UNC's Erin Matson and Austin O'Connor Named 2023 Patterson Medal Winners

Erin Matson and Austin O’Connor have been named as the 2023 winners of UNC’s Patterson Medal, which honors the school’s most outstanding student-athletes.

Matson played five seasons with the UNC field hockey program and ended four of them — including her final campaign in 2022 — as a national champion. Matson’s career accomplishments place her among the best student-athletes in any sport at UNC. She was named National Player of the Year three times, ACC Player of the Year five times and a first team All-American five times. The ACC named Matson as its Female Athlete of the Year in 2019 and ACC Network named her as one of the 10 best female athletes in the history of the conference.

Matson played 101 career games with Carolina, and the Tar Heels finished with a 95-6 record in those games (including a 46-0 home record and 15-1 NCAA Tournament record). She is the seventh field hockey player to win a Patterson Medal.

“Everyone who has been around Carolina for a while appreciates the great significance of the Patterson Medal — it’s presented to the best of the best,” said former UNC head coach Karen Shelton. “Erin set a new standard for our program and achieved so much success, in the form of both team championships and individual honors. She’s a phenomenal talent but also an extremely driven person, and that made her great.”

Matson now serves has the field hockey program’s head coach, having taken over for the recently-retired Shelton in January.

O’Connor won two national championships for the UNC wrestling program, becoming the first Tar Heel wrestler to win multiple titles since T.J. Jaworsky in 1993, 1994 and 1995. O’Connor was named ACC Wrestler of the Year twice and won three conference championships. He finished his career 31-3 against conference foes.

In national competitions, O’Connor earned All-America status five times and won national titles in 2021 and 2023. O’Connor also earned two Scholar All-America awards while earning both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree at Carolina. He is the fifth Tar Heel wrestler to win the Patterson Medal and first since Rob Koll in 1988.

“Austin has represented UNC, Carolina Athletics and our wrestling program at an exceptional level on the mat, as well as in the classroom and community,” said UNC head coach Coleman Scott. “We are proud and excited to see him win a Patterson Medal. People will remember Austin as one who helped changed the trajectory of our program for this generation, and he will rightly be remembered as our first five-time All-America and a two-time national champion.”

The Patterson Medal has been presented annually since 1924. Recipients of the award must have competed in at least three seasons for the Tar Heels and concluded their collegiate eligibility. While career athletic accomplishments are the primary factors in selecting winners, sportsmanship and leadership are also considered.

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Anthony Sorbellini

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UNC’s Erin Matson and Austin O’Connor Named 2023 Patterson Medal Winners

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