Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
Carolina Celebrates A Year Of Excellence At The Rammys
April 29, 2024 | Baseball, Field Hockey, Football, General, Men's Basketball, Men's Golf, Men's Lacrosse, Men's Soccer, Men's Tennis, Softball, Women's Basketball, Women's Golf, Women's Gymnastics, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Rowing, Women's Soccer, Women's Tennis, Volleyball, Wrestling, Cross Country, Track & Field, Fencing, Swimming & Diving, Student-Athlete Development, Athletics
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – After a year of excellence in their Carolina blue and white uniforms, Tar Heel student-athletes donned sequins, sparkles and every color of the rainbow on Monday night to celebrate championships, broken records and outstanding performances at the 2024 Rammy Awards.
Members of UNC's 28 varsity teams, along with coaches, staff members, bands and spirit squads, walked the Carolina blue carpet into Memorial Hall at the heart of UNC's campus. A video of the year's highlights and a fiery baton performance opened the show before the evening's four hosts – JJ Jones from football, Bella Miller from gymnastics, Michael Spragley from men's cross country and track & field, and Alyssa Ustby from women's basketball -- took over and welcomed the crowd.
"Tonight, we're celebrating Carolina athletics and all you've accomplished over the past year," Jones told the crowd, and over the next 90 minutes the celebration continued, with plenty of laughs – the hosts traded jokes that touched on Covid years (with digs at how old some of their teammates are), the new training table and the transfer portal – and cheers throughout the night.
The first of the 2024 Rammys went to the Male and Female Newcomers of the Year, Owen Duffy from men's lacrosse and Charly Bruder from field hockey, each of whom led their teams in goals this season.
The Rammy for Best Play went to football's Drake Maye for the second year in a row. This time around it was for his left-handed touchdown pass in the Tar Heels' win at Pitt. Maye wasn't in attendance after having been picked No. 3 pick in last weekend's NFL Draft.
The Rammy Awards for Breakthrough Athlete went to Harrison Ingram of men's basketball (like Maye, off to the pro ranks) and Skyler Smith from women's swimming & diving.
The Rammy for Individual Performance went to David Ford from men's golf, the 2023 ACC Player of the Year.
The first half of the show wrapped up with the Best Upset Award to the men's fencing team for its 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, the program's first title since 1980.
After a halftime break that included the Carolina Girls dance team and Crumbl cookies given out by Rameses and RJ, the awards continued with the Rammy for Record-Breaking Performance, which went to women's basketball senior Alyssa Ustby. She recorded the first triple-double in program history with 16 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Rammy for Best Championship Performance went to Parker Wolfe from men's track & field and cross country. He won the 2023 ACC Championship in cross country, leading UNC to its first title since 1985. At the Indoor Championships, he again brough home gold, winning the mile in an ACC-record time and adding a title in the 3,000 meters as well in pacing the Tar Heel men to their first indoor crown since 1996.
RJ Davis of men's basketball and Aranza Vazquez of women's swimming & diving were honored as the Outstanding Male and Female Athletes of the Year. Davis was named ACC Player of the Year as the Tar Heels won the regular-season crown. Vazquez, who won this Rammy for the second year in a row, repeated as a two-time NCAA Diving Champion, with titles in the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard competitions in both 2023 and 2024.
Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham and Interim Chancellor Lee Roberts then took the stage, with Cunningham showing off NCAA Championship rings from women's tennis and field hockey (more on those teams in a bit) while introducing the voting for the Best Dressed Award. Those honors were ultimately won by Sydney Banks of women's track & field and Conner Harrell of football as the master of UNC fashion, Alexander Julian, looked on.
The final performance Rammy of the night, Outstanding Team, was shared by – you guessed it – the field hockey and women's tennis teams, both of which won NCAA titles in 2023.
Throughout the evening, the Tar Heels also handed out several special awards based on excellence outside of competition. The John Lotz Award recognizes student-athletes who have fought through challenges. This year's honorees were Sam Forrest (women's lacrosse), who returned to play after hip surgery that could have ended her career, and Patrick Anderson (men's cross country and track & field), who overcame a serious car accident and returned to competition. Anderson grabbed the mic on his way off stage to tell the crowd, "With the right people by your side and the right attitude, you can get through anything."
Top Six for Service Awards, recognizing outstanding community service, went to Reilly Tran (women's tennis), J.J. Jones (football), Kaimon Rucker (football), Dorrit Eisenbeis (field hockey) and Gracie Bolick (women's track and field), and the men's lacrosse team.
The McCaskill Award, recognizing outstanding seniors, went to Avery Patterson (women's soccer), now playing professionally in the NWSL, and Patrick Alvarez (baseball).
The members of mascot team, truly unsung since they're generally anonymous, were honored with the Unsung Hero Rammy.
Featured performers during the evening were Ella Webb (women's fencing), who played the harp for the second year in a row, and Abbey Forbes (women's tennis), who sang.
The evening's exclamation mark came from two more performances. First was Spragley, who capped his hosting duties by freestyling about the Rammys, working in Ustby's triple-double and the Tar Heels' six ACC Championships this school year before leading the crowd in a Tar! Heels! call and response that served as a perfect warmup for the traditional finale.
As with all UNC events, the final performance of the night was Hark the Sound, with all in attendance singing, swaying and clapping to the alma mater, before heading outside for ice cream.
Outstanding Newcomers
Presented by Olivia Thomas (Women's Soccer), Chance Carroll (Football), Aranza Vazquez (Women's Diving) and McKenna Brunick (Women's Track & Field)
Owen Duffy, Men's Lacrosse
Charly Bruder, Field Hockey
Best Play
Presented by Carson Tanguilig (Women's Tennis) and Anuj Watane (Men's Tennis)
Drake Maye left-handed touchdown pass at Pitt
John Lotz Award
Presented by Jamie Shearer (Women's Gymnastics) and Duwe Farris (Men's Basketball)
Patrick Anderson, Men's Cross Country and Track & Field
Sam Forrest, Women's Lacrosse
Breakthrough Athletes
Presented by Olivia Dirks (Women's Lacrosse), Alex Breschi (Men's Lacrosse), Katie Dixon (Field Hockey) and Jalen Washington (Men's Basketball)
Harrison Ingram, Men's Basketball
Skyler Smith, Women's Swimming & Diving
Best Individual Performance
Presented by Tessa Dellarose (Women's Soccer) and Perry Becker (Men's Swimming & Diving)
David Ford, Men's Golf
Best Upset
Presented by Kiersten Thomassey (Field Hockey) and Conner Harrell (Football)
Men's fencing claims the 2024 ACC Championship
Best Record-Breaking Performance
Presented by Abbey Forbes (Women's Tennis) and Tyler Mayerhoff (Track & Field)
Alyssa Ustby, Women's Basketball
Unsung Hero Award
Presented by Boyd Poelke (Men's Swimming & Diving)
UNC Mascot Team
Best Championship Performance
Presented by Trevor Paschall (Men's Track & Field) and Marissa Meyerhofer (Volleyball)
Parker Wolf, Men's Cross Country and Track & Field
ACC Top Six for Service
Presented by Kylie Yoder (Women's Swimming & Diving) and Greer Pattison (Women's Swimming & Diving)
Reilly Tran (women's tennis)
J.J. Jones (football)
Kaimon Rucker (football)
Dorrit Eisenbeis (field hockey) and Gracie Bolick (women's track and field)
Men's lacrosse team
Mildred McCaskill Awards
Presented by Sara McClure (Women's Tennis) and Will Peters (Men's Tennis)
Avery Patterson, Women's Soccer
Patrick Alvarez, Baseball
Outstanding Athletes of the Year
Presented by Georgia Nel (Women's Swimming & Diving), Will Joseph (Men's Fencing) and Kaimon Rucker (Football)
Aranza Vazquez, Women's Swimming & Diving
RJ Davis, Men's Basketball
Outstanding Teams of the Year
Presented by Carlie Myrtle (Softball) and Tiesyn Harris (Men's Swimming & Diving)
Field Hockey and Women's Tennis
Members of UNC's 28 varsity teams, along with coaches, staff members, bands and spirit squads, walked the Carolina blue carpet into Memorial Hall at the heart of UNC's campus. A video of the year's highlights and a fiery baton performance opened the show before the evening's four hosts – JJ Jones from football, Bella Miller from gymnastics, Michael Spragley from men's cross country and track & field, and Alyssa Ustby from women's basketball -- took over and welcomed the crowd.
✨ WHAT ✨ A ✨ NIGHT ✨ pic.twitter.com/Krm1CYteEj— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 30, 2024
"Tonight, we're celebrating Carolina athletics and all you've accomplished over the past year," Jones told the crowd, and over the next 90 minutes the celebration continued, with plenty of laughs – the hosts traded jokes that touched on Covid years (with digs at how old some of their teammates are), the new training table and the transfer portal – and cheers throughout the night.
The first of the 2024 Rammys went to the Male and Female Newcomers of the Year, Owen Duffy from men's lacrosse and Charly Bruder from field hockey, each of whom led their teams in goals this season.
The Rammy for Best Play went to football's Drake Maye for the second year in a row. This time around it was for his left-handed touchdown pass in the Tar Heels' win at Pitt. Maye wasn't in attendance after having been picked No. 3 pick in last weekend's NFL Draft.
The Rammy Awards for Breakthrough Athlete went to Harrison Ingram of men's basketball (like Maye, off to the pro ranks) and Skyler Smith from women's swimming & diving.
The Rammy for Individual Performance went to David Ford from men's golf, the 2023 ACC Player of the Year.
The first half of the show wrapped up with the Best Upset Award to the men's fencing team for its 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, the program's first title since 1980.
After a halftime break that included the Carolina Girls dance team and Crumbl cookies given out by Rameses and RJ, the awards continued with the Rammy for Record-Breaking Performance, which went to women's basketball senior Alyssa Ustby. She recorded the first triple-double in program history with 16 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Rammy for Best Championship Performance went to Parker Wolfe from men's track & field and cross country. He won the 2023 ACC Championship in cross country, leading UNC to its first title since 1985. At the Indoor Championships, he again brough home gold, winning the mile in an ACC-record time and adding a title in the 3,000 meters as well in pacing the Tar Heel men to their first indoor crown since 1996.
RJ Davis of men's basketball and Aranza Vazquez of women's swimming & diving were honored as the Outstanding Male and Female Athletes of the Year. Davis was named ACC Player of the Year as the Tar Heels won the regular-season crown. Vazquez, who won this Rammy for the second year in a row, repeated as a two-time NCAA Diving Champion, with titles in the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard competitions in both 2023 and 2024.
Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham and Interim Chancellor Lee Roberts then took the stage, with Cunningham showing off NCAA Championship rings from women's tennis and field hockey (more on those teams in a bit) while introducing the voting for the Best Dressed Award. Those honors were ultimately won by Sydney Banks of women's track & field and Conner Harrell of football as the master of UNC fashion, Alexander Julian, looked on.
The final performance Rammy of the night, Outstanding Team, was shared by – you guessed it – the field hockey and women's tennis teams, both of which won NCAA titles in 2023.
Throughout the evening, the Tar Heels also handed out several special awards based on excellence outside of competition. The John Lotz Award recognizes student-athletes who have fought through challenges. This year's honorees were Sam Forrest (women's lacrosse), who returned to play after hip surgery that could have ended her career, and Patrick Anderson (men's cross country and track & field), who overcame a serious car accident and returned to competition. Anderson grabbed the mic on his way off stage to tell the crowd, "With the right people by your side and the right attitude, you can get through anything."
Top Six for Service Awards, recognizing outstanding community service, went to Reilly Tran (women's tennis), J.J. Jones (football), Kaimon Rucker (football), Dorrit Eisenbeis (field hockey) and Gracie Bolick (women's track and field), and the men's lacrosse team.
The McCaskill Award, recognizing outstanding seniors, went to Avery Patterson (women's soccer), now playing professionally in the NWSL, and Patrick Alvarez (baseball).
The members of mascot team, truly unsung since they're generally anonymous, were honored with the Unsung Hero Rammy.
Featured performers during the evening were Ella Webb (women's fencing), who played the harp for the second year in a row, and Abbey Forbes (women's tennis), who sang.
The evening's exclamation mark came from two more performances. First was Spragley, who capped his hosting duties by freestyling about the Rammys, working in Ustby's triple-double and the Tar Heels' six ACC Championships this school year before leading the crowd in a Tar! Heels! call and response that served as a perfect warmup for the traditional finale.
As with all UNC events, the final performance of the night was Hark the Sound, with all in attendance singing, swaying and clapping to the alma mater, before heading outside for ice cream.
Congratulations to all our nominees and winners at tonight's #RAMMYS2024! 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/14TdzMCfaN— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 30, 2024
2024 Rammy Award WinnersOutstanding Newcomers
Presented by Olivia Thomas (Women's Soccer), Chance Carroll (Football), Aranza Vazquez (Women's Diving) and McKenna Brunick (Women's Track & Field)
Owen Duffy, Men's Lacrosse
Charly Bruder, Field Hockey
Best Play
Presented by Carson Tanguilig (Women's Tennis) and Anuj Watane (Men's Tennis)
Drake Maye left-handed touchdown pass at Pitt
John Lotz Award
Presented by Jamie Shearer (Women's Gymnastics) and Duwe Farris (Men's Basketball)
Patrick Anderson, Men's Cross Country and Track & Field
Sam Forrest, Women's Lacrosse
Breakthrough Athletes
Presented by Olivia Dirks (Women's Lacrosse), Alex Breschi (Men's Lacrosse), Katie Dixon (Field Hockey) and Jalen Washington (Men's Basketball)
Harrison Ingram, Men's Basketball
Skyler Smith, Women's Swimming & Diving
Best Individual Performance
Presented by Tessa Dellarose (Women's Soccer) and Perry Becker (Men's Swimming & Diving)
David Ford, Men's Golf
Best Upset
Presented by Kiersten Thomassey (Field Hockey) and Conner Harrell (Football)
Men's fencing claims the 2024 ACC Championship
Best Record-Breaking Performance
Presented by Abbey Forbes (Women's Tennis) and Tyler Mayerhoff (Track & Field)
Alyssa Ustby, Women's Basketball
Unsung Hero Award
Presented by Boyd Poelke (Men's Swimming & Diving)
UNC Mascot Team
Best Championship Performance
Presented by Trevor Paschall (Men's Track & Field) and Marissa Meyerhofer (Volleyball)
Parker Wolf, Men's Cross Country and Track & Field
ACC Top Six for Service
Presented by Kylie Yoder (Women's Swimming & Diving) and Greer Pattison (Women's Swimming & Diving)
Reilly Tran (women's tennis)
J.J. Jones (football)
Kaimon Rucker (football)
Dorrit Eisenbeis (field hockey) and Gracie Bolick (women's track and field)
Men's lacrosse team
Mildred McCaskill Awards
Presented by Sara McClure (Women's Tennis) and Will Peters (Men's Tennis)
Avery Patterson, Women's Soccer
Patrick Alvarez, Baseball
Outstanding Athletes of the Year
Presented by Georgia Nel (Women's Swimming & Diving), Will Joseph (Men's Fencing) and Kaimon Rucker (Football)
Aranza Vazquez, Women's Swimming & Diving
RJ Davis, Men's Basketball
Outstanding Teams of the Year
Presented by Carlie Myrtle (Softball) and Tiesyn Harris (Men's Swimming & Diving)
Field Hockey and Women's Tennis
Players Mentioned
INF/OF
/ Baseball
Distance
/ Track & Field
High Jump
/ Track & Field
Breast, IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Throws
/ Track & Field
Defensive Midfielder
/ Men's Lacrosse
Forward
/ Field Hockey
Pole Vault
/ Track & Field
Offensive Line
/ Football
Midfielder/Defender
/ Women's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Women's Lacrosse
Midfielder/Back
/ Field Hockey
Attackman
/ Men's Lacrosse
Back/Midfielder
/ Field Hockey
F
/ Men's Basketball
/ Women's Tennis
/ Men's Golf
Defender
/ Women's Lacrosse
Quarterback
/ Football
Free
/ Swimming & Diving
F
/ Men's Basketball
Wide Receiver
/ Football
Epee
/ Fencing
Quarterback
/ Football
Throws
/ Track & Field
/ Women's Tennis
AA
/ Women's Gymnastics
P/UTL
/ Softball
Free, IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Forward/Midfielder
/ Women's Soccer
Back, Free
/ Swimming & Diving
/ Men's Tennis
Fly
/ Swimming & Diving
Rush
/ Football
V, UB, BB
/ Women's Gymnastics
Breast
/ Swimming & Diving
Distance
/ Track & Field
/ Women's Tennis
Forward
/ Women's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Field Hockey
/ Women's Tennis
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
F
/ Men's Basketball
/ Men's Tennis
Foil
/ Fencing
Distance
/ Track & Field
Free, IM
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