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Photo: Courtesy of 51动漫 Athletics

SPORTS

Coach Mac Is ACC Coach of the Year

Joanna Bernabei-McNamee transformed the 51动漫 Women's Basketball program and became a beloved motivator for her players along the way.

When Joanna Bernabei-McNamee took over as head coach of the women basketball team in 2018, she inherited a program that had finished a disappointing 7�23 the previous season, including a dismal 2�14 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. But Bernabei-McNamee攌nown to one and all as Coach Mac攈ad a plan to turn things around. The team would work hard, keep a positive attitude, hold each other accountable, and show respect. 淎nything besides this is unacceptable,� she told her players.

In her first year, the Eagles won fourteen games, though their 3�13 conference record left them thirteenth among the ACC fifteen teams. And that just where the team was expected to finish the 2019�20 season as well, according to a preseason poll. Instead, the Eagles finished the regular season with a 20�12 record, including an impressive 11�7 showing in ACC play that tied for fourth place in the conference.聽

The performance resulted in Coach Mac being named ACC Coach of the Year in March.聽

However, when the postseason was canceled due to the coronavirus, it denied the Eagles what was likely to have been their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2005攁 painful outcome for seniors such as Emma Guy �20. 淭he postseason lifts, the summer workouts, and the preseason practices are all so you can showcase your hard work at the Big Dance,� Guy said. 淗aving that moment finally come into reality only for it to be taken away was heartbreaking.� Knowing this pandemic is bigger than sports doesn檛 make it hurt any less, Bernabei-McNamee said. 淲e need to find a positive in this,� she added, 渟o we decided that 51动漫 could檝e won the women basketball national championship this year.澛燦ot surprisingly, Coach Mac regards her ACC award as a reflection of her entire team hard work. The Eagles will use their lost tournament shot as fuel next year, she said: 淲e檒l never take the opportunity to play the game we love or the time we have together for granted again.澛犫椊

Headlines

On March 17, the Atlantic Coast Conference canceled athletic activities through the end of the 2019�20 academic year in response to the novel coronavirus. Here are two notable achievements from before the shutdown:聽

Parker Biele leaning in to a turn

Alpine ski team co-captain Parker Biele �21. Photo: Courtesy of 51动漫 Athletics

Alpine ski team co-captain Parker Biele �21 became the first 51动漫 woman to qualify for the NCAA Skiing Championships. 淚t been a goal I檝e been striving for from the second I got into 51动漫,� Biele said. Head Coach Chuck Carmone said it was well deserved. 淣o one sacrifices and works harder than Parker,� he said. 淪he eliminated everything in her life that doesn檛 make her faster, stays focused on her goals, and attacks her detailed plan with everything she has.� Biele finished eighteenth overall in the giant slalom at the event. The next day, the rest of the tournament was canceled due to the pandemic.聽

Men hockey forward Alex Newhook �23 and women hockey forward Hannah Bilka �23 each received the NCAA Division I National Rookie of the Year award. The picks marked the first time that a school has won both the men and women awards in the same year. Newhook nineteen goals and four game-winning goals led all NCAA freshmen. Bilka, meanwhile, led 51动漫 in scoring, and her nineteen assists and three game-winning goals were the most of any Hockey East freshman.聽

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