T H E
ISSUE XVII
O F F I C I A L
M A G A Z I N E
O F
T H E
R A M S
C L U B
F o r e v H e r TA R H E E L S
CELEBRATING WOMEN’S ATHLETICS
YOU PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO BECOME ForevHer TAR HEELS. READ MORE ABOUT THE NEWLY-LAUNCHED FOREVHER TAR HEELS INITIATIVE ON PAGE 22, OR VISIT FOREVHERTARHEELS.COM. P.O. BOX 2446 | CHAPEL HILL, NC 27515 | (919) 843-2000 | RAMSCLUB.COM |
@THERAMSCLUB
WELCOME
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Letter from the Editor
It’s pretty incredible, when you think about it. Twenty years ago, Gatorade had the world’s most famous male athlete, Michael Jordan, under contract. They wanted to do a commercial that paired him with the world’s most famous female athlete for an “Anything you can do, I can do better” theme. Their choice, out of every female athlete on the planet, was Mia Hamm — another Tar Heel. The odds that one athletic department would produce the two biggest names in sports at an exact moment in time are astronomical. But there they were, Jordan having recently polished off the last of his six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls, and Hamm in the world spotlight due to America’s title at the 1999 World Cup. Two Tar Heels. Two athletes on a first-name basis with the world. Michael and Mia … or perhaps, at certain junctures in sports history, Mia and Michael. The focus of this issue of Born & Bred is the broad-based athletic program that has allowed Carolina to enjoy that type of worldwide impact. The numbers, which you’ll find throughout this issue, are incredible. The Tar Heels have won 121 Atlantic Coast Conference championships in women’s sports. Their next two closest competitors, Duke and Virginia, have a combined 109. If Carolina women’s
PRODUCED BY THE RAMS CLUB EDITOR IN CHIEF ADAM LUCAS CONTRIBUTING WRITERS PAT JAMES & LEE PACE PHOTOGRAPHY JEFFREY CAMARATI, GRAHAM TERHUNE (ANAGRAM PHOTOGRAPHY), LPGA & UNC ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS DESIGN JUJUBE SPORTS PUBLISHING
sports were an athletic department all their own — without any contributions from men’s teams — they would still have the sixth-most conference championships of any current ACC member, and would trail the entire Duke athletic department by just two. It’s a legacy that has been created by innovative, committed coaches such as Anson Dorrance, Karen Shelton and Jenny Levy, all of whom are synonymous with their respective sports in Chapel Hill and nationally. Between them, they have over 100 seasons as head coaches at Carolina. That type of leadership and commitment to a broadbased program is why the Tar Heels are able to attract leaders like Courtney Banghart, the new head coach of the women’s basketball program, in 2019. Banghart was wildly successful at Princeton, and in 2015 was named one of Fortune Magazine’s 50 Greatest Women Leaders. She could have gone anywhere. She chose Chapel Hill because of the legacy established by those before her and the future that will be secured by the FORevHER Tar Heels initiative. After all, as Mia and Michael taught us, anything any other athletic department can do, Carolina can do better.
ADAM LUCAS Editor in Chief ramsclub.com
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“This campaign ensures that the experience for female student-athletes at Carolina is second to none, and that they will continue to make a positive impact on the world after they leave campus. It’s incredibly important to provide that education and those opportunities.” —BUBBA CUNNINGHAM
the edition ON THE COVER: An ambitious new Rams Club initiative aims to raise $100 million to sustain the excellence of Carolina’s women’s athletics programs PHOTO BY GRAHAM TERHUNE (ANAGRAM PHOTOGRAPHY)
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F O R E V H E R TA R H E E L S
12 Top Golf
Suzy Whaley’s Carolina experience put her in position to be one of the most important people in the game of golf BY LEE PACE
F O R E V H E R TA R H E E L S
22 Securing the Foundation
The FORevHER Tar Heels campaign will benefit the present and the future BY PAT JAMES
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EDITOR’S LETTER p. 3
TAR HEEL TICKER p. 6
38 CAROLINA EVERYWEAR p. 18
F O R E V H E R TA R H E E L S
28 Two of a Kind
Anson Dorrance and Courtney Banghart joined the Carolina athletic department four decades apart, but have a very similar approach BY ADAM LUCAS
F O R E V H E R TA R H E E L S
34 Carolina Women’s Athletics Community
We asked Rams Club members and a couple notable fans about the importance of Carolina women’s sports COMPILED BY ADAM LUCAS
FIRST PERSON
38 ‘Empowered by Environment’
A first-person explanation from a Tar Heel student-athlete of the way excellence in Carolina women’s athletics fuels even more excellence BY KATIE HOEG
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TA R H E E LT I C K E R LISTEN AND LEARN
RAISING ROLE MODELS
The current generation of Tar Heel student-athletes explains who they looked up to as young athletes Photos by UNC Athletic Communications Archives
BRYNN WALKER
“I always looked up to Annika Sorenstam. I admired her incredible golf game and humble character. Since I was 11, a signed flag and picture of her has hung above my bed reminding me of my dream every day. I aspire to reach the level of excellence she was able to and give back to the next generation as she did for me.”
AMANDA HENDRY
“When I was in high school, I looked up to my goalie coach (Jackie Briggs). It sounds cheesy because she’s my goalie coach now, but I really wanted to play like her. I knew she had come to Carolina.”
MAKENNA JONES
“I really looked up to my parents because of all the success they had but they were so humble about it. I did not know their accomplishments until I was like 13 or 14 years old.” (Makenna’s father, Kelly, reached No. 1 in the ATP doubles ranking, and her mother, Tami, was a top-50 singles player and a two-time All-America at Stanford)
ALESSIA RUSSO
“Growing up in England, I always idolized Kelly Smith. She was one of England’s best strikers – well, worldwide, not just in England. And I think if she was around today, she’d be the best player in the world. Times were a little bit different back then. Her quality is unbelievable and the way she finishes, she’s as clinical as you can be. I looked up to her while growing up.”
SENIOR WOMEN’S GOLF
JUNIOR FIELD HOCKEY
SENIOR WOMEN’S TENNIS
JUNIOR WOMEN’S SOCCER
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RU MUCHERERA REDSHIRT SENIOR WOMEN’S SOCCER
“I would definitely say Mia Hamm. I didn’t get to watch her as much because I was still pretty young, and I’m from Florida, so I wasn’t here to come watch the games and games weren’t really televised as much then. I wasn’t really watching college soccer at the time. I would go to the UCF soccer games because I was five minutes away, so that was the college team I’d watch. It was more of those players I watched growing up.”
MORGAN ILSE
GRADUATE TRACK & FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY
TAYLOR KOENEN
SENIOR WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
“There is no hesitation or question on who I looked up to as an athlete when I was growing up: Michael Jordan! I set a goal in the 5th grade to play for the University of North Carolina because of my admiration of him. He stands for everything an athlete strives to be. Not only was he a fierce competitor who refused to lose, but he was cut from his high school team because they said he wasn’t good enough. He clearly proved everyone wrong. He has built a brand that lives on today and because of him I am a University of North Carolina athlete.”
“Growing up, soccer was my favorite sport. I played from the age of four until high school. I vividly remember at the beginning of fourth grade, my teacher asked all of us to make a poster of who we claimed to be our hero. I drew a big picture of Mia Hamm hugging a soccer ball on her waist, just like every soccer roster picture I had taken. She was my hero, my role model. I loved that she attended and played for UNC, but more importantly, I applauded all of her accomplishments. She was the face of women’s soccer at my age because she’s a woman who knows grit and understands perseverance. She worked hard to become one of the best soccer players in the history of the sport. Growing up, I understood that and aspired to be an athlete with her mindset and determination.”
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TA R H E E LT I C K E R LOOKING BACK
FOUR DECADES OF DOMINANCE A timeline of Carolina’s 31 (and counting) NCAA titles in women’s sports Photos by UNC Athletic Communications Archives
1982 1983 1984
Carolina also won the AIAW national championship in 1981 before the NCAA recognized women’s soccer in 1982
“When we recruited this class, we knew they would be champions. We thought they could be champions and we wanted them to stay champions. It’s special to have a group of champions come in and win every year while they were in school.”
Anson Dorrance on the 1984 Championship
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
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“We were playing at home, playing in front of the largest crowd I’d seen at that time, the sun was out and we were playing our rival, a team we hadn’t beaten all year.”
Anson Dorrance on the 1988 Championship Carolina defeated NC State, 4-1, after tying the Wolfpack twice previously during the 1988 season
“We had been knocking on the door in the late 80s and we’d reached the final but hadn’t won one yet. So to get that first one meant the world to our program – I think the first one is always the toughest.”
Karen Shelton on the 1989 Championship
TA R H E E LT I C K E R 1990 1991
BY THE NUMBERS 121
MOST ACC WOMEN’S TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS 55
1992
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STANFORD UCLA CAROLINA LSU TEXAS
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31 MOST NCAA WOMEN’S TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS IN THE ACC
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MOST NCAA WOMEN’S TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
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6 0 ALL OTHERS
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TA R H E E LT I C K E R 2000 2001
“This was a special group because we came in the lowest we have ever been seeded, and they came from behind to win three of our last four matches. This team was on a mission.”
Anson Dorrance on the 2000 Championship
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“This was an elite team that played the game at a pace few teams could match. The mobility on this team was world-class. It was a college soccer team, but the mobility was on an international level.”
Anson Dorrance on the 2003 Championship
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
“Our route to a championship was to beat two undefeated teams. The attitude in practice was we were a spoiler. Do you know how rare it is for us to come into an environment as a spoiler? We were celebrating the fact that we were finally the underdogs. What a joyful place to compete from, where there was no pressure on us and no expectations. We played from a place of total freedom.”
Anson Dorrance on the 2008 Championship “It’s always a thrill to go to the White House, a huge honor. No matter what your political leanings are, it’s a statement. Anybody that plays sports, if you win a championship and have the chance to go to the White House, it’s something special. It’s a time that I don’t think any of our players that got to experience that will forget. The photo from that day is one they’ll have for the rest of their lives, something you can earn through winning championships and representing Carolina.”
Karen Shelton on the 2009 Championship
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TA R H E E LT I C K E R 2010 2011 2012
* 2013 2014
* 2015 2016 2017
“It was one of those years when it was just a chemistry miracle. All the kids really enjoyed each other’s company.
Anson Dorrance on the 2012 Championship “Led by senior captains Emily Garrity and Kara Cannizzaro, their leadership was some of the best we have had in our program. They were hard working, tough and inclusive and did a great job of getting all players on the same page – including our talented freshman class. This was important because it was our freshmen that night that made the winning plays, goalkeeper Meghan Ward with a 1v1 point blank save that turned into the winning goal, scored by freshmen Sammy Jo Tracy.”
Jenny Levy on the 2013 Championship “The same freshmen from 2013 became the influencers and leaders of our 2016 team. The senior group was a quieter bunch, had great chemistry and a tireless work ethic. This group had all of the intangibles, including the motivation of a tough loss in the 2015 National Championship game (to familiar foe Maryland). We dominated the championship game from beginning to end. We avenged our 2015 loss to Maryland with a 13-7 victory and playing as close to a perfect game as I have ever seen. The team had amazing synergy, endless energy and was in another stratosphere that day. Maryland really never had a chance.
Jenny Levy on the 2016 Championship
* 2018 2019
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ITA National Team Indoor Championships in tennis in 2013, 2015 and 2018.
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TOP GOLF SUZY WHALEY’S CAROLINA EXPERIENCE PUT HER IN POSITION TO BE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN THE GAME OF GOLF BY LEE PACE
PHOTOS BY MARY LEE GIBSON AND LPGA 12
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uzy Whaley loved the game of golf, but during her days as a Carolina student and member of the Tar Heel women’s golf team in the late 1980s, she never envisioned the sport as the bedrock to her future. She was going to take her degree in economics in 1989 and go to law school. “We’ve laughed about the fact that pro golf never seemed to be in the picture,” says Donna Andrews, a Carolina teammate and later a six-time winner on the LPGA Tour. “We didn’t think Suzy had any desire to play professionally. “Then next thing I know, she’s out on tour with me.” And blink again, here’s Suzy in 2019 as president of the PGA of America, a 28,000-member organization of the men and women who run golf shops, give lessons, organize tournaments and promote the game and keep it running across America. “For Suzy to win over the trust and make her way to the top of such a large organization, a large, male-oriented organization, is just amazing,” says Jan Mann, the Tar Heel women’s golf coach since 2009. “She radiates enthusiasm. Her organizational skills, her speaking ability, her vision for the game — wrap them all up in one person and she has been perfect to lead the PGA.” The golf course at Carolina during the era of Suzy McGuire (she later married a Connecticut golf pro named Bill Whaley) was known as “Finley Flats” for its bland topography and its propensity to turn into a lake after a heavy rain. The Tar Heels’ women’s golf team was headquartered in a small room in the original Finley
clubhouse, and the girls’ only access to strength and conditioning was to follow the exact regimen of the Carolina football team. Despite the “have not” elements of the era, Whaley reflects warmly on that time at Chapel Hill. “We had the best time,” says Whaley. “Dot Gunnels was our coach and was a wonderful woman. Her words of wisdom were, ‘Ya’ll have fun!’ That made us smile and made us laugh. It took the edge off.” Whaley reconnected with Carolina, the Tar Heel golf program and the athletic department a quarter of a century later when her daughter Kelly was on the golf team. Kelly played from 2015-19 and in late 2019 was competing for her playing status on the 2020 LPGA Tour. Suzy was impressed with the 1999 makeover of Finley Golf Course by Tom Fazio, the Chapman Golf Center used by the Tar Heel men’s and women’s teams and coaches, and the academic support, strength training and equipment resources now available. “Kelly had such a wonderful experience,” Suzy says. “I know that Kelly, just like me, through the rest of her life will realize what a special moment in time this has been for her. We’ll both always wear light blue. “I don’t think you can ever say ‘Thank you’ enough or be grateful enough for the opportunity to receive an education from an institution like the University of North Carolina. I received a scholarship there and my daughter received a scholarship there. You can’t take away the confidence it gives you, you can’t take
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“For Suzy to win over the trust and make her way to the top of such a large organization, a large, male-oriented organization, is just amazing. She radiates enthusiasm. Her organizational skills, her speaking ability, her vision for the game— wrap them all up in one person and she has been perfect to lead the PGA.”
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away the pride it gives you and the inherent need to give back, because you see quickly those opportunities are not afforded to everyone.” Suzy grew up outside Syracuse, N.Y., and began playing golf at the age of nine when she was at a club swimming pool with a group of boys and they asked if she wanted to go to the driving range and hit golf balls. Which she did — in her swimsuit, prompting a phone call to her mother, Mary Ann, from the golf pro. “Instead of yelling at me, she said, ‘Do you like this?’ I said, ‘I love it.’ That’s how my golf got started,” Whaley says. “Mom was looking for someone to play with. You could only play four months a year, but I couldn’t get enough of it. I played three other sports and could not wait for summer to come back around. I loved any kind of athletics, any kind of race, any type of challenge. That was fun.” She caught the eye of Gunnels, the Tar Heels’ coach from 1975-93, during some good junior tournament performances and was offered a scholarship. Whaley played from 1985-89 on teams that included Kelly Beck (the namesake of one of Suzy and Bill’s two daughters), Katie Peterson and Andrews. The 1989 team qualified for the NCAA Championships held at Stanford University, the Tar Heels finishing eighth of 17 teams. “She had a big smile, a big personality and a solid golf game,” says Ed Ibarguen, the Finley head professional at the time. “She was well above-average in her playing ability and made the traveling team her first semester freshman year.” Whaley took the LSAT in the summer of 1989, then played as an amateur in the McDonald’s Championship in Wilmington, Del. She missed the cut by one shot but nonetheless caught the eye of two Connecticut businessmen who offered to sponsor her on the LPGA tour. “My parents said, ‘You can always go back to law school,” Suzy says. “Why not give it a try?” By 1993, she was married and had a young family and decided that her time playing golf out of a suitcase had flickered past. By then, the die was cast — the golf industry, yes; law school, no. Her husband was teaching at the Nicklaus/Flick Golf School in Connecticut, which provided an entrée to Suzy into the life
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Suzy Whaley’s daughter Kelly was a four-year standout for Carolina women’s golf.
of a teaching pro. The bug bit, Suzy thrived and has been teaching golf ever since. Today she is the Director of Instruction at Suzy Whaley Golf in Farmington, Conn., and in 2018, she became the 370th PGA professional (and only the ninth woman ever) to be certified as a PGA Master Professional, which is the highest educational level offered by the organization. “Suzy is an outstanding teacher,” says Ibarguen, who left Finley in 1988 to become the director of golf at the Duke University Golf Club and has been deeply involved in PGA leadership roles. “She speaks to the level of the student. If he’s an engineer or a surgeon and wants to get down into force vectors and impact angles, she’s fine with that. Or if it’s teaching a senior golfer who just wants to get the ball in the air, she connects there and will find a way to help them. In a game that in some respects is so overwhelmed with
technology, she makes it fun.” Whaley also found a niche as well in PGA governance circles, first serving on committees for teaching and coaching and later another for communications. Then she ran for the national board of directors and eventually the association’s presidency. She won office and stepped up in November 2018. Among her initiatives has been to further the growth of the game in general but particularly among juniors, women and minorities. “Girls golf is our No. 1 growing demographic,” she says. “It’s incredibly exciting. Last year out of 2.1 million new golfers, almost half were women. We’re growing, but we have work to do. “Minorities are the highest we’ve ever seen. We must look like the communities we serve. We try every day to be welcoming to all and to get messaging out that 70 percent of golf courses around the country are public. That’s rarely written about. And the
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“Girls golf is our No. 1 growing demographic. It’s incredibly exciting. Last year out of 2.1 million new golfers, almost half were women. We’re growing, but we have work to do.”
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average cost to play can run about 24 dollars. “I am very bullish on golf, bullish on the growth of golf. But we’re not where we need to be. We’re getting there but we have more work to do.” Her energy and skills have been noticed — especially by those who knew her three decades ago. “Having a woman in that role is outstanding,” Andrews says. “She’s been very instrumental in a big push for growing junior programs. I am so proud of her, what she’s accomplished and how tirelessly she’s working to grow the game of golf.” “She is so committed to the whole concept of bringing diversity and inclusion to the PGA of America, an association and a sport that needs to begin to look more like this country,” says Ibarguen. “I have seen a lot of good presidents come and go, but Suzy is unique in having an incredible sense of tact but at the same time being incredibly direct. She navigates these meetings of high-profile, type-A golf pros with incredible skill.” Whaley’s already hectic schedule has been further challenged by wanting to follow and help Kelly in the early stages of her pro career. The Whaleys traveled to Mission Hills, Calif., in August for Stage 1 of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament, with Suzy carrying Kelly’s bag. Kelly had a good week and advanced to the next stage. “When I played, the game was really domestic,” Suzy says. “Today, it’s a global sport. Kelly is literally competing against the world. As a mom, it was really a proud moment. I know how hard that Q-school is. I’ve been through it. It’s survival of the fittest. It’s a mental endurance test. All of them are physically capable. It really comes down to who has it between the ears and how many putts can you get in the hole? It’s been fun to watch Kelly work so hard and compete against so many women with amazing games.” And it’s a far cry from her days as a junior golfer when Suzy’s access to many golf venues was restricted — simply because she was female. “It was a struggle for my mom to get me access and to explain to me why the boys could play when I couldn’t play,” she says. “Most places, I couldn’t play but on Mondays.” Many things have changed since then. And if Suzy Whaley has her say, more changes are coming.
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C A R O L I N A E V E R YWE A R Rams Club members like to wear their Carolina Blue, and they’ll wear it all over the US and the world. If you have a photo of you in your Carolina gear in front of notable landmarks in the US and abroad, send them our way to be a part of Carolina EveryWear!
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To have your photo included: -Send your photo digitally to bornandbred@ramsclub.com. -Identify everyone in your photo and the location of the photo. Here are the “Rules”: -At least one person in the photo has to be a Rams Club member -You must be wearing Carolina gear -You must be in front of a notable landmark (sorry, as cool as Kenan Stadium and the Smith Center are, they don’t qualify). SHOW US YOUR COLORS!
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1) Charlie Hayes of Hickory, NC, at Rodney Bay, St Lucia; 2) Chuck Gore & Hector Deane of Wilmington, NC, at The Open, Northern Ireland; 3) Emily McKinney & Chris McKinney of Wilmington, NC, on the Babel Tower Trail at Linville Gorge; 4) Jason & Ashley Love of Carthage, NC, with Frankie & Dora Parker of Charlotte, NC, at the Grand Canyon Skywalk; 5) Page, Jim & Jack Morgan of Shelby, NC, at Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia; 6) The Edwards family of Cary, NC, in Bar Harbor, ME; 7) Joanne & Barry Welborne (holding the flag) of Charlotte, NC, with Madison Welborne, Logan Mariner, Jack Mariner, Mary Lynn Welborne, Neil Welborne, Jacob Welborne, William Welborne, Josh Welborne & Jack Welborne in Jackson Hole, WY; 8) Darwin & Susan Cline of Greer, SC, at the Faberge Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia; 9) Tom & Sharon Yancey of Raleigh, NC, at Bandon Dunes, OR; 10) Matt, Beth, Jacqui & Kate Bardill of North Potomac, MD, with Miles, Jack, Laura & Matt Kirby of Raleigh, NC, in Bar Harbor, ME; 11) Caroline, Christy & John Crews of Charlotte, NC, at Mt. Rushmore, SD; 12) Jeff Eidson of Elkin, NC, with a big crew at Middle Fork, Salmon River; 13) David & Sharon Brookshire of Asheville, NC, played at the Apollo Theater in Syros, Greece; 14) LaRosa Pinnix-Bailey & Gary Bailey of Elon, NC, at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland; 15) Murray & Randy Sawyer of Wilmington, DE, at Wimbledon Centre Court; 16) Michael, Molly, Margaret, Louise & Julia Painter with Bonnie & Leon Woodruff of Raleigh, NC, at the Sun Gate, Machu Picchu, Peru; 17) Cathy & Dennis Winner of Asheville, NC, at Dynjandi Waterfall, Iceland; 18) Blake & Sandy Rasnake of Chapel Hill at Empire Bluffs on Lake Michigan
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19 20 19) Michael & Sharon Leinwand of Leland, NC, with Adam & Ethan at the Pena Palace in Sintra, Portugal; 20) Carol, Chris & Bryn Copenhaver of Arden, NC, at the Colosseum in Rome; 21) Martha Ann McDonald of Winston-Salem, NC, & James Manor of Carrboro, NC, at the top of Huayna Picchu, Peru; 22) David & Cindy Rovetto of Chapel Hill at the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; 23) Terry Gordon, Mark Gordon & Bob Whaley of Greenville, SC, with Anna & Barry Gordon of Troutman, NC, at the Forth Inn in Aberfoyle, Scotland; 24) Karen & Byron Ritter of Greensboro, NC, at the Thames River in London; 25) Steve & Michele White of Raleigh, NC, overlooking the Wailau River on Kauai, HI; 26) Chris & Christy Holland of Clayton, NC, at Chimney Rock, NC; 27) Ian & Aidan Lloyd of Fort Pierce, FL, at Iguazú Falls, Argentina; 28) Rick Erwin of Landis, NC, & Dennis O’Connor of Concord, NC, at the eastern most point in North America – Cape Spear, Newfoundland, Canada; 29) James Joplin & Bill Fugate of Chapel Hill in front of the Anasazi Bend at the Grand Canyon; 30) Megan Teems of Jacksonville, FL, with McLean Waters at the Grand Canyon; 31) Lee Stone of Salisbury, NC, at Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve, Alaska; 32) Charles & Linda Warren of Awendaw, SC, at the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St Petersburg, Russia; 33) Tony & Marian Meyer of Chapel Hill at the Alaskan border near the Klondike; 34) Rob & Lee Merrill of Asheville, NC, at Plitvice National Park, Croatia; 35) Parker, Luke, Susan & Grant Collins of Greensboro, NC, at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece; 36) Rick & Sheryl Hakes of Raleigh, NC, at the Old Course in Scotland; 37) Donna & Bill McHenry of Raleigh, NC, with John, Matthew & Will at Yosemite; 38) Kevin & Amber McIntosh of Hickory, NC, in Bora Bora; 39) Rose Ann McLelland of Elon, NC, on Mackinac Island, Michigan; 40) Jason, Noreen, Hayden & Caroline Hux of Savannah, GA, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC; 41) Dave Murr & Edward Newnam of Wake Forest, NC, at YoHo National Park Natural Bridge in British Columbia, Canada
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SECURING THE
Foundation
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The FORevHER Tar Heels campaign will benefit the present and the future
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By Pat James // Photos by Graham Terhune of Anagram Photography // Graphics by The Rams Club As a freshman on the North Carolina swimming team in 1980, Sue Walsh remembers sitting in Parker Residence Hall, thinking about about all the female studentathletes who had come before her, many of whom had just recently been awarded scholarships. She realized then that she wanted to make them proud, both with her performance in the pool and in the classroom. Thirty-nine years later, she’s still striving to do that and to also improve the experience of current female student-athletes as the Associate Executive Director of Scholarship and Legacy Gifts for The Rams Club. “It’s amazing how much I love this place,” she said, “and how much I want to see it succeed and to really put in place the resources that, for the studentathletes of today and those that come here in the future, make their experience not only just as good, but even better than what I had. “It’s what we all want for our children, if you have them. You want them to have an even better situation than what you had. That’s just your opportunity to pay it forward to the next
generation.” With that in mind, Walsh and other members of The Rams Club staff set about planning this latest initiative a little more than a year ago. Now, it’s officially underway. FORevHER Tar Heels is a $100 million
“It really is about setting these girls up for forever, for the rest of their lives and for the next generation,” said Vanessa Wittman, a member of the women’s tennis team from 1985-89 who, in addition to being the chief financial officer of Glossier, is a member of The Rams Club Executive Board of Directors. “A lot of what we’re trying to do is to not only make it clear that we are looking beyond the four years of the athletic careers of these girls and into their future as leaders, as business people, at whatever they choose to do, but to repeat the cycle and make sure they’re looking out for the next generation and the one after that.” Only so many people can explain the meaning of that as well as Walsh and Wittman, who said their experiences as Tar Heel student-athletes continue to benefit them. The youngest of five siblings, Walsh said she hadn’t explored much outside of her hometown of Hamburg, N.Y., before coming to Chapel Hill. Partly because of that, she didn’t have much confidence. But being on the swimming team helped her gain plenty.
“It’s amazing how much I love this place and how much I want to see it succeed and to really put in place the resources that, for the student-athletes of today and those that come here in the future, make their experience not only just as good, but even better than what I had.”. campaign that launched in October, championing UNC female student-athletes. Organizers hope it will draw more attention to Carolina’s women’s programs, which have won 35 of the University’s 50 team national championships. But just as, if not more, importantly, it will help current female student-athletes long after their playing careers.
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“Playing at Carolina is the secret sauce,” former basketball player Tiffany Tucker (center) said at the program launch alongside Meghan Lyons and Kristine Lilly. “We can all cook a dish and it’s all going to taste different, but mine’s going to taste even better because I have the secret sauce.” It also taught her that her goal should always be to further the mission of whatever group she’s working with and to not focus on the attention she might receive for her work. As for Wittman, she said her responsibilities as a student and an athlete taught her how to juggle priorities. They also showed her the importance of being well-prepared. And just like you do in sports, you win and lose in the business world, so the thick skin that she developed as a student-athlete has helped her handle any adversity she’s faced or tough feedback she’s received. That’s just a small sampling of how being at UNC contributed to their growth. “The lessons that are learned, the discipline, the confidence, teamwork, how to manage adversity, all of those things really are so valuable,” Walsh said, “and I think even more so for women because we haven’t traditionally found our place in a lot of industries. Having those skills really gives us an advantage as we move out into the workplace.” Through FORevHER Tar Heels, Walsh said an emphasis will be placed on continuing to educate donors about the impact that athletics has on Carolina’s female student-athletes. Perhaps people who have long supported women’s teams will even consider how else they can help. “There are so many people who, for example, purchase women’s basketball season tickets,” Walsh said. “We’ve never really had conversations with them about giving in other ways. We certainly need them to be there in the arena and supporting the women who are on
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the women’s basketball team, but hopefully there are opportunities for them to get even more engaged.” As valuable as any financial contributions will be, the campaign’s other priority is to provide mentorship and career networking opportunities. Walsh said a networking event for all UNC female student-athletes is being planned. The hope is that not only will former male and female student-athletes be brought back for it, but that alumni who didn’t even participate in a sport at Carolina will also be compelled to participate. There are also hopes, Walsh said, of funding a platform for current and former student-athletes that’s similar to LinkedIn. Many former female student-athletes may be motivated to help the student-athletes who are members of the program they were once a part of. That’s certainly fine. But Walsh is also encouraging them to assist student-athletes on other teams. “Maybe a gymnast wants to go into finance – and I’m making up careers here – so they’ll reach out to a former women’s lacrosse player. …” she said. “Maybe somebody has an internship they can offer. Or maybe someone just wants to meet for coffee and talk about going to medical school. They’ll be able to manage that data by sport (on a new platform), but it can also cross over all sports.” With Walsh as the point person for FORevHER Tar Heels along with Assistant Development Director Lea Zagorin, a group of honorary chairwomen has been assembled. Wittman is one. Another is Anne Cates, who held several “first female” titles in noteworthy leadership
positions at UNC; none might be more notable than the first and only female chairperson of the Board of Trustees. The other three chairwoman spots are held by a few of the most accomplished student-athletes in school history: two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA World Cup champion Mia Hamm, fourtime Olympian and 2017 New York City Marathon champion Shalane Flanagan, and former gymnast Courtney Bumpers, a two-time NCAA champion in the floor exercise. The initiative officially launched on October 5. One renowned former student-athlete who spoke was Kristine Lilly, who starred on the U.S. women’s national soccer team for 24 years and is the world record holder for the most number of international appearances with 354 caps. Lilly shared her story and talked about how she grew just as much away from the field as she did on it during her time in Chapel Hill. “The people I surrounded myself with who were helping me be a better student and soccer player helped me also be a better person,” Lilly said. “So, all these things encompass so many wonderful things that I think this FORevHER Tar Heel campaign will share. That’s great for the younger generation who are there to hear these stories and listen to these people who have been through it and to discuss the impact that the University has had on them.” In conducting research for the campaign, Walsh said she learned of former Carolina female student-athletes who have gone on to be doctors and police officers. When talking about a few of the other career avenues some have taken, she also referenced Shinann Featherston, a former tennis player who is now a legal coordinator for MLB. Walsh said she’s always impressed when she considers what these women are doing. At the same time, she wonders what Carolina’s current female student-athletes might be capable of if given that much more than their predecessors. FORevHER Tar Heels marks a significant step toward finding out. “It’s something that we hope is long lasting and not just something we’re going to focus on during the current university campaign,” Walsh said. “I truly do feel that athletics can put our women on a very positive trajectory for life. I’ve seen it in my two daughters, one of whom participated on the Carolina swim team her freshman year. They’ve both been involved in sports pretty much their whole lives, and I see how confident they are and how successful they are. “I’m looking forward to seeing the excitement that other people have for this. Just like the title FORevHER Tar Heels says, this initiative is about providing opportunities ‘for her.’ It’s very obvious what this is about and it’s also obvious that we want it to be something that’s a longterm focus. I’m just very, very thankful to be a part of this process, and look forward to seeing how it’s going to impact our student-athletes who are here now and those who come after.”
WALSH INTEGRAL
TO NEW INITIATIVE
For years, Vanessa Wittman said she and Sue Walsh had talked about the lasting impact that being a female student-athlete at North Carolina has had on their lives. So, when Walsh proposed the idea for FORevHER Tar Heels to her, Wittman was immediately on board. Walsh describes Wittman as “a very strong advocate” for the initiative. But Wittman is quick to point to the passer. “I give Sue a ton of credit,” Wittman said. “At a time in the school’s history and in the campaign where it would be very easy to not raise your hand and do something extra, I think we’re seeing an exceptional person stand up and fight for an exceptional effort that is going to give back. I’m super excited about the program, and I think Sue and The Rams Club staff have done an amazing job. “What an absolutely perfect example of a Carolina athlete who has stayed involved in Carolina Athletics all her life and is trying with best efforts and doing a super fine job of guaranteeing multiple generations the same benefits that she’s had.”
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ARE YOU?
The rich history of Carolina women’s athletics boasts 35 national championship titles, 31 individual national champions, and four active Hall of Fame coaches. Perhaps even more impressive than these accomplishments is the inspiring collection of career paths forged by our women student-athlete alumnae. From doctors to CEOs to teachers, Carolina women have demonstrated time and again that their accomplishments in competition are just the beginning of their impact on the world. As we look to chart a course for the next generation of Tar Heel women, The Rams Club and Carolina Athletics are excited to announce FORevHER Tar Heels − an initiative to build and inspire a Carolina community that champions and empowers our women student-athletes. FORevHER Tar Heels aims to engage and activate a network of Tar Heels that will: • Offer opportunities to outstanding women student-athletes to be part of the Carolina Family. • Provide resources for Carolina’s women’s sport programs to ensure success. • Participate in the development of student-athlete leaders who will impact their communities.
GET INVOLVED!
Scholarship Support •FORevHER Tar Heels Women’s Scholarship Fund •Endowed scholarship in a women’s sport Capital Projects •Karen Shelton Stadium •Soccer & Lacrosse Stadium •Track & Field Complex
Team Support •FORevHER Tar Heels Women’s Excellence Fund Your unrestricted gifts can support: •Women student-athlete and donor mentoring program •Career networking event for all women’s sports •Individual women’s team alumnae networking events •Operating Endowment for any women’s sport •“Friends/Special Account” for any women’s sport •Baddour Carolina Leadership Academy
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO GIVE, VISIT FOREVHERTARHEELS.COM.
TWO OF
A KIND
ANSON DORRANCE AND COURTNEY BANGHART JOINED THE CAROLINA ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT FOUR DECADES APART, BUT HAVE A VERY SIMILAR APPROACH
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e sat down with one of Carolina’s longest-tenured coaches, women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance, and one of the newest, women’s basketball coach Courtney Banghart, to discuss what it means to be part of Tar Heel women’s athletics. The duo actually met at the very outset of Banghart’s coaching career, when she embarked on a quest to meet with as many high-profile women’s coaches as possible as part of her graduate work. One of those stops brought her to Chapel Hill to meet with Anson Dorrance.
BY ADAM LUCAS PHOTOS BY MAGGIE HOBSON & THE RAMS CLUB
WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT THE FIRST TIME YOU MET? COURTNEY BANGHART: I had been in the area recruiting, and I was trying to find the best coaches, so I had met with Kay Yow and Gail Goestenkors. On a whim, I thought, “I’ll email Anson Dorrance and just see if he’ll answer me.” I was a soccer player growing up and he is synonymous with soccer. He responded within a day and asked what time was good for me. It was so easy. I showed up that day and no one greeted me. He was just sitting in his office. I don’t know what I expected, but I had met with Geno Aueriemma and some other big names, and they had these giant offices with huge shrines to their championships. I walked in to Anson’s office and there were so many national championship trophies they didn’t have enough space for them, so some of them were on the floor. And I wouldn’t exactly say he was the neatest guy in the world. ANSON DORRANCE: I’m turning over a new leaf. When you see my new office, you will be stunned. CB: Because it’s new?
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AD: That’s correct. I’m trying to leave my messy habits behind. I’m trying to improve and I’m trying to live on the never-ending ascension, like we ask our kids to do. I’ve made a promise to myself and to the people who have to walk by that I will keep a neat office now. CB: (laughs) You heard it here first. What impressed me about him was that he had won so much, but he hadn’t changed his core values. He’s a winner with a soul. He has a connection to his players. I left his office feeling like I could do it, and I could do it my way, because he has done it his way and been very successful.
WHAT’S SOMETHING WE WOULD FIND UNFATHOMABLE ABOUT WOMEN’S SPORTS AT CAROLINA IN THE EARLY 1980S?
AD: We had absolutely zero budget. For the first ten or 15 years of my coaching career I funded my recruiting budget out of my own pocket. I never turned in receipts for recruiting and it drove my wife crazy. I told M’Liss, “I’m investing in myself. We’re going to make this happen.” I knew we could do something special. The building she is talking about visiting me in did not have any heat. So in the winter I would wear this military ski jacket with a hood that I would sometimes have to put up. I’d sit in my office in front of a space heater in my heavy jacket plotting the conquest of the world as I saw it. I kind of liked it. We did some amazing things out of that ramshackle hut and the girls never suffered. If you care about the people
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you’re with, they don’t really see the surroundings. And now, when we bring in a kid to see our new palace, their jaws drop. And so does mine every day I come to work. We are absolutely spoiled now.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT CAROLINA THAT IS CONDUCIVE TO AN ENVIRONMENT OF SUCCESS?
CB: Princeton had never been to the NCAA Tournament when I got there, and now they’ve been eight of the last ten years. When you’re around winners, there’s a sense of camaraderie. It becomes less about you when your success is so similar to everyone else’s. That’s a great way to grow up as an athlete. You go to a soccer game and they’re in the top five in the country, football gets a huge win, and it’s hard to make it about you. The University knows how to win. It’s about getting the right people who care about competitive excellence broadly. You get the right kids when you care about broad excellence.
KNOWING WHAT YOU KNOW NOW, WOULD YOU HAVE ASKED ANY DIFFERENT QUESTIONS OR SAID ANYTHING DIFFERENT AT THAT FIRST MEETING? CB: I would’ve asked the same questions, because I felt like my questions were authentic. I wanted to know about his own journey and how he ended up doing this. His journey was as circuitous as mine. When you come from an Ivy League background, you expect to go to college, you go to grad school, you work your way up from this job to that job. That’s not always how it happens in coaching. I also wanted to know the times he took the harder right over the easier wrong. I wanted to know ways he showed he cared and ways he communicated. Those were things I knew at an early age were important to me, and he validated that those things were important in the coaching field. Most of my questions now would be about where are things and who gets things done? AD: I would let her know that the budget sucks but hang in there. The cavalry is coming over the hill as soon as we figure out a way to sell the ACC Network and the budget will then compete with others nationally. We have wonderful leadership here up and down the organization. I’m praying Kevin Guskiewicz becomes the chancellor. Kevin comes from us. He understands our mission. We want athletics to have a legitimate mission within the ivory tower, and the thing I love about Kevin is he understands our role. We can be a positive part of the ivory tower. We can have an extraordinary marriage between athletic teams and our mission on campus. Bubba Cunningham took a $90 million risk. He’s taken some fabulous risks to put us in a position where we can be the best of the best. As the ACC Network starts generating revenue and the rest of us support ourselves in a more aggressive fashion, this place will be transformed. We’re not looking back. We’re taking off and going forward. I love our marriage between athletics and the academic community, and I love the marriage between town and gown. The pieces are in place to take off. We’ve done extraordinary things but the best is still ahead of us. This is a launch moment.
DEAN SMITH FAMOUSLY SAID THAT CAROLINA WAS A WOMEN’S SOCCER SCHOOL, AND THAT BASKETBALL WAS JUST TRYING TO KEEP UP. WHAT DID THAT QUOTE MEAN THEN, AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN NOW? AD: Anyone who was here when Dean Smith was our leader understood what that meant. Here is an incredibly gracious man, and there was no truth to what he said—we were a basketball school. He was just giving us sunshine because that’s the nature of who he is, an incredibly humble, gracious man. He always went out of his way to help us, and that was one of many examples. We used that quote in recruiting in the most powerful way to give us credibility. There were people out there who actually believed what he said. It also created this culture of, “I’m going to help you at any opportunity.” That’s how it works here. If I bring in an elite recruit and call Roy Williams at the last minute and ask if I can bring her by to meet with him tonight, he will clear his schedule and before you know it he’s in front of that elite recruit. And all of a sudden, the kid is coming because Roy Williams took the time to help me. That started with Dean Smith. Roy and I are Dean Smith acolytes. We looked up to him and we understand he treated his lowliest manager with the same compassion and humanism with which he treated his greatest basketball star. He taught us how to treat people around us and a culture of respect for everyone. CB: From afar, I knew that Carolina was a basketball school. We try to promote that given that it’s our sport. But when we have top recruits here, Roy has met with them, Mack has met with them, Anson has met with them. This is a soccer school in soccer season, a football school on Saturdays, a field hockey school during the Final Four, a basketball school in basketball season, and many other sports. That competitive excellence is what drives me to keep up. AD: What I love about Mack is he took the football program to a place it’s never been, and he did it out of the ashes. It wasn’t like he was given this huge gift and sustained it. He built the thing. He went off and won a national championship, but he came back. That speaks volumes for the place. He and Sally clearly loved it here. Now he’s back because he wants to leave the right kind of legacy. It’s not just a legacy about money. He’s coming back because he wants to leave a positive legacy with his sport at a place he loved when he was here. He is reaching back to help us. There’s something about this place you fall in love with. Even if you leave, it’s still part of who you are, and at the first opportunity, you come back. We’re celebrating his return. The first three home games were unbelievable. CB: I bought a football jersey yesterday so I can wear it to the next game. AD: He was so humble in that interview after the South Carolina game. He could’ve basked in the glory of the comeback, but he was incredibly humble. He listed all the mistakes he and his coaching staff
made and gave his players full credit for the win. CB: I texted him that night about his dance moves, and he texted me back and said, “My moves involved touching every part of my body that hurt.” He texted me back right away after the first game of the season. That’s the kind of person he is. AD: I loved what he said after the game. It was so heartfelt. You could tell he really enjoyed being back in this place and succeeding again.
FROM THE OUTSIDE, WHY IS THAT “EVERYBODY IS IN IT TOGETHER” ATTITUDE APPEALING? CB: When the Carolina job came open, our Princeton men’s basketball coach came and saw me and said, “Oh no.” We had worked together a while. I didn’t know what he was talking about. I was enjoying my current life. He said, “You’re going to leave us.” I told him I hadn’t even heard from them and didn’t know what he was talking about. He asked if he could have my permission to text Roy. He sent me the text he sent him and basically said Courtney is a great basketball coach but more than that, she is a great teammate. He said he would be sad to lose that but happy for Roy because Roy deserved to have someone like that. It was really thoughtful. That was before I really got to know Carolina. From the outside, my legacy at Princeton was the winning. But I hope my legacy internally was that within the department, I became what Anson is — a connector of really good coaches. I was involved in all the searches to make sure the right coaches came to Princeton. Is it different? I don’t know, but it’s why I’m here and it’s what I did well at Princeton. It’s a really natural fit in that way.
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Eventually there will be a visionary on the women’s side who says, “Let’s see what happens if we market our women effectively.” I think we’re the school to do it.
YOU’VE BOTH BEEN VERY UP FRONT ABOUT YOUR DESIRE TO NOT JUST WIN, BUT DOMINATE. WHAT’S CHANGED EITHER IN SPORTS OR IN OUR CULTURE THAT’S ENABLED WOMEN TO BE COMFORTABLE SAYING THEY DON’T JUST WANT TO PLAY, THEY WANT TO BE THE VERY BEST?
WHAT’S NEXT FOR WOMEN’S SPORTS? CB: What I’m promoting on the women’s basketball side is that when we get ourselves to a Final Four, we need Michael Jordan at the Final Four. Women’s basketball needs North Carolina to be good. Our brand is gigantic, especially for men. For women’s basketball to be relevant and continue to grow, we need to add more men fans to the game. There are a lot of people who will follow North Carolina women’s basketball because they like North Carolina. If we’re relevant on the national stage we bring so many men to the game. It’s an enormous risk and an enormous opportunity. My only fear in life is regret. I was winning 25 games a year at Princeton. I was winning big, and all I wanted was to wake up in the morning and figure out how I could win even bigger. To leave that was really hard. As a competitor, all you care about is winning. But ultimately I also care about being able to help the game of women’s basketball. And to grow the game, North Carolina women’s basketball has to be good. AD: Courtney touched on this and we can be a leader in this area. Right now, the US Women’s National Team is fighting for equal pay. There’s a route to equal pay. The route is selling out your stadiums and charging a fee that justifies the fact that you’re marketing it. What I respect about Geno and UConn women’s basketball is they make money. Our moral imperative at Carolina for women’s soccer with this facility is to figure out a way to market it effectively. Fill it up and charge some money to become revenue neutral to some extent. We’re about to cross that line in women’s soccer. Look at the Women’s World Cup. They had sellouts almost every game for the United States team. At the University of North Carolina, we have a chance to invest in marketing the women’s game. We have extraordinary coaches and extraordinary teams. So let’s take a bit of a risk. Right now everyone is saying why should we invest in anything other than men’s basketball and football, because those are the revenue drivers right now.
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AD: All that’s changed is society’s perception. People don’t understand that there were women in 1980 or 1981 who felt that way. They just didn’t have a way to express themselves. When I was given the women’s team here for the first time, one of my huge advantages was that I had a younger sister named Maggie. Because of her, I never had the illusion that you couldn’t challenge women, because she dominated everyone. In my small world, the best athlete was my mother. She beat my dad in golf, she was a swimming champion, she was the top tennis player at her university. I was overseas and didn’t have television, and when I looked around in my small world, the best athletes were women. My younger sister was ferocious. At my school in Nairobi, Kenya, it was an English school and did English sports, and we also boxed. They would give you these enormous gloves so you couldn’t generate enough momentum to hurt someone. My parents thought it would be entertaining to put some gloves on Maggie, who was younger than me by less than a year. She knocked a tooth down my throat. That lived in our family lore forever. But I never had the illusion that I had to condescend to train the women. I was the men’s coach first, and I treated the women exactly the same way. I wanted them to compete. Those types of women have always existed. They’ve just never had the opportunity to express themselves. The only thing that changed was our perception of them, not the reality. Our culture was subjugating them and making them genuflect. We were trying to train them on the way we thought women should be. My favorite line in Mia Hamm’s book is, “When I got to North Carolina, I could finally be the person I was.” What person was she? She wanted to dominate. And her whole life she had to pretend she didn’t because of the way we try to guide women. CB: My mom was also the better athlete in my family. When we played parent-child tennis tournaments, I always chose my mom. That’s how I grew up, and I think that makes you different. Anson grew up in an environment where the women were the dominators. I always thought it would be difficult for a man to coach women. AD: Because they want to try to protect them. CB: Exactly. I’ve always been a fan of women coaching women for that reason. Not because I’m trying to genderize the business. But because as a woman, I know how hard they can be pushed. I don’t want a guy coming in and treating us soft, because then we’re not going to grow.
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Carolina women’s athletics
Community The success of Carolina women’s sports is important to Tar Heel student-athletes, coaches and fans. We asked Rams Club members and a couple notable fans about the importance of Carolina women’s sports. Photos by Jeffrey Camarati & UNC Athletic Communications Archives
I’m proud to have attended and now coach at a school that values women’s athletics as much as North Carolina. It’s not just providing opportunities, which at first was critical, but it’s providing the resources, facilities and incredible coaches which we have here that have created so many championship memories. Some of the greatest women’s players, coaches and teams have been Tar Heels, and that’s something we should all celebrate.
Roy Williams
Women’s athletics is critical to the University of North Carolina. I have two daughters and I wanted them to have every opportunity available to anyone else. That’s what the University of North Carolina does. We’re trying to win championships at the highest level with the smartest and best and highest character student-athletes. We’re so proud of everything that our women have accomplished and continue to accomplish every day.
Mack Brown
My favorite UNC women’s sports memory is definitely women’s basketball title in 1994. I was a Senior at Western Kentucky in Bowling Green, Kentucky. I took a road trip to see some friends at the evil empire of UK. I was still reeling from UNC’s men’s loss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Boston College. But only a few weeks later and during my UK visit, UNC make me proud once again (and to the chagrin of UK fans) with the ladies’ last second buzzer beater to win the NCAA Title. In your face, Cats fans! I was jubilant all weekend. Charlotte Smith and gang stole my heart!
Thad Fine Houston, Tex.
“This guy right here,” Roy Williams said of Anson Dorrance, “is the best coach I’ve ever been around in my entire life.”
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Last year we had the great honor of closely following the 2018 Field Hockey team in their unprecedented undefeated season. Our 3-year-old daughter, Bailey, considered the senior class “her special friends” and cheered for them as though she was a member of the team. She dressed up as Morgan Goetz, jersey on and stick in hand, for Halloween. We watched every home game and even traveled to Louisville for the national championship. As the buzzer sounded and we watched those girls achieve their greatest dream I thought to myself, “In all my years of attending Carolina athletic events, I do not think anything will ever top this moment.” We knew that the girls went into that season committed to their sport and to one another, so witnessing that dream realized was a joy unlike anything I have experienced in sports. We will be forever grateful to Coach Shelton, that team and especially those seniors for gifting us that memory. Those young women are a priceless gem to my family!
Lanier Swann Hodgson Chapel Hill, N.C.
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Growing up I was a huge fan of UNC women’s soccer. I looked up to women like Mia Hamm, Heather O’Reilly, and Tobin Heath. The UNC women’s soccer dynasty inspired me and motivated me as I played soccer all my life. Now, as a student at UNC, I love going to games to watch amazing soccer and cheer on my fellow students.
Lauren Harrell Ahoskie, N.C.
In the fall of 1978 I was a freshman living in Mangum Dorm. The first week there, some of us wandered into Woollen Gym looking for a pick-up game of basketball. To our surprise, a bunch of girls were holding one court and taking on all comers. We vowed to not be too rough on them. To channel Andy Griffith, “Friends, what I seen that day was the roughest and meanest game of basketball you ever did see. What it was was mayhem! They was runnin’ into us, cussin’ us and elbowin’ us in the mouth, and we’d have to tote one of us off and run an’othern on.” Our center, “Big Charlie,” finally had enough and squared off against their center. It got tense before we finally resumed play, took our beating and slinked off the court. It turned out that that sweet bunch of young ladies were the women’s varsity basketball team, and that tough ol’ standout in the middle was Bernie McGlade, who is still the all-time leading rebounder in UNC basketball history (men OR women). Big Charlie would not be surprised to learn that. The lesson stuck and we never went to Woollen again until the girls started their season and it was safe again.
Roy Collette Kernersville, N.C. ramsclub.com 37
FIRST PERSON
‘Empowered by environment’
A
As a young girl, I never needed to look far for a strong female I am constantly empowered and reassured of my quest for support system. Raised by a mother who works full-time while greatness. raising four kids and surrounded with two inspiring younger A common thread throughout the mindset within Carolina sisters, I was constantly motivated to form big aspirations. This athletics is the combined power of the body and the mind. While support funneled me into sports, where I found my second it is pertinent to develop an elite physicality, the mental aspect home in lacrosse. is what differentiates the good from the great. As a member of With the outside encouragement added to the inner desire an organization that constantly reinforces the desire to break to become great, the recruitment process was simple. Surround boundaries, I have the courage to chase my own dreams. myself with the best. Coming off a national championship We are made aware of the influential platform that Carolina year in 2013, the Carolina women’s lacrosse team, led by head student-athletes have, illustrated by the thousands of young coach Jenny Levy, exemplified this standard. When offered girls who, like me in 2013, point to us with amazement in their the opportunity to join this successful eyes. We know that we not only have an community, I ran with it, knowing that opportunity to have an impact on young I wanted to be a part of something female lives, but we have a responsibility extraordinary. to prove that women are a force to be “We know that we not only have an Now in my final year at Carolina, I fully reckoned with – in both sport and life. opportunity to have an impact on Being a member of the Carolina family realize the power in my decision and could not be more grateful. Gaining thirtyyoung female lives, but we have a has ultimately taught me that my strength four additional sisters with the team, I am responsibility to prove that women comes from within, but it is unveiled by surrounded with the fierce, competitive the empowering women with whom I are a force to be reckoned with – surround myself. spirit that the female Tar Heels emit. The empowering drive to be the best is not in both sport and life.” only fueled by these teammates, but also by the entirety of women student-athletes at Carolina. United through “Carolina” on our chests, we innately empower each other, knowing that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Daily, I am reminded by this opportunity through a prepractice ritual where the team gathers in a circle where we ground ourselves in the moment. Coach Levy brings attention to refocusing our minds to the moment at hand, instead of worrying about outside stressors. In a specific practice during off-season training, Coach Levy brought up a topic that resonated deeply with me. She noted that [female] individuals constantly fall victim to placing ceiling and restrictions on themselves, deeming certain endeavors impossible. In order to find out what we are truly capable of, she emphasized that we must break these boundaries and limitations. While on that day, she might have been referring to the grueling workout ahead of us, I have carried this wisdom beyond the lacrosse field. The theme of self-discovery through challenging my perceived limitations has allowed me to maximize my potential. Being around successful female programs, coaches, and student-athletes has only reinforced KATIE HOEG the notion that “UNC female student-athlete” is synonymous Women’s Lacrosse with a formidable female force. It is a unique opportunity to Illustration by Jason McCorkle be surrounded by the best female athletes in the world as
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CAROLINA INSIDER PODCAST HOSTED BY JONES ANGELL AND ADAM LUCAS
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