Top performers and moments from UNC's 2018-19 season

The 2018-19 UNC athletic year was full of what likely could be called the greatest collection of talent in Division I history. Over the coming weeks we will feature those athletes and moments that made this past season so memorable for Bear fans.

MEN'S GOLF

Returning most of a Big Sky Championship team from the previous season, expectations were high from the 2018-19 UNC men's golf team. The reigning champions did not back down from those expectations but attacked them put together another championship year to return to the NCAA Regional. Along the way, there were plenty of accomplishments achieved by the team.

Defeated Weber State by two strokes to win the Big Sky Championship.
Joshua Matz earned back-to-back Big Sky Player of the Year award.
Matz, Coby Welch and Li Chen all made first team All-Big Sky
Freshman Jack Castiglia earned All-Big Sky honorable mention.
The team won the Pat Hicks SUU Invite in November.
Welch finished in the top 10 at both the Big Sky Championship and NCAA Regional
Nick Sharp tied the program record for lowest round shot with a 63 at the UNC Individual Invite.
Head coach Roger Prenzlow earned his second straight Big Sky Coach of the Year award.

Make sure to check back at UNCBears.com to remember the other great performances of the past year including next week to look at how UNC student-athletes excelled not only on the playing field, but in the classroom.

BEAH CRUZ

So far our series has featured the season long accomplishments by some of the best athletes UNC has had to offer, Beah Cruz bucks that trend. While she had plenty of great moments throughout the season, placing second at the Cowgirl Invite, which earned her Player of the Week honors, her big moment came at the end of the season.

At the Big Sky Championship, Cruz took home the biggest individual accomplishment of the 2018-19 season when she won the conference tournament on a playoff hole.

Cruz opened the tournament with a 69 on the way to her three round total of 215. Her first-place finish led UNC to a third place finish as a team.

Make sure to check back at UNCBears.com to remember the other great performances of the past year including next week when we feature the Men's Golf program and their continued domination of the Big Sky.

JORDAN DAVIS

Jordan Davis became a UNC fan favorite and burst on the national scene with his ability and willingness to dunk on anyone at nearly any given time, but by the time he finished his career he became the most well rounded player in Bears basketball history.

After being the sidekick on a team that won the CollegeInsider.Com Tournament as a junior, Davis came back to Greeley looking to solidify his spot atop the UNC basketball mountain. Motivated by being named Third Team All-Conference in 2017-18 he dominated the Big Sky during his final run the league being named Player of the Year and that third team honor seemed like nothing but a distant memory when he was selected as the only unanimous member of the 2018-19 first team.

Other senior season accomplishments included:

Setting a new program records for points scored, 2,272.
Finishing as the 10th leading scorer in the country.
He ended his college career as the 117th all time leading scorer in Division I College Basketball history.
His 752 points are the second most scored in a single season by a Big Sky player.
Davis is the second leading scorer in Big Sky Basketball history.
He scored a career-high 36 points against Southern Utah.

While his final season was the highlight of his UNC career his four-year numbers are staggering.

Davis is the all-time leader in the following categories:

Points, 2,272
Points Per Game, 21.6
Assists, 516
Field Goals Made, 849
Games Played, 130
Free Throws Attempted, 766
Free Throws Made (DI), 528
Steals (DI), 155

JD was the centerpiece of one of the most successful periods in UNC basketball history and he is one of the all-time Bear greats.

Make sure to check back at UNCBears.com to remember the other great performances of the past year including next week when we feature the fantastic season-ending run of Beah Cruz.

SAVANNAH SMITH

Everyone remembers the moment when Savannah Smith hit that big step back three from the Big Sky logo inside Bank of Colorado Arena, it's just a matter of which time are you talking about. Smith's signature move will always be remembered by not only UNC women's basketball fans, but for many Big Sky opponents as they have nightmares about it.

Smith's senior season was set up to be a special one coming off a Big Sky MVP junior year and helping lead the team to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Her final ride as a Bear didn't disappoint as she set multiple records and helped the team finish second in the Big Sky.

Smith's 2018-19 Accomplishments/Records

Colorado Sportswomen of the Year for College Basketball
Unanimous first team All-Big Sky selection
Program all-time scoring leader (2,013 points)
Program all-time leader in made 3-pointers (300)
Program single-season scoring leader (708 points)
Program single-season record holder in made 3-pointers (114)
Program single best single-season free throw percentage (92.8%)
Single-game scoring leader (40 points, 2 times)
Single-game made 3-pointers leader (9)
Six-time Big Sky Player of the Week
First team Preseason All-Big Sky selection
Finished career in the program's top 10 for field goals made, assists, steals and games played

While Smith's career as a Bear is over, her legacy will live on for a long time.

Make sure to check back at UNCBears.com to remember the other great performances of the past year including next week when we feature another Bear baller in Jordan Davis.

RICO MONTOYA

If Rico Montoya would have just had the senior season on the mat that he did he still would have been one of the top wrestlers in the Big 12. When you add in his accomplishments in the classroom, he becomes of the most well-rounded student-athletes in the country.
His final season the mat for UNC broke down like this:

Qualified for the NCAA Nationals for the third-straight season.
He placed fifth at the Big 12 Championships.
Became the first eve UNC wrestler to make the finals of the Southern Scuffle Tournament.
Won the 125lb weight class at the Northern Colorado Open.
Posted a team-high 16 wins.

Not too bad at all for wrestling in a new weight class for the first time. However, the accolades kept coming well after the season came to an end.

Named Big 12 Wrestling Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Named to the Google Cloud CoSIDA Academic All-District Team.
Honored by the National Wrestling Coaches Association on their Scholar All-American Team.
Graduated with a master's degree and a 4.0 Grade Point Average.

Make sure to check back at UNCBears.com to remember the other great performances of the past year including next week when we feature women's basketball star Savannah Smith.

MADDY MOORE

Freshman year of college is about new beginnings and learning how to live away from home. For UNC swim & dive freshman Maddy Moore, it was also about dominating the competition and rewriting the program's record book.

While smashing records in the pool, she also helped bring the UNC swim & dive program to new heights. Moore, along with her teammates tied for the program's best finish at the Western Athletic Championships (WAC) by taking third place.

She was responsible for seven of the team's 12 broken records in the 2018-19 season and helped take first place in four the five events the Bears ended up winning at the WAC Championships.

Records Broken

200 Medley Relay – 1:40.66
400 Medley Relay – 3:41.41
200 Free Relay – 1:31.32
400 Free Relay – 3:20.45
50 Free – 22.50
100 Free – 49.32
100 Back – 54.68

WAC Titles

200 Medley Relay
200 Free Relay
400 Free Relay
50 Free

Bear fans can be sure one thing as the 2019-20 swim & dive season approaches, Moore records are to fall and Moore titles are going to be won by the team behind the efforts of Maddy Moore and her teammates.

Make sure to check back at UNCBears.com to remember the other great performances of the past year including next week when we feature Rico Montoya from wrestling.

ALEX WESLEY

Alex Wesley didn't back down from the chance to join a UNC football legend but embraced the moment in 2018. The Bears wide receiver had the chance to join Vincent Jackson as the only two players in program history to record a pair of 1,000 yards receiving seasons.

For Wesley, he had already been on the big stage and seen the target on his back during his track & field career at Northern Colorado where he won three Big Sky Championships for the 400m dash and in his final season was a second team All-American.

Following his junior season in which he racked up 1,010 yards opponents double and tripled teamed the Bears speedster, but still could not slow him down. By joining Jackson as just the second Bear to have two 1,000 yards receiving he also earned an invite to the Reese's Senior Bowl and NFL Scouting Combine before signing an undrafted free agent deal with the New York Giants.

Wesley's honors and achievements:

Wesley became the all-time leader in Division I receiving yards, 2,716.
He holds the record for DI receiving touchdowns with 17.
Alex became just the second Bear to record multiple 1,000 yard seasons.
He averaged 105 yards per game, which was second best in the Big Sky and 10th in the nation.
Twice he was named 2nd Team All-Big Sky.
He became just the third Bear to be invited to the Senior Bowl.
After competing at the NFL Combine he signed a free agent contract with the New York Giants.

Make sure to check back at UNCBears.com to remember the other great performances of the past year including next week when we feature freshman phenom, Maddy Moore.

MARIEL GUTIERREZ

While players like Jordan Davis and Alex Wesley made appearances on TV and at events like the NFL Draft Combine Mariel Gutierrez went under the radar but made just as big of an impact on UNC Soccer.

The senior from Gypsum, Colo. capped her career in style. Among the honors she earned was Big Sky MVP and was voted the only unanimous member of the all-conference team. She scored a BSC conference leading eight goals and tied with teammate Maddie Roberts for the most points scored in the conference.
All of those numbers helped her earn her most prestigious honor when she took home the Colorado Sportswoman of the Year for college soccer.

The talent and accolades weren't reserved for the soccer field. Gutierrez was named All-Academic Big Sky and First Team Scholar All-West Region. She became the only UNC player to ever be named two-time Scholar All-American by the United Soccer Coaches. She graduated in December with a degree in Business Finance and a grade point average of 3.46.

Mariel left UNC with all the following honors and achievement:

Only player Big Sky player to be named United Soccer Coaches first-team all-region.
One of four players in Big Sky history to be named first-team all-conference all four years.
She scored more game-winning goals than any other Bear in history, 14.
She played in a record tying 85 games.
She ended her career fourth all-time in goals scored with 36.

Make sure to check back at UNCBears.com to remember the other great performances of the past year.