The UNC women’s lacrosse team will begin the upcoming 2020 campaign with a target on its back, as the Tar Heels were ranked No. 1 in the Inside Lacrosse Preseason Top 20 rankings released on Friday.

Coming off the 11th Final Four appearance in program history–not to mention a fourth consecutive ACC Tournament title–UNC received 11 of the 12 potential first-place votes and is primed for a big year behind stars Jamie Ortega and Katie Hoeg.

Behind the Tar Heels in the top five are No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 Northwestern, No. 4 Syracuse and No. 5 Boston College.

The rest of the top 10 consists of: No. 6 Princeton, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 8 Michigan, No. 9 Virginia and No. 10 Denver.

In total, the ACC has six teams ranked among the top 20–with Duke taking home the final spot in the rankings at No. 20, joining UNC, Syracuse, Boston College, Notre Dame and Virginia.

The Tar Heels are set to begin their regular season on the road Feb. 8 against No. 16 James Madison.

 

 

 

Photo via UNC Athletics

Related Stories
‹
UNC Women's Sports Programs Win 2024-25 Capital One Cup
UNC has been named the winner of the 2024-25 Capital One Cup, awarded annually to the most successful women’s athletic program of the season. The winner is determined by accumulating points in a combination of NCAA championship wins and major poll finishes. Four women’s sports programs at UNC – field hockey, soccer, lacrosse and tennis […]
Check Out the Complete Schedule for UNC's 'ACC Network Takeover' July 8
The ACC Network will feature 24 hours of Tar Heel highlights from the 2024-25 athletic year Tuesday as part of its annual “ACC Network Takeover.” Programming begins at midnight and lasts through 11:59 p.m. Featured games include the women’s basketball team’s win against No. 10 NC State at Carmichael Arena back in February. Those who […]
UNC Finishes 4th in Learfield Directors' Cup Standings; Best Finish in 16 Years
UNC finished fourth in the final standings for the 2024-25 Learfield Directors’ Cup, which measures achievements across 19 different sports. The fourth-place finish is UNC’s best in the last 16 seasons. The Tar Heels accrued 1,195.25 points in the standings. The only schools ahead of UNC were No. 1 Texas (which won its fourth title […]
UNC's Chloe Humphrey Wins Honda Sport Award for Lacrosse
UNC star freshman Chloe Humphrey has been named the 2025 winner of the Honda Sport Award for lacrosse. The Honda Sport Award honors the national players of the year in all collegiate women’s sports. Honda Humphrey 🤌 Chloe Humphrey is this year’s winner of the Honda Sport Award for Lacrosse! pic.twitter.com/VctEuZGEEB — UNC Women's Lacrosse […]
UNC Women's Lacrosse Star Chloe Humphrey Wins Tewaaraton Award, National Player of the Year
UNC women's lacrosse star Chloe Humphrey was named the winner of the 2025 Tewaaraton Award as the top women's lacrosse player in the nation.
Just How Good Was UNC Women's Lacrosse in 2025? Here Are the Numbers
The UNC women’s lacrosse team finished off a perfect season by beating No. 3 Northwestern 12-8 to win its fourth national championship this past weekend. It’s UNC’s second perfect season in the last four years. The 22-0 overall record alone is impressive. But there are several other statistics which speak to just how dominant the […]
Chansky's Notebook: Tar Heel Trifecta
It was hard to leave the TV screen on a scintillating Sunday across UNC women's lacrosse, baseball and golf.
UNC Women's Lacrosse Beats No. 3 Northwestern to Win 4th National Championship
Jenny Levy and the Tar Heels are back on top. No. 1 UNC completed its second undefeated season in four years with a 12-8 win against No. 3 Northwestern in the national championship game Sunday afternoon in Foxboro, MA. It’s the fourth NCAA title in program history. The Dream Is Now Reality 🏆 Your Tar […]
Huge Run Helps UNC Women's Lacrosse Crush No. 4 Florida in NCAA Semifinals
Carolina is national championship-bound. No. 1 UNC scored 18 unanswered goals across the second, third and fourth quarters against No. 4 Florida in the NCAA semifinals in Foxboro, MA Friday afternoon, and the Tar Heels overcame an early deficit to cruise to a 20-4 win. On to the ‘Ship 🚀 pic.twitter.com/Sm4Ug112z4 — UNC Women's Lacrosse […]
UNC Women's Lacrosse in the National Championship: How to Watch, Cord-Cutting Options and Start Time
The UNC women’s lacrosse team will continue its pursuit of a fourth national championship when it travels to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA for the NCAA Final Four this weekend. Carolina will face No. 3 Northwestern in the national title game Sunday. The Tar Heels are 21-0 and are the consensus No. 1 team in […]
›