Katie Hoeg | 2019 |
Points | 113 | Jamie Ortega | 2022 |
Ground balls | 87 | Sarah Dacey | 1997 |
Draw controls | 165 | Marie McCool | 2018 |
Saves | 178 | Caylee Waters | 2017 |
Save % | .602 | Debbie Castine | 1996 1997 |
GAA | 5.52 | Debbie Castine | 1997 |
Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NCAA Division I (Independent)(1996–1996) | |||||||||
1996 | Jenny Levy | 12–4 | |||||||
NCAA Division I (Atlantic Coast Conference)(1997–present) | |||||||||
1997 | Jenny Levy | 14–4 | 2–1 | 2nd | NCAA Semifinal | ||||
1998 | Jenny Levy | 15–3 | 3–0 | 1st | NCAA Semifinal | ||||
1999 | Jenny Levy | 8–7 | 1–2 | T-2nd | NCAA First Round | ||||
2000 | Jenny Levy | 12–6 | 2–1 | T-1st | NCAA Quarterfinal | ||||
2001 | Jenny Levy | 11–7 | 1–2 | 3rd | NCAA Quarterfinal | ||||
2002 | Jenny Levy | 17–3 | 2–1 | 2nd | NCAA Semifinal | ||||
2003 | Jenny Levy | 7–9 | 0–3 | 4th | |||||
2004 | Jenny Levy | 9–7 | 0–3 | 4th | |||||
2005 | Jenny Levy | 14–6 | 2–2 | T-2nd | NCAA Quarterfinal | ||||
2006 | Jenny Levy | 13–6 | 4–1 | T-1st | NCAA Quarterfinal | ||||
2007 | Jenny Levy | 16–5 | 3–2 | T-2nd | NCAA Quarterfinal | ||||
2008 | Jenny Levy | 13–7 | 2–3 | T-3rd | NCAA Quarterfinal | ||||
2009 | Jenny Levy | 16–5 | 4–1 | 2nd | NCAA Runner-up | ||||
2010 | Jenny Levy | 17–3 | 4–1 | T-1st | NCAA Semifinal | ||||
2011 | Jenny Levy | 15–6 | 3–2 | 3rd | NCAA Semifinal | ||||
2012 | Jenny Levy | 15–4 | 5–0 | 1st | NCAA Quarterfinal | ||||
2013 | Jenny Levy | 18–3 | 4–1 | 2nd | NCAA Champions | ||||
2014 | Jenny Levy | 15–5 | 5–2 | 2nd | NCAA Quarterfinal | ||||
2015 | Jenny Levy | 18–4 | 6–1 | 1st | NCAA Runner-up | ||||
2016 | Jenny Levy | 20–2 | 7–0 | 1st | NCAA Champions | ||||
2017 | Jenny Levy | 17–3 | 7–0 | 1st | NCAA Quarterfinal | ||||
2018 | Jenny Levy | 17–4 | 6–1 | 2nd | NCAA Semifinal | ||||
2019 | Jenny Levy | 17–4 | 5–2 | 2nd | NCAA Semifinal | ||||
2020 | Jenny Levy | 7–0 | 2–0 | 1st | Cancelled | ||||
2021 | Jenny Levy | 20–1 | 9–0 | 1st | NCAA Semifinal | ||||
2022 | Jenny Levy | 22–0 | 8–0 | 1st | NCAA Champions | ||||
2023 | Jenny Levy | 16–5 | 7–2 | 2nd | NCAA Quarterfinal | ||||
2024 | Jenny Levy | 10-7 | 6-3 | 3rd | NCAA First Round | ||||
Total: | 421–130 (.764) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion |
When asked about constructing a national championship-type team, Head Coach Levy stated that “its not just a one-year thing for us." [9] The team expects success because they have been a perennial final four team for the past 5 years. [9] Even though they had not won a national title until 2013 they expect to be in a position to do so year in and year out. [9] She stressed the importance of the recruiting process; the team consists of not only talented lacrosse players, but also hard workers with an ability to sacrifice self-interest for the team. The freshmen are expected to be on “a constant ascension of personal development, athletically, academically, and in the community." [9]
The 2013 Tar Heels had a small senior class with only 5 players [3] and ended their previous season with an early loss in the post season (their first time not making it to the final-four in three years). [3] This was the first year that Katrina Dowd joined the coaching staff to help build a dynamic attacking unit. [7] This was a young team with a lot of change going into the 2013 season. In the season opener against The University of Florida, the Tar Heels lost 5–3. [3] The team went on an 11-game winning streak after the loss to Florida, but the margins of victory were not very large. [3] Their most notable win during the 11 game winning streak was their 11–8 win over the reigning national champions, Northwestern. The Tar Heels went on to defeat every team they played besides Maryland once in regular season (April 6) and once in the ACC Championship (April 28). [3] These two losses were crucial to the team's success in the NCAA tournament because they eventually took down the Terrapins in a triple-overtime thriller to secure their first national championship in the 18-year program history. [3]
When Jenny Levy was asked: "What’s it going to take for UNC to repeat as national champions?" she responded "Nothing’s changed, but everything has changed. We’re a tough group, and I think more than anything this championship is a tipping point for us because it validates what we’ve always talked about. [9] Now our players have experienced that and they won’t forget that. [9] We’re going to enjoy the championship right now but we’ll begin again in August and we’ll start from the very beginning and work our way back up. It took a lot of hard work, a lot of belief and a lot of trust and I think those lessons will stay with us for a long time." [9]
2013 Season Performance
Date | Team | Outcome | |
---|---|---|---|
Feb 09 | Florida | 3–5 (L) | [3] |
Feb 15 | Towson | 9–6(W) | [3] |
Feb 17 | Richmond | 14–7(W) | [3] |
Feb 22 | Northwestern | 11–8(W) | [3] |
Mar 02 | Penn | 11–5(W) | [3] |
Mar 09 | Virginia | 8–7(W) | [3] |
Mar 12 | High Point | 15–6(W) | [10] |
Mar 16 | Georgetown | 17–11(W) | [3] |
Mar 20 | Cornell | 11–10(W) | [3] |
Mar 23 | Boston College | 19–11(W) | [3] |
Mar 28 | Duke | 12–11(W) OT | [3] |
Mar 30 | Virginia Tech | 18–11(W) | [3] |
Apr 06 | Maryland | 13–14(L) | [3] |
Apr 12 | Jacksonville | 16–4(W) | [3] |
Apr 20 | Vanderbilt | 20–5(W) | [3] |
Apr 26 | Boston College | 16–6(W) | [3] |
Apr 28 | Maryland | 8–12(L) | [3] |
May 12 | Loyola | 19–9(W) | [3] |
May 18 | Virginia | 13–9(W) | [3] |
May 24 | Northwestern | 11–4(W) | [3] |
May 26 | Maryland | 13–12(W)(30T) | ' [3] |
First Team All Americans
Tewaaraton Finalists
The Tar Heels have appeared in 24 NCAA tournaments. Their postseason record is 42–21. [12]
Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | – | Quarterfinal Semifinal | Virginia Loyola (MD) | W, 12–11 (ot) L, 8–10 |
1998 | #2 | Quarterfinal Semifinal | Temple #3 Maryland | W, 10–9 L, 9–14 |
1999 | – | First Round | Georgetown | L, 6–7 |
2000 | #4 | Quarterfinal | Loyola (MD) | L, 5–7 |
2001 | #6 | First Round Quarterfinal | #11 Syracuse #3 Georgetown | W, 14–9 L, 4–10 |
2002 | #3 | First Round Quarterfinal Semifinal | UMBC Virginia #2 Princeton | W, 22–6 W, 14–13 (2ot) L, 2–16 |
2005 | – | First Round Quarterfinal | #7 Penn State #2 Duke | W, 7–6 (3ot) L, 7–15 |
2006 | #5 | First Round Quarterfinal | Maryland #4 Northwestern | W, 9–6 L, 6–17 |
2007 | #6 | First Round Quarterfinal | Richmond #3 Virginia | W, 14–7 L, 8–14 |
2008 | – | First Round Quarterfinal | #4 Virginia #5 Syracuse | W, 11–7 L, 11–13 |
2009 | #3 | First Round Quarterfinal Semifinal Final | Towson #6 Notre Dame #2 Maryland #1 Northwestern | W, 15–4 W, 16–10 W, 8–7 L, 7–21 |
2010 | #3 | First Round Quarterfinal Semifinal | Navy #6 Virginia #2 Northwestern | W, 18–5 W, 17–7 L, 10–15 |
2011 | #3 | First Round Quarterfinal Semifinal | Virginia #6 Loyola (MD) #2 Northwestern | W, 15–7 W, 16–13 L, 10–11 |
2012 | #5 | First Round Quarterfinal | Navy #4 Syracuse | W, 14–7 L, 16–17 |
2013 | #3 | Second Round Quarterfinal Semifinal Final | Loyola (MD) Virginia #2 Northwestern #1 Maryland | W, 19–9 W, 13–9 W, 11–4 W, 13–12 (3ot) |
2014 | #3 | Second Round Quarterfinal | Georgetown #6 Virginia | W, 10–8 L, 9–10 |
2015 | #2 | Second Round Quarterfinal Semifinal Final | Florida Penn State #3 Duke #1 Maryland | W, 11–6 W, 11–8 W, 16–7 L, 8–9 |
2016 | #3 | Second Round Quarterfinal Semifinal Final | Duke #6 Notre Dame Penn State #1 Maryland | W, 15–10 W, 10–6 W, 12–11 W, 13–7 |
2017 | #2 | Second Round Quarterfinal | Virginia Navy | W, 23–12 L, 14–16 |
2018 | #2 | Second Round Quarterfinal Semifinal | Virginia Tech Northwestern #3 James Madison | W, 17–8 W, 19–14 L, 12–15 |
2019 | #3 | Second Round Quarterfinal Semifinal | Florida Virginia Boston College | W, 15–11 W, 14-7 L, 14–15 (2ot) |
2021 | #1 | Second Round Quarterfinal Semifinal | James Madison #8 Stony Brook #4 Boston College | W, 14–9 W, 14–11 L, 10–11 |
2022 | #1 | Second Round Quarterfinal Semifinal Final | Virginia #8 Stony Brook #4 Northwestern #3 Boston College | W, 24–2 W, 8–5 W, 15–14 W, 12–11 |
2023 | #4 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinal | Sacred Heart Richmond #5 Denver | W, 16–5 W, 16–12 L, 4–5 |
Phil Barnes
Katrina Dowd
Karen Christina Shelton is an American former field hockey player and coach. Shelton served as head coach of the University of North Carolina's field hockey program from 1981 until her retirement in 2022. She was a member of the U.S. National Team from 1977 to 1984 and a starter on the team that won the bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. She attended West Chester State and was a member of four NCAA championship winning teams. Shelton also qualified for the 1980 Olympic team but did not compete due to the Olympic Committee's boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia. As consolation, she was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal many years later.
Robert Fetzer Field was a stadium located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and was the home of the lacrosse and soccer teams of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the North Carolina Tar Heels. The four teams that called Fetzer field their home have a combined total of 26 national championships.
The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the Tar Heel State. The campus at Chapel Hill is referred to as the University of North Carolina for the purposes of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Since the school fostered the oldest collegiate team in the Carolinas, the school took on the nickname Carolina, especially in athletics. The Tar Heels are also referred to as UNC or The Heels.
The North Carolina Tar Heels men's lacrosse team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's lacrosse. North Carolina currently competes as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and plays its home games at Fetzer Field and Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Their main rivalry series is with fellow ACC member Duke.
Elmar Bolowich was most recently head coach of the George Mason Patriots men's soccer team at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, United States. He was previously the head coach of the Creighton Bluejays men's soccer team at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska for eight years after leaving his 22-year tenure as the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer team at the University of North Carolina.
The North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in men's NCAA Division I soccer competition. They compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tar Heels won the NCAA championship in 2001 and 2011.
The 2013 North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team are representing the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the 2013 NCAA Division I baseball season. Head Coach Mike Fox is in his 15th year coaching the Tar Heels. They play their home games at Bryson Field at Boshamer Stadium and are members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Marcus Holman is an American professional lacrosse player for Cannons Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League and an assistant coach for the Utah Utes men's lacrosse team. Holman was an attackman for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. He was UNC's all-time leading scorer until Joey Sankey surpassed him during the 2015 season.
The 2014 ACC men's and women's lacrosse conferences included six teams, up from four in 2013. Notre Dame and Syracuse joined the ACC in July 2013. This was the only year that the ACC men's lacrosse conference included these six teams as Maryland left the ACC for the Big Ten at the end of the 2014 season. The finalists from the 2013 NCAA championship game are in the ACC conference in 2014, Duke and Syracuse. Additionally, all six teams were included in the Top 10 of the Lacrosse Magazine preseason ranking. The 2014 ACC men's lacrosse conference included teams that at the time had won 23 national championships and had 45 appearances in the title game.
The 2014 ACC women's and men's lacrosse conferences will include Notre Dame and Syracuse after those teams joined the ACC in July 2013. The 2014 ACC women's lacrosse conference will now include eight teams. This will be the only year that the ACC women's lacrosse conference will include these eight teams as Maryland will leave the ACC for the Big Ten at the end of the 2014 season. Boston College plays in the women's ACC conference, but not the men's conference.
The 2000–01 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2000–01 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Matt Doherty. The team captain for this season was Brendan Haywood. The team played its home games in the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The 2018 North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 72nd season of the university fielding a program.
The Duke–North Carolina lacrosse rivalry is an intercollegiate lacrosse rivalry between the Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels. Located just 9.8 miles apart on Tobacco Road, the two programs are classic rivals in the Atlantic Coast Conference, headlined by their basketball and football rivalries, but also extending to lacrosse - even club lacrosse. The rivalry has carried national importance itself since the 1990s, leading to numerous thrilling contests between the two in the ACC and NCAA postseason tournaments. Duke leads the ACC series 9–4 and has compiled a perfect 4–0 mark against the heels in NCAA tournament play. Current Heels coach Joe Breschi summed up the rivalry as "when you’re 12 miles away from a school that you don’t like and doesn’t like you, it makes it more intense. There’s so much more meaning there than any other game. That’s what makes winning that much more sweet." In 2019, his counterpart Duke head coach John Danowski described the annual challenge of facing UNC: "They're really good. They're very well-coached, they get the best players in the country year after year, they have the top recruiting classes, and they hate Duke." As a testament to the national success between the two schools, the Blue Devils have won three national titles, while the Tar Heels lay claim to five. As of the end of the 2023 season, North Carolina leads the series 43–37.
The 2020 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2020 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. It was the 44th season of the university fielding a program. The Tar Heels were led by 44th year head coach Anson Dorrance.
The 2021 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a member of Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tar Heels were led by head coach Mack Brown, who was in the third season of his second stint at North Carolina and his 13th overall season at the university. The team played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium.
Jenny Levy is an American college lacrosse coach and former player who has been the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels women's lacrosse program since its inception in 1994. She has led North Carolina to three NCAA championships and has twice been named the National Coach of the Year. She was also named as the head coach of the United States women's national lacrosse team in November 2017. She was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2021.
Elizabeth Scotty is an American tennis player. She played college tennis for the North Carolina Tar Heels, with which she won the 2023 NCAA team championship. She won three national doubles titles: at the NCAA championship with Makenna Jones in 2021 and at the ITA National Fall Championships with Fiona Crawley in 2021 and Reese Brantmeier in 2023.
The 2021 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2021 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. It was the 45th season of the university fielding a program. The Tar Heels were led by 45th year head coach Anson Dorrance and played their home games at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The 2022–23 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by Hubert Davis, who was in his second year as UNC's head coach. The Tar Heels played their home games at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The 2022 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2022 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. It was the 46th season of the university fielding a program. The Tar Heels were led by 46th year head coach Anson Dorrance and played their home games at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.