CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Two of the top teams in the nation will meet Friday afternoon as sixth-ranked North Carolina meets seventh-ranked Virginia.
This week, Carolina achieved its highest team ranking since 2007 as coach Sam Paul's Tar Heels are currently 15-2 overall and 2-0 in the ACC. UNC swept NC State and Wake Forest in ACC action last weekend.
The Virginia Cavaliers are the defending NCAA champions and return another talented team. Virginia is 10-2 overall and 2-0 in the ACC with their only losses to No. 1 Ohio State and No. 3 UCLA. The Wahoos have been idle since a March 6 loss at UCLA 4-3.
Carolina's only losses this season have come at No. 1 Ohio State and at No. 13 Duke.
The Cavaliers have won the past 11 meetings against the Tar Heels, including the last three meetings in Chapel Hill.
On Sunday, North Carolina plays No. 49 Virginia Tech while Virginia takes on Duke.
Around DI: Two of the SEC's best go head-to-head on Friday as No. 10 Georgia meets No. 13 Kentucky. ... Second-ranked Ohio State faces rival Michigan on Friday. ... No. 9 Illinois has a doubleheader on Sunday, facing Ball State and Indiana. ... Tulsa gets two top-10 teams this weekend, meeting fifth-ranked Baylor on Friday and No. 8 Texas on Sunday.
Around DII: Fifth-ranked Hawaii Pacific makes a trip to Florida to face some of the top teams in the nation, meeting No. 1 Barry on Saturday, fourth-ranked Lynn on Sunday and No. 15 Rollins on Monday. ... Seventh-ranked Lander has No. 44 Flager on tap for a Sunday match.
Around DIII: The biggest match of the weekend comes on Friday when third-ranked Claremont-M-S takes on No. 4 Amherst. Last time out, the Stags beat No. 1 Washington (Mo.) while Amherst ending its streak of 17 matches in six days. The Jeffs end that streak on Saturday with a match against No. 15 Redlands. ... Fifth-ranked Johns Hopkins will split its squad on Saturday for matches against Carnegie Mellon and Dickinson.
