College Sports

Vote now: Who was the Triangle’s top college athlete of the week?

Each week across the region, top college athletes perform incredible feats of athletic achievement. It;s our goal to figure out, across as many sports as we can, which performance is the best of the best.

Here are this week’s nominees, in alphabetical order. Feel free to vote as often as you want.

Tyson Chandler, UNC football

Chandler rushed for a career-high 213 yards on 22 carries and scored four rushing touchdowns in Saturday’s 58-55 win over previously unbeaten and No. 10 Wake Forest. In the game, he became just the third player to record 200-plus rushing yards and four or more touchdowns in a game against a CFP Top 10 opponent, and he’s the first UNC player since Leon Johnson in 1993 to have four rushing touchdowns in a game.

Mataeo Durant, Duke football

Durant’s first-quarter 15-yard run from scrimmage was innocuous enough in a loss to Pittsburgh, but that run allowed the elite running back to surpass the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season. He became just the fifth Blue Devil to achieve the feat and is the first player since Chris Douglas did so in 2003. Durant finished with 89 yards on 24 carries and added four receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown.

Tanner Ingle, NC State football

Ingle had what his coach called one of, if not his best game ever for the Wolfpack. He was everywhere leading the defense, accounting for 13 total tackles, nearly double anyone else on his team — or on Florida State.

Erin Matson, UNC field hockey

We could write a book too long to finish about Matson’s achievements and impact on the UNC field hockey program over the years, but this week, she added another chapter to her incredible legacy. The senior forward has a second-half hat trick — her third in four games — as the No. 10 Tar Heels beat No. 9 Syracuse in the ACC semifinal round. As an encore, Matson scored the lone goal of the game for the Tar Heels in a 1-0 win over Virginia to lead the team to an ACC title. She was named Tournament MVP for the second year in a row. She scored the game-winner in all three of UNC’s tourney wins, totaling six goals and assisting on the team’s other two to set an ACC Tournament record with a total of 14 points. (Her six goals tied the ACC Tournament record.)

Taylor Rowland, N.C. State volleyball

Rowland led the Wolfpack to a big win over Notre Dame last weekend, recording her sixth double-double of the season with a game- and career-high 25 kills on a blistering .339 hitting percentage, with 16 digs, tying her career high. Rowland also had nine kills in a setback against Louisville on Friday.

Thorleifur Ulfarsson, Duke men’s soccer

Ulfarsson scored two goals in a span of 1:05 in the Blue Devils’ ACC Tournament quarterfinal round last weekend to lead Duke to a 3-2 win over Wake Forest. On the season, Ulfarsson has 13 goals, has scored four in his past three games, and has scored in nine of the 12 matches in which he’s played this season.

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This story was originally published November 8, 2021 at 3:35 PM.

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