University of Mount Olive attackman Joshua Dewart, left, fires a shot on goal against a Lees-McRae defender during a Conference Carolinas game last spring. Dewart helped the Trojans claim the tournament title for the first time in program history.
Everyone likes a good comeback story.
They relish reading a Hollywood-like script that details grit, determination, heart and all-out efforts given on either the field or court.
A perennial Joby Hawn Cup contender, the University of Mount Olive penned a stirring spring campaign that turned heads and drastically changed the 2023-24 standings.
The Trojans leap-frogged over three Conference Carolinas schools and emerged as runners-up in the final overall Cup chase. UMO compiled a 77.8 percent rating behind in-state rival UNC Pembroke, which claimed the overall, men’s division and women’s division Cups.
“A strong spring season for UMO athletics,” said Joey Higginbotham, director of athletics. “[Our teams] featured six first-year head coaches who performed at a high level, and l look forward to seeing their growth in the coming years. We also featured some of the best student-athletes in the country with 11 All-Americans and nine Conference Player-of-the-Year recipients.”
UMO seized regular-season titles in men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s outdoor track, men’s indoor track and field hockey. Women’s lacrosse picked up its fourth straight tournament title and finished the year ranked No. 24 in the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll.
The men’s lacrosse team won the program’s first-ever tournament title.
Women’s indoor track, men’s golf and men’s tennis each placed second in conference-tournament action. Men’s and women’s volleyball, along with field hockey, each reached the tournament semifinals.
Directed by head coach Rob Watt, the baseball team made its 20th NCAA tournament appearance in program history. The Trojans concluded the year ranked No. 25 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II poll.
“Although it is amazing to be recognized among the top institutions in Conference Carolinas, our goal [each year] is to capture the Joby Hawn Cup,” Higginbotham said. “I look forward to watching our student-athletes succeed athletically and in the classroom this upcoming 2024-25 season.”
The Cup is named after H.C. “Joby” Hawn, who in 1962, became the first full-time commissioner of what was then known as the Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (CIAC). Following his retirement from the league in 1976, Conference Carolinas began awarding the Hawn Cup annually in his honor.
The current conference is comprised of schools from North and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia. Shorter University begins competition this season and Ferrum University in Virginia will join as a provisional member July 1, 2025.
