By the way, Erin Matson will be back next season, too.

With all the hoopla and anticipation of eligible basketball players returning to try for a repeat trip to the Final Four, someone else in the Carolina pantheon of stars is coming back as a super senior.

Three-time national field hockey player of the year Erin Matson is taking advantage of the extra season COVID-19 gave all varsity athletes playing at the time.

“Yes, I will be repping the interlocking NC for one more season. WHOOP! WHOOP!” she said.

While Matson may have had another sterling 2021, her Tar Heels fell short of winning a fourth consecutive NCAA championship, settling for another ACC tournament trophy on the way to early elimination from the NCAA playoffs.

That may have played a role in the decision by Matson, who enjoys her life as a student and athlete as much as anyone who has ever played at that level.

Right now, Matson is in Argentina — one of her favorite countries among the two dozen or so she has visited in her playing career — with the USA Team. While she has loved them all, New Zealand is at the very top of her international rankings.

She will travel more over the summer but loves coming back to Chapel Hill almost as much as getting on a 727 and jetting around the world, as she has since becoming a 13-year-old travel team standout.

Matson has her routine that includes her favorite coffee shop, her private places to study, and hanging out with her boyfriend and teammates. She started writing a blog (Simply Erin) for one of her classes, and it has caught on with thousands of visitors to her Instagram site.

A regular student, Matson was among the throng of her peers and other Tar Heel fans in the Franklin Street celebration of Carolina’s journey to and through the Final Four.

In the fall, she will undoubtedly add to her plethora of school and national records for the Tar Heels of coach Karen Shelton, who will try to get back to their own Final Four for the fourth time in the now five years Matson has been their leader and star.

WHOOP! WHOOP!

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