Oct. 20, 2009

FOOTBALL

• North Carolina leads the nation this week in pass defense. The Tar Heels are allowing just 125.17 yards per game through the air and also rank 3rd in pass efficiency defense.

• For the second straight week an ACC player was chosen as the National Offensive Player of the Week by the Walter Camp Foundation. Boston College tailback Montel Harris was named the National Offensive Player of the Week after he rushed for a BC-record 264 yards and 5 touchdowns against NC State last weekend.

• Duke senior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis has been named as one of 10 finalists for the 2009 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.

• In the first Bowl Championship Standings of the year, three ACC teams were ranked among the top 14 teams in the country led by 10th-ranked Miami, 12th-ranked Georgia Tech and 14th-ranked Virginia Tech.

• Virginia Tech freshman Ryan Williams has already earned five ACC Rookie of the Week Awards this year - three shy of the record.

• Boston College true freshman LB Luke Kuechly is averaging 9.9 tackles per game and ranks second in the ACC. He also ranks 2nd nationally among all freshmen in tackles per game.

• Florida State junior QB Christian Ponder has a current streak of 197 passes without an interception. It's the fifth-longest streak in ACC history.

MEN'S SOCCER

• Three of the top five teams in this week's College Soccer News top 25 poll are from the Atlantic Coast Conference, while the league also boasts two of the top five in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's top 25.

• Three ACC student-athletes were chosen as part of the College Soccer News' "Team of the Week," including Wake Forest senior midfielder Austin da Luz, who was named the CSN National Player of the Week, Boston College's Charlie Rugg and Maryland's Jason Herrick were also named to College Soccer News' "Team of the Week.

• The ACC currently owns 17 wins over ranked opponents this season. With the Eagles' 2-1 win over second-ranked North Carolina last week, Boston College has now tallied three victories over an opponent ranked within the nation's top 15 this season.

• On Tuesday, October 20, Duke head coach John Kerr will be going for his 100th career victory as a head coach.

WOMEN'S SOCCER

• Thursday night features a marquee match between No. 3 North Carolina and No. 5 Florida State in Tallahassee. The Tar Heels sit atop the ACC standings while the Seminoles are tied for second. UNC and FSU have finished first and second in the ACC standings three of the previous six seasons (2003-08), and both have been among the top-three finishers each of those years.

• On a week that saw his son named National Men's Soccer Player of the Week for his play for Wake Forest men's soccer team, Demon Deacon women's coach Tony da Luz made some waves of his own. A 2-0 win at NC State was the 200th of da Luz's coaching career. Wake Forest currently owns a five-game unbeaten streak and has not allowed a goal during that span.

• Wake Forest's Allie Sadow and FSU's Tiffany McCarty were named to Top Drawer Soccer's National Team of the Week.

• Duke's Elisabeth Redmond's 32 career assists are second-most ever by a Blue Devil. Her 26 goals rank seventh on the school's all-time list, and her 85 points rank fourth, just three points shy of third place.

FIELD HOCKEY

• ACC teams continue to play some of the most difficult schedules across the country, with each team facing no less than six ranked opponent's this season. Overall, the ACC holds a 24-1 record against ranked non-conference opponents for a remarkable .960 winning percentage.

• Last week's slate of games saw ACC teams shut out four opponents, including three ranked foes.

• When No 1 Maryland travels to Chapel Hill to take on No. 2 North Carolina on Saturday it will not only mark a matchup between the top two teams in Division I, it will include a matchup between Maryland junior forward Katie O'Donnell and her cousin Brianna O'Donnell, a senior goalkeeper for North Carolina. Katie currently leads the conference in points, points per game, and assists while Brianna has spent 385 of North Carolina's 1,063 minutes in goal, allowing just one score for a 0.18 goals against average.

• The top-ranked Terrapins are 16-0 for the first time in school history. Maryland also reached similar milestones when it stared the season 14-0 and 15-0, respectively.

VOLLEYBALL

• North Carolina (12,724), Virginia Tech (3,112), Maryland (2,017), and NC State (743) each hosted season-high crowds all on the same night, Friday, October 16.

• At 17-2 overall and 8-1 in conference play, No. 17 Florida State is ranked just behind second-ranked Texas in the most recent RPI. Virginia Tech (39) and Miami (41) also rank in the RPI top-50.

• North Carolina climbed above the .500 mark with a 3-1 win over visiting Wake Forest. The Tar Heels stand at 10-9 and 6-2 in the ACC, and have won five of their last six matches.

• In a 3-0 win over Virginia, Clemson senior setter Kelsey Murphy achieved a number of milestones: she recorded 10 digs to move into Clemson's top-10 all-time in that category (she now has 1,130 career digs) and registered her 400th career block.

CROSS COUNTRY

• This past weekend ACC cross country teams captured nine team championships and seven individual titles.

• In men's competition, 15th-ranked Virginia captured the inaugural Panorama Farms Invitational title behind Emil Heineking's record-breaking performance. Heineking ran away with the men's title, his third straight win this season, breaking the course record by 36 seconds.

• NC State's Ryan Hill won ACC Performer of the Week honors leading No. 21 NC State to a ninth-place finish in the NCAA Pre-Nationals.

• In women's action 14th-ranked Duke came away with a team title this past weekend at the Blue Ridge Open with the Hokies finishing second. The Virginia women's squad finished second at the Panorama Farms Invitational title while the Seminoles turned in a second-place overall finish overall in the Blue Race at the NCAA Pre-Nationals behind ACC Performer of the Week Susan Kuijken,