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That makes three straight No. 1 NCAA seeds for Carolina.
It began with perhaps the biggest surprise. Hubert Davis’ third UNC team rebounded from being left out of the 2023 NCAA Tournament field, thanks to Armando Bacot’s return for a fifth season, R.J. Davis’ emergence as the best shooting guard in the country and welcoming transfer starters Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan and freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau.
The overall talent level went up, and if the Tar Heels developed better chemistry on and off the court they would return to the Big Dance. But few were expecting a sweep of Duke, the outright ACC regular-season title and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA West Region, where they advanced to the Sweet 16. The disappointment of losing to Alabama indicated how much they expected to return to the Final Four they almost won in 2022.
The hoop Heels began the postseason on a pseudo home court at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, where they ran off the 16th seed and then ninth-seeded Michigan State.
A month later, after winning their ACC championships, two other Tar Heel teams drew No. 1 NCAA seeds that came with the reward of playing their regional rounds on home grounds that are new and refurbished.
The defending national champion women’s tennis team gets to open its quest to repeat at the new Chewning Tennis Center behind the Friday Center just off campus. Brian Kalbas’ dynamic program has reached its 25th straight NCAA Tournament and is a heavy favorite to beat Navy (24-6) on Friday at 6 p.m. after Wisconsin and William & Mary square off.
The winners meet Saturday to advance to the Super Regional the following weekend, which would be in Chapel Hill if UNC wins and improves on its all-time NCAA record of 62-23.
The men’s golf team, which won its first ACC championship under seventh-year coach Andrew Dibitetto, gets to host 12 other teams and 10 individuals on May 13-15 at the revamped Finley Golf Club course as one of six NCAA No. 1 seeds across the country. Admission is free.
The Tar Heels are led by junior David Ford, who was selected for the second straight year to represent the United States in the Arnold Palmer Cup, an international amateur event on July 5-7 at Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland. Ford also played on winning teams for the U.S. last year in the Walker Cup at the Old Course in St. Andrews and the World Amateur Team Championship in Dubai. Now we get to see Ford and his teammates at home.
And the ACC baseball tournament is still in sight for those Tar Heels.
Featured image via UNC Women’s Tennis on Twitter
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
