North Carolina head coach Donna Papa recorded her 1,300th career win on Saturday.
Papa recorded the milestone victory with a 4-3 win over Wisconsin during the teams’ matchup as part of the ACC/Big 10 Challenge. The win was North Carolina’s fifth this season, and put the Tar Heels over the .500 mark at 5-4 on the year.
“I was more concerned about winning the game,” Papa said in a school statement, “but if 1300 wins what the byproduct is, that’s great. I’m thankful for all the players and assistant coaches who’ve helped get me to this point. It’s more about everybody along the way, over the years who have contributed to helping us be successful. To me that’s the most important thing. It’s very humbling because it’s a big number. It makes me appreciate that I’ve had the opportunity to coach so many great athletes and with supportive administration and coaches. Again, it’s a milestone number, but most important to me is that we keep winning and improving every day.”
Now in her 37th season as the Tar Heels’ head coach, Pape is a five-time ACC Coach of the Year, most recently earning the award in 2012. She was inducted into the NFCA Hall of Fame in 2012, and has reached fourteen different NCAA tournaments.
