Upcoming Event: Track & Field versus NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 10, 2026
Track & Field
vs NCAA Outdoor Championships
%20(1).png&width=24&height=24&type=webp)
Nirapathpongporn & Curry Named Carlyle Cup MVPs
Aug. 2, 2002
DURHAM, N.C.-- With the third year of the Carlyle Cup just around the corner, the 2001-02 TAGHeuer Trophy for the Most Valuable Athlete awards for Duke and North Carolina were released on Friday.
Earning the TAGHeuer Trophy for the Blue Devils was Virada Nirapathpongporn and for the Tar Heels was Ronald Curry. After Duke captured the Carlyle Cup, 27-21 in the first season, UNC earned the Cup, 31-17, this past season.
The Carlyle Cup is an annual all-sport competition between Duke University and the University of North Carolina. Carlyle & Company, a Greensboro, N.C., based jeweler with 38 stores across the country including 12 in North Carolina, supports the competition. The annual winner retains and prominently displays the Carlyle Cup each year. The TAGHeuer Trophy is given annually to the most valuable athlete in the Carlyle Cup competition between the two schools.
As a sophomore, Nirapathpongporn finished second at the ACC Championships helping to guide the Blue Devils to their seventh consecutive title and capture the women's golf points in the competition. The Bangkok, Thailand native also led Duke to the NCAA team title while winning the NCAA individual title with a school and NCAA record-tying score of 279 (nine under par). She was the ACC Player of the Year, a NGCA All-America for the second straight season and captured the Golf Honda Award.
Ronald Curry passed for 217 yards and three touchdowns and added an 11-yard scoring run to lead the UNC football team to a 52-17 win over Duke. As a senior, Curry had touchdown passes of 72, 18 and 30 yards. The Hampton, Va. product completed 11 of 19 passes in the game to give North Carolina the football points.
It was Curry's second straight outstanding performance against the Blue Devils. As a junior, he rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 214 yards and two scores in a 59-21 win. Curry was the Peach Bowl MVP as he led the Tar Heels to a 16-10 victory over Auburn.
The TAGHeuer Trophy is sponsored by TAGHeuer Watch Company and the Carlyle Cup by Carlyle & Co. jewelers.
