UNC’s Brooke Elby is soccer player of the week

North Carolina senior midfielder Brooke Elby was named ACC Women’s Soccer Player of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday. It is the first such honor of her career.

Elby was named the defensive most valuable player of the Duke Nike Classic as the Tar Heels defeated two Top 20 foes, No. 7 Penn State and No. 18 Arkansas. Elby played all 102 minutes of the 1-0 double overtime shutout against the previously unbeaten Nittany Lions, who entered the match scoring nearly three goals per game.

UNC is ranked No. 9 in the latest Soccer America Top 25 released Tuesday.

Duke: With three goals in two Duke Nike Classic matches over the weekend, senior Kelly Cobb was selected to the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week.

Cobb, from Chugiak, Alaska, scored two goals in a 3-0 victory over Alabama-Birmingham in the opener Friday night, followed by a goal against Penn State in Sunday’s finale. Her two goals against the Blazers marked her third career multigoal performance and the first since her freshman season.

A 5-foot-10 midfielder/forward, Cobb was named the offensive most valuable player of the tournament.

Golf

Duke: The reigning NCAA champion Duke women’s team is listed No. 7 in Golfweek’s preseason 2014-15 national rankings, as coach Dan Brooks enters his 31st season.

Stanford is No. 1, followed by Southern California, UCLA, Arizona, Washington, Arkansas, Duke, Arizona State, Alabama and South Carolina in the top 10.

Duke returns two starters off its NCAA championship squad, including WGCA and Golfweek National Player of the Year Celine Boutier.

The other returning starter is Sandy Choi, who carded a 73.38 stroke average over the final five tournaments in the spring..

Duke also welcomes back senior Irene Jung and junior Yi Xiao, who will compete for starting spots this season. The Blue Devils welcome three standout recruits to the mix this season with the addition of Leona Maguire, Lisa Maguire as well as Gurbani Singh.

Volleyball

North Carolina: Chaniel Nelson, a redshirt senior opposite hitter from Huntersville, is a candidate for the Senior CLASS award, which focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. .

After missing all of the 2013 season because of injury, Nelson has returned as a key leader and force for North Carolina. She is averaging 2.53 kills per set and a .310 hitting percentage, and has played in all 15 sets this season.

Nelson is the founder and director of UNC S.W.A.G., a student-run organization dedicated to educating student-athletes on the effects of drugs and alcohol.

Swimming

Duke: Sophomore Peter Kropp was named to USA Swimming’s junior national team roster for the 2014-15 season. Kropp is the first male swimmer in program history to make a national team roster.

This story was originally published September 9, 2014 at 8:14 PM with the headline "UNC’s Brooke Elby is soccer player of the week."