Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Dec. 4, 2008, edition 1 / Page 14
Part of Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
PAGE 14 RESULTS DREAMS WITHIN REACH BY MIKE EHRLICH SPORTSATURDAY EDITOR Butch Davis was brought to North Carolina to turn around a floundering football program. And in only two seasons in the driver’s seat, he has done j ust that. After tallying a 4-8 record in 2007, Davis and the Tar Heels flip-flopped the results for an 8-4 record in year two. It was the first time North Carolina had won eight games in the regular season since 1997 and left UNC bowl-game-bound for the first time in four years. “I think for a program to grow and to make improvement, it takes an awful lot. It takes a ton of heart, and it takes a ton of work by the players and the coaches,” Davis said after the season finale win against Duke. “If we’re going to be the football program that we all want to be, it’s going to take everybody. And this was a great step forward.” It was truly a pivotal season for the developing football program. The only thing that will leave Davis and UNC fans scratching their heads this offseason is that it could have been even better. What if quarterback T. J. Yates hadn’t broken his ankle in the third game of the season, leading to a sec ond-half collapse by the Tar Heels? What if explosive receiver and returner Brandon Tate hadn’t suffered a season-ending injury against Notre Dame? What if the Tar Heels hadn’t let a second-half lead to Virginia slip away, and what if they hadn’t coughed up the football six times in a 41-10 drubbing at the hands of N.C. State? And what if UNC, in control of its own destiny in the race for the ACC Coastal Division crown, hadn’t stumbled in two of its last three games? Whatever the possibilities, the Tar Heels still have plenty to look back fondly on from the 2008 season. UNC hoops on top in 2008 Final Four sparks success in ’OB-09 BY DAVID ELY SENIOR WRITER It’s been quite a rocky road to No. 1 for the North Carolina men’s basketball team. In May, forward Alex Stepheson transferred in order to be closer to his ailing father. And for nearly two months, Wayne Ellington, Danny Green and Ty Lawson toyed with entering their names into the 2008 NBA Draft before ultimately deciding to return to Chapel Hill. But once the trio announced that they’d be back, there was little doubt that the Tar Heels would begin the season as the clear-cut favorite. “I enjoy it a lot more than no targets being on your back,” said coach Roy Williams of the high MEN'S SPORTS CROSS COUNTRY 15th: Best finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional—sophomore Evan Watchempino ran a time of 31:05.6 in the 10k. 11th: Place the UNC men finished in the NCAA Southeast Regional. FENCING 17th: Team's finish in the NCAA cham pionships in Columbus, Ohio. Bobby Zeichmann: Finished 18th at the NCAAs in his third year at the NCAAs. The junior finished highest of the three Tar Heel men at the event. GOLF: 15th: UNC's finish at the NCAA West Regional. The Tar Heels shot a three-day total of 895 in Bremerton, Wash. 14: Number of rounds under par for UNC's Kevin O'Connell, who was ACC Freshman of the Year. LACROSSE Coaching change: Joe Breschi, a 1990 UNC alumnus and first-team All-American defenseman, was named head coach. 8-6: Final record of the 2008 squad, which was upset 8-7 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by unseeded Navy on Fetzer Field. SUMMING AND DIVING 2nd; Tar Heels' ACC finish, the highest since 2001. jj§ Kinderwater: Earned a spot on CHECK DAILYTARHEEL.COM FOR GAME UPDATES I Sportsßeview FOOTBALL 8-4, bowl destination to be decided Dec. 7 There was the emergence of the thunder and lightning combina tion at tailback the power of Ryan Houston and the speed of Shaun Draughn. And Hakeem Nicks put up a record-setting campaign. He became UNC’s first-ever 1,000- yard receiver and moved into first place in school history in receiving yards —as a junior. “He is one of the unique, special guys I have seen that the bigger the moment and the bigger the stage, the better he plays,” Davis said. Don’t forget Trimane Goddard’s seven interceptions, tied for the best in the nation and including a last-second game-saver in a big win against Miami. Or Bruce Carter’s three blocked punts in one quarter against Connecticut. Or the land mark victory against Notre Dame. The 2008 season was marked by transition, and UNC’s record wasn’t the only thing to evolve. After four-year starting kicker Connor Barth moved on to the NFL, younger brother Casey stepped into the starting role. Middle linebacker Mark Paschal, a senior, guided two young stand outs, Carter and Quan Sturdivant, into prominence on his flanks. Even Cameron Sexton, the oft criticized veteran quarterback, filled in admirably before hand ing the reigns back to the younger Yates to close out the year. The regular season began with a win, and it ended with another. The Tar Heels closed the season with a 28-20 win against rival Duke, but even in the aftermath of the victory, Goddard still found some perspective. After all, the Tar Heels will go bowling before the calendar turns. “It’s just a great win for our pro gram,” the safety said. “Still got one more game and unfinished business —and we look forward to that” Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu. expectations surrounding his team during UNC’s October media day. “I like having the target on our back. It think it makes us play to a higher standard each and every day, concentrate to a higher stan dard, can’t take any days off. “I’ve said many times, if every body’s saying you’re gonna be pretty good, you’ve probably got a chance to be pretty good.” But in the months leading up to UNC’s unanimous No. 1 ranking in the preseason polls, the injury bug hit North Carolina in a big way. In early October, forward Marcus Ginyard had surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. The senior is not expected to play until next semester. “You know, you’re losing your best defender,” Williams said. “A guy who gets more little cheap baskets, offensive rebounds, steals than anybody on your club.” the U.S. National Team after finishing third in a 10K meet at U.S. Open Water Championships in Minneapolis, Minn. Seconds short Sophomore Chip Peterson missed a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team by 2.2 seconds in a 10K swim. He finished 13th; only the top 10 qualified. SOCCER . OTH FILE/GRACE KOERBER 2005: The last time North Carolina advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Brian Shriver: Named to the All-ACC first team. Shriver has 31 points (13 goals, five assists) to this point in 2008. Visit dailytarheel.com for the full story on the squad's run in NCAAs. TENNIS: Sustained success: The Tar Heels fin ished 21 -6, the fourth time in five years UNC eclipsed 20 wins. No. 12: UNC's final national ranking. TRACK ft FIELD 42nd: UNC's finish in the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, lowa. www.dailytarheel.com nnpr jt • , . • DTH FILE/ANTHONY HARRIS Junior wideout Hakeem Nicks has provided many of the brightest spots in an up-and-down UNC season. Nicks became the Tar Heels' first-ever 1,000- yard receiver, and he's used his stiff arm as a nice way to get a few extra. "The stiff-arm has always kind of stuck with me since high school," he said. UNC's 'OB run ends in Final Four APRIL 7. SAN ANTONIO North Carolina came to the Alamodome with dreams of a national title. But after 14 minutes of play that Saturday, those dreams were dashed. Instead, UNC saw Kansas Jayhawks who stole the ball, raced downcourt and dropped in layup after layup. Try as they might to mount a comeback, the Tar Heels tired out before they could complete the task, falling to Kansas 84-66 in the Final Four. Then Tyler Hansbrough sat out the first few games because of a stress reaction in his right shin. The reigning national player of the year now has played in three games and sat out two others since his return. HOW THE TAR HEELS FARED IN 2008 - 53'3”: Length cleared by Austin Davis in the championships in the triple jump. Charles Cox: Won the 400-meter dash title en route to winning ACC Track Rookie of the Year. WRESTLING Justin Dobies: The junior ACC Champion at heavyweight won three straight matches at the NCAA Championships after losing his first match. Dobies fin ished one loss shy of All-America. 3rd: Finish at the ACC Championships. UNC had five wrestlers place first or sec ond in College Park, Md. WOMEN'S SPORTS BASKETBALL ill ' l-MW DTH FILE/STEPHANIE TAN 1: Preseason ACC ranking for UNC, the first in the past four years. Eriana Larkins: senior forward in 2008, who graduated as an All-American and led the Tar Heels to the NCAA sweet sixteen. Visit dailytarheel.com for the full MEN'S BASKETBALL 36-3, loss in Final Four "This bunch did some great great things," coach Roy Williams said. ‘But we're extremely disappointed right now, because we had a big ger dream." ► 40-12: Kansas' largest lead, with 6:48 left in the first half ► 29 percent: UNC's shooting percentage in the first half ► 54.5 percent: Kansas' shooting percentage in the first half ► 42-33: Kansas' rebounding advantage against UNC To make matters worse, UNC lost one of its top freshmen forward Tyler Zeller to a broken left wrist Nov. 18 against Kentucky. SEE BASKETBALL, PAGE 13 story on the squad's season. CROSS COUNTRY 2: Number of All-Americas for UNC. Senior Brie Felnagle and junior Lauren Holesh became just the third pair of Tar Heels to earn the honor in the same year. 6th: Finish for the UNC women at the ACC Championships. Felnagle and Holesh each placed in the top 5. 3rd: Team finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional. Felnagle (2nd) and Holesh (4th) led UNC yet again. FIELD HOCKEY DTH FILE/ZACH GUTTERMAN 16: Danielle Forword: Scored 16 goals in an injury-shortened season, five more than any other Tar Heel. 2: Departing seniors on the 2008 Tar Heels' roster. Britt van Beek and Kate Scholl com bined to register 15 goals and 12 assists. Visit dailytarheei.com to read the full story on the field hockey season. GOLF Sally Austin: The long-time coach announced her retirement Nov. 12, lath) (Tar Hwl THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2008 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 33-3, loss in Elite Eight Heels make it to CWS for 3rd year BY POWELL LATIMER ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR It’s almost a routine by now. For the past three years, the North Carolina baseball team has been on a flight to Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series. And each of the past three years, UNC came ever so close to winning. The year 2008 was no excep tion, as the Tar Heels steam rolled through the regular sea son without losing a single series and compiled a record 54 wins. That dominance extended into ACC play, where the Diamond Heels downed conference power houses Florida State and Miami The Hurricanes were even SEE BASEBALL, PAGE 13 effective after the 2008-09 season. 19th: Finish for the team at NCAA West Regional in May. The squad shot a three-day total of 914, led by Sydney Crane's 221. GYMNASTICS 194.185: The Tar Heels' final regional qualifying score. UNC advanced to the Southeast Regional and placed sixth. Injuries: UNC used five gymnasts for much of the season but were led by Christine Nguyen, named EAGL Gymnast of the Year. LACROSSE Carrier Dome: The host Syracuse Orange ended North Carolina's 13-7 season in the NCAA quarterfinals with a narrow 13-11 win. World Cup: Midfielder Erica LaGrow and defender Amber Falcone earned spots on the U.S. training team for the 2009 Federation of International Lacrosse Women's World Cup. ROWING 4th: North Carolina's finish at the ACC Championship Regatta. The team's best finish ever. All-ACC: Two Tar Heels, senior Lisy Mdntee and Ruby Woodside, earned all-conference honors. SOFTBALL 13: North Carolina's highest ranking, which came at the end of the season. Struggles at home: The Tar Heels failed DTH FILE/DAVID ENARSON Second baseman Kyle Seager hit nine home runs and a team-high 75 RBI in UNC's 2008 campaign. to make it out of the NCAA regional in Chapel Hill, losing to unranked BYU and Campbell. SWIMMING ft DIVING Whitney Sprague: Placed second at the NCAA Championships in the 1650-meter freestyle with a time of 15:57.77. 32nd: The team's finish (a tie) at the championships. TENNIS 3-4: The team score of the Tar Heels' final match of their season. With the loss to No. 17 Arkansas, UNC missed out on a trip to the Sweet 16. UNC trailed 2-0 early, but rallied to almost defeat the Razorbacks. Ail-Conference duo: North Carolina's Sanaz Marand and Katrina Tsang each earned a spot on the all-conference team. TRACK ft FIELD 7th: North Carolina junior Brie Felnagle earned the seventh All-America honor of her career at the 2008 NCAA Championships by finishing ninth in the 1500-meterrun. VOLLEYBALL Champs: The Tar Heels won the ACC Championship, clinching the title with a win against rival N.C. State. 300: North Carolina senior Lauren Prussing is just four kills shy of 300 for the season heading into the NCAA Tournament.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 4, 2008, edition 1
14
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75