North Carolina Tar Heels women's lacrosse
| North Carolina Tar Heels | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Founded | 1996 (varsity) |
| University | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| Conference | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| Location | Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Coach | Jenny Levy (20th) |
| Nickname | Tar Heels |
| Colors | Carolina Blue and White |
| NCAA Tournament Champions | |
| 2013, 2016 | |
| NCAA Tournament Runner-Up | |
| 2009, 2015 | |
| NCAA Tournament Final Fours | |
| 1997, 1998, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016 | |
| NCAA Tournament Appearances | |
| 1997, 1998,1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 | |
| Conference Tournament Champions | |
| 2002, 2016 | |
| Conference Regular Season Champions | |
| 1998, 2012, 2015, 2016 | |
The North Carolina Tar Heels women's lacrosse team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I women's lacrosse and currently competes as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The North Carolina women's lacrosse team won the ACC tournament in 2002 and their first Division 1 National Championship in 2013.
UNC started a women’s lacrosse program in 1994 due to Title IX. Jenny Levy, a recent graduate from the University of Virginia was hired as the head coach. Reflecting on why she was hired Levy stated, “I was 24 years old, and I think I got hired because I was pretty cheap, very ambitious and high energy, I believed in the school and what we could sell here to student-athletes with academic opportunity and great tradition. I focused on what I knew and could do.”
The task of creating a successful women’s lacrosse team was challenging; during the preliminary years of the program Levy had only a part-time assistant and a small budget. She still managed to bring in talented recruits, some of which were transfers and some were members of the UNC women’s soccer team, which at the time had 14 NCAA Championships in 16 years.
Another obstacle was being a part of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), which had the University of Maryland and the University of Virginia, two established women’s lacrosse teams. Levy stated, “we rose pretty quickly, but there was not a lot of foundation, and it is very hard to establish tradition when you are a young program; sitting where I am today, I have learned that it takes a while to establish things that identify with the program that is unique to just that program.”
Although the task at hand was difficult the Tar Heels started out with success early on with a 12-4 record in its first varsity season of 1996. In their second year, UNC made the NCAA semifinals with a 14-4 record, tallying two victories against the Virginia Cavaliers. In UNC’s third season, the Tar Heels beat the eventual NCAA champion Maryland two times and reached the semifinals of the NCAA again. By the third season in program history UNC claimed the number 2 overall ranking.
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