In the release, Bears coach Lyndsey Oates said defense and ball control were areas where UNC needed to improve from the 2023 season. The team has one returning defensive player for 2024 in sophomore Bella LePore.
Baylor Fernandes, a 165-pound third-year Bears wrestler from Lockport, Illinois, was disqualified in the sixth of seven matches at the 20th Southern Scuffle Jan. 1-2 in at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga.