Sports weekend preview: Spring sports start their seasons as winter sports continue

North Carolina athletics are in full swing this weekend with winter teams continuing to compete and the spring season starting to ramp up. With a variety of events at home each day, take a look at what teams are playing in Chapel Hill and others that are scattered across the nation and abroad. 

Basketball

It’s been a monumental week for both men’s and women’s basketball. 

The No. 8 North Carolina men’s basketball team will take on Miami at noon on Saturday, looking to continue its win streak after a redemption win at Louisville and a historic victory over N.C. State. 

After earning two top-10 wins in one week, the women’s basketball team was defeated by Duke on Thursday night and competes at Clemson on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.

Finally, the JV men’s basketball team will kick off the weekend with a matchup against Huntington Prep at 9 a.m. on Saturday. 

Tennis 

As the No. 2 seed, the women’s tennis team will spend the weekend defending the ITA Indoor National Championship in Seattle. The Tar Heels play Oklahoma State on Friday at noon for the opening round of the four-day tournament. 

The women’s team has a long history in this tournament, winning in 2013, 2015 and 2018 and being the runner-up in 2016 and 2017. UNC enters with an unblemished 6-0 record in dual matches in 2019. 

After falling to Texas last weekend, the No. 6 men’s tennis team heads to Illinois to play at 6 p.m. on Saturday. 

Lacrosse

Both lacrosse teams will play their first home games of the season in Kenan Memorial Stadium on Saturday. 

The men’s team is coming off of a 20-9 win over Mercer on Feb. 2. UNC faces Furman at noon for its home opener. 

The women’s team faces James Madison after the men’s matchup at 3 p.m. for its first game of the season. 

Gymnastics

After falling to Temple but beating Pitt on Feb. 1, the gymnastics team takes on EAGL opponent Towson in Carmichael Arena on Saturday at 4 p.m. As its third home meet of the season, the theme for the afternoon is mental health awareness. 

Swimming and diving

In a three-day event, the swimming and diving teams will compete in the Janis Hape Dowd Nike Invitational held in Chapel Hill on Friday and Sunday and at Duke on Saturday. This is the Tar Heels' last meet before the women's swimming ACC Championships begin on Feb. 20. 

Track and field

After competing at the Virginia Tech "Doc Hale" Elite Meet this past weekend, the Tar Heels head down to Clemson for the two-day Tiger Paw Invitational on Friday and Saturday. 

Softball

The softball team will open its 2019 season at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge this weekend in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The team faces No. 18 Baylor and No. 3 Washington on Friday. Saturday will be a matchup against BYU, and the team will close the weekend against No. 9 South Carolina on Sunday.  

Wrestling

Coming off two wins against Bucknell and Pittsburgh last weekend, UNC faces Virginia Tech at 6 p.m. on Friday. 

Fencing 

Both fencing teams are heading to Duke this weekend. The men’s team competes on Saturday, while the women’s team competes on Sunday. It's the teams' last regular season meet before the ACC Championships begins on Feb. 23. 

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