Sports

Former safety shines as reliable linebacker

Dan Fox first arrived on Notre Dame's campus five years ago, and since then he has been one of the team's most consistent contributors. But while the graduate student inside linebacker has been steady in the middle of the Irish defense, that doesn't mean he hasn't had plenty of ups and downs.

Lineman puts ROTC career on hold to walk on

Kevin Carr has always been part of a team.

Men's Basketball: Brey explores different lineups

Irish head coach Mike Brey laid it out bluntly Sunday afternoon after Notre Dame's 83-70 loss to Indiana State at Purcell Pavilion, the first home loss in November in Brey's tenure.

ND Volleyball: ND looks to down Hokies

Women's Interhall: Pasquerilla West takes down Pasquerilla East

Page goes from first round to courtroom

Alan Page was a fourth grader when he figured out the power of the law.

Football: Irish look to stop Cougars' up-tempo attack

If you think Baylor and Oregon play fast, wait until BYU comes to Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday.

Men's Swimming: Welsh to retire, Tallman to take over

Zuba: Irish need to finish business (Nov. 20)

Zuba: Making cents of college sports

Men's Soccer: ND readies for NCAAs

Notre Dame earned a No. 3 seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament on Monday, giving the Irish (12-1-6, 7-1-3 ACC) a bye through the first round. They will begin their tournament run at home Sunday.

SMC Basketball: Saint Mary's splits opening weekend

Saint Mary's tipped off its season this weekend at the Saint Norbert Tip-off Tournament in Green Bay, Wis., falling 107-61 to No. 2 Wisconsin-Whitewater on Friday before rebounding with a 83-33 win over Northland on Saturday. "It was a crazy weekend," Saint Mary's coach Jenn Henley said. "The first night we're playing one of the top teams in the country, and less than 24 hours later we play a team who only travelled six members of their squad. From a coaching standpoint, I didn't exactly get a good impression of where our team is at." In the opening game, the Belles (1-1) committed 20 turnovers in the first half, and the Warhawks (2-0) didn't fail to capitalize, scoring 25 of their first-half points off of Belles' mishaps as they went into the break up 52-22. "I thought Wisconsin-Whitewater certainly exposed some of our weaknesses, especially in the first half as it pertains to turnovers and handling defensive pressure," Henley said. After shooting only 31 percent in the first half, the Belles shot 51 percent from the field in the second half, but were unable to cut into the Warhawks' lead. The Belles were 1-4 with three pointers and 4-8 from the free-throw line. UW-Whitewater shot 49 percent from the field, adding five three-pointers and sinking 10-14 from the charity stripe. "All in all, I thought we played with them better in the second half," Henley said. Sophomore forward Eleni Shea led the way for the Belles with 15 points and six rebounds, while junior forward Ariana Paul added 14 points and seven rebounds. In the second matchup of the tournament, the Belles took on Northland in the consolation round. The Belles jumped out to a 22-0 lead to start the game and were not threatened by the LumberJills (0-2), as they carried a 41-19 lead into halftime. Senior guard Shanlynn Bias and freshman center Kelsey Ronan sparked the Belles with 10 points each in the opening half. The Belles continued to control the game on both ends of the floor in the second half, forcing 12 LumberJill turnovers, while shooting 54 percent from the field. The Belles dominated the glass, outrebounding Northland 57-19, while putting up 18 second-chance points off of 28 offensive rebounds. Ten Belles saw playing time. "We saw a lot of zone against Northland, which forced us to attack the gaps and open things up for our post players," Henley said. " We were also able to find holes in the zone to get offensive rebounds." Bias, who was named to the all-tournament team, finished with a game-high 16 points, while sophomore forward Krista Knapke tallied 12 points and 16 rebounds en route to her first double-double of the year. Despite playing two teams at opposite ends of the competitive spectrum, Henley said the tournament still helped her team. "At the end of the day, all of our non-conference opponents are used to get us ready for MIAA play," Henley said. "I felt like Whitewater has helped us in that regard. The Northland game gave us the opportunity to play a lot of different combinations on the floor with our roster." The Belles take the floor next in a matchup against Buena Vista on Friday at 5 p.m. in the opening round of the Wheaton Tournament, held in Wheaton, Ill. Contact A.J. Godeaux at agodeaux@nd.edu  

ND Women's Swimming: ND sweeps Crusaders, Badgers over weekend

The Irish dominated the pool this weekend with back-to-back wins over Valparaiso on Friday and Wisconsin on Saturday at Rolfs Aquatic Center. The Irish (4-3) opened the weekend with a clean sweep over in-state competitor Valparaiso (0-6). The Irish won all sixteen events to defeat Valparaiso 219-60. Notre Dame took down No. 24 Wisconsin (3-3) in a 171-126 win Saturday to close out the weekend. "I am very pleased with this team," head coach Brian Barnes said. "We performed very well this weekend." Against Valparaiso, the Irish had the opportunity for several of their swimmers to compete. Notre Dame had thirteen swimmers win the fourteen individual events with junior Emma Reaney earning the top spot in the 200 fly (2:03.51) and the 100 free (52.60). "It felt really nice to get an easy win in while still being able to swim some of our off events," Reaney said. "I was in the 200 fly which I never swim, and it's always fun to mix it up a little. I think it gave our team a little bit of a confidence boost as well." Juniors Erin Foley (1,650 free) and Courtney Whyte (200 IM), and sophomores Catherine Galletti (100 back) and Genevieve Bradford (100 breast) all earned their first individual wins of the season. In addition to individual events, the Irish also secured wins in the two relays. Notre Dame won the 200-medley relay in 1:46.22 with seniors Kelly Ryan, Lauren Stauder and Christen McDonough, and sophomore Genevieve Heidkamp. Ryan, Stauder, McDonough and senior MikelleMasciantonio also took the 200-free relay with a time of 1:37.25. After a successful team performance Friday, Barnes said the Irish were ready to take on the Badgers the next morning. "The team was feeling good about things heading into Saturday," Barnes said. "We saw some good swims Friday, and we faced Saturday confidently to face a ranked opponent." "We knew [Wisconsin was] ranked and that we weren't yet, which was a little intimidating, but I think we really wanted to prove we could beat them," Reaney said. Taking 10 out of the 16 events, the Irish proved that they could in fact beat the Badgers. Notre Dame opened up Saturday with a victory in the 400-medley relay (3:44.10), consisting of freshmen Catherine Mulquin and Katie Miller, Ryan and Reaney. Reaney led the Irish with wins in three events, while Miller and junior Allison Casareto followed closely behind, each tallying wins in two events. Reaney won the 100 free (1:50.42) as well as the 100 (1:02.04-NCAA B cut) and 200 (2:17.22) breaststroke. Miller claimed the 100 back (56.36) and 400 IM (4:21.40). Casareto dominated the diving boards with a score of 321.07 on the one-meter and 329.40 on the three-meter. "During the meet on Saturday, we were winning race after race and our depth was finally starting to show, and I could really see our confidence grow as the meet progressed," Reaney said. After winning four consecutive dual meets, the Irish have three weeks to train for the Hawkeye Invitational in Iowa City, Iowa at University Aquatic Center on Dec. 6. Contact Kit Loughran at kloughr1@nd.edu  

SMC Cross Country: Belles end year at regionals

The Belles closed out their season with a fourteenth place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet on Saturday. Saint Mary's claimed 14th place out of 39 teams with a team score of 419. The Belles' 14th place finish is the team's best appearance at the NCAA Regional in the program's history. No. 5 Calvin hosted and won the meet with an overall score of 54. Senior Jessica Biek paved the way for the Belles with a 23rd place finish out of more than 240 runners. She ran a personal record time of 22:35.8, just one tenth of a second short from taking 22nd place. Biek's top-25 time earned her All-Region honors. Biek is the first Belles runner to earn the distinction since Julia Kenney did so in 2010. Right behind Biek was freshman Brittany Beeler. Beeler claimed 47th place with a time of 23:08.2, matching the pace of her MIAA Championship run time. Crossing the finish line within a few seconds of one another, Junior Samee Chittenden and sophomore Katelyn Dunn took 112th and 114th place, respectively. Chittenden ran a personal record time of 24:23.2 and Dunn finished with a time of 24:27.9. Junior Erin Knauf, senior Colette Curtis and freshman Kaitlyn Alessi closed out the competition for the Belles. Knauf concluded the overall team score with a 24:45.7 time for 127th place. Curtis finished 132nd with a time of 24:57.6, while Alessi ended with a 25:28.2 time to take 151st.  

ND Cross Country: Irish qualify for NCAA Championships

Notre Dame punched its ticket to the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., with third and fourth place finishes at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet this weekend from the Irish men and women, respectively. In the selection process for the Championship meet, the top two finishers in each region earn automatic bids, normally leaving teams outside the top two uncertain about their National Championship prospects. Irish Coach Tim Connolly said that was hardly the case for his team. "You're always worried a little bit, just based on what happens in other regions," Connolly said. "Given how the selection process works, though, we knew we'd be alright as long as we finished in the top four. There were a lot of regions where we'd beaten the teams that got the automatic bids, so we knew we were set up pretty well." Senior Kelly Curran led the way for the Irish women with a third place finish, crossing the finish line at 20:14. Senior Alexa Aragon (20:49) finished 20th, while sophomore Molly Seidel (21:11) and junior Gabby Gonzales (21:18) finished seconds apart in 33rd and 37th place, respectively. "We had a couple girls run good races," Connolly said. "Kelly, of course, ran a really good race. She's been probably our most consistent runner ... I was also impressed again with how Molly ran, considering she was out for a month with a training injury. She keeps getting more and more fit." However, Connolly said the team as a whole will have to run a better race if the Irish want to be competitive at the NCAA Championships. "There are just a few girls right now who aren't where we thought they'd be," Connolly said. "That, and we need to do a better job of finding each other early in the race and then fighting over the last half. This weekend we did a decent job of finding each other, but I was a little disappointed with how we finished." No. 14 Michigan and No. 9 Butler earned the automatic bids with their first and second place finishes, while No. 6 Michigan State, which also earned an at-large bid, took third. For the Irish men, the race was exceptionally close, with the top three finishers separated by just four points. "[The race] was our best team race of the season," Irish junior Jake Kildoo said. No. 16 Michigan joined its women's team atop the podium with 70 points, while No. 19 Wisconsin and 21st-ranked Notre Dame finished with 73 and 74 points, respectively, for second and third place. "We very well could have won," Kildoo said. "Still, this will definitely give us some momentum through the next week of practice and going into NCAA's. If we can turn in a race like this, we'll be able to compete for a top-10 to top-15 finish." The Irish had five finishers in the top-30, led by graduate student Jeremy Rae's (30:22) fifth-place finish and senior Martin Grady's (30:27) sixth-place effort. Graduate student J.P. Malette (30:42) followed in 15th, while sophomore Michael Clevenger (30:55) finished 22nd. Kildoo (31:10) rounded out the top Irish finishers with a 27th place effort. "I think we all just ran very focused and tough, which made the difference," Kildoo said. "We were confident if we did that we'd we would get into NCAA's." The Irish travel to Terre Haute, Ind. on Saturday for the NCAA Championships meet, held at the Lavern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course. Contact A.J. Godeaux at agodeaux@nd.edu

ND Volleyball: 'Canes, 'Noles sweep ND

Notre Dame concluded the away portion of its ACC schedule this weekend with a visit to the Sunshine State, falling to Miami on Friday night and No. 22 Florida State on Sunday afternoon. The Irish (11-16, 5-11 ACC) earned their first ACC home win over Miami back on Oct. 18 but found the going tougher in Coral Gables. The Hurricanes (16-10, 9-7) dropped the Irish in straight sets (25-20, 25-14, 25-22). "When we got them at home we were much more comfortable," Irish coach Debbie Brown said. "You have to put pressure on a team in volleyball, get them to make mistakes, and that's not something we were able to do." Much of Notre Dame's problems stemmed from an inability to control Miami's powerful attack, Brown said. Junior outside hitter Savannah Leaf led the Hurricanes with 17 kills, and two other teammates reached double digits as the hosts racked up a .357 hitting percentage. "We really didn't have answers on the defensive end," Brown said. "They got off to a great start and never really let up." Offensively, the Irish were led by junior outside hitter Jeni Houser, who knocked home 11 kills, senior hitter Nicole Smith with six and senior setter Maggie Brindock with four. As has been the case for much of the season, Brown said that her team's problems lay in not producing a sufficient volume of kills on offense. "Even though we had some good hitting percentages, we're still not generating enough kills," Brown said. "We're not being terminal." On Sunday, the Irish fell in straight sets to the Seminoles (13-3, 20-7), recovering slightly after being trounced 25-13 in the first game. Florida State took the second and third sets by scores of 25-21. "We tried running a 6-2 offense in the first set and just got stuck in a rotation," Brown said. "Then the rest of the match was quite competitive, and we were ahead for a lot of game two." Once again, the Irish struggled offensively, hitting just .167 on the match. Smith and junior outside hitter Meg Vonderhaar led Notre Dame with nine and eight kills respectively. Despite the two losses, Brown said that her team's mentality has remained unaffected. "The character that the team has shown has been very positive," Brown said. "We got beat badly in that first game and then came out with much more resolve in the last two." The losses leave the Irish in 12th place in the ACC, ten games behind Duke and out of contention for the conference crown. The NCAA tournament is also out of reach for the Irish, who currently sit 97th nationally in RPI. Still, Brown said that her team will remain motivated heading into its last four games, all at home. "Our focus now is on doing what's best for the team, not necessarily what's best for the individual," Brown said. "That continues to be our emphasis. We're playing to win, and whoever's called upon is going to play." The Irish next take the court against Virginia Tech on Wednesday at 7p.m., at Purcell Pavilion. Contact Conor kelly at ckelly17@nd.edu

Men's Soccer: Breezing on 'bye'

Notre Dame earned a No. 3 overall seed and a bye to the second round when the NCAA Championship bracket was announced Monday. The Irish (12-1-6, 7-1-3 ACC) will play their first game of the tournament at home Sunday, facing either Wisconsin (13-4-2) or Milwaukee (15-2-2), who will play their first-round match on Thursday.

Men's Interhall Football: Keough and Alumni advance

By ZACH KLONSINSKI Sports Writer

DeFranks: The 100-point "player" (Nov. 19)

I have never scored 109 points. Actually, I've never scored any points. I never played on a basketball team in grade school, in high school and definitely not in college. So maybe Jack Taylor is a little better at basketball than me. But can we even call what Taylor plays basketball? In case you have not heard, Taylor has once again reached the 100-point mark in a game. This time, he dropped 109 points for Division-III Grinnell in a 173-123 victory over Crossroads on Sunday. Almost exactly a year ago, he poured in an NCAA-record 138 points in a 179-104 win over Faith Baptist Bible. Taylor also set records for field goals made (52), field goals attempted (108), 3-pointers made (27) and 3-pointers attempted (71) a year ago. But he also had zero assists, six turnovers and unreachable amounts of selfishness while his teammates attempted just 28 total field goals. That's right, the rest of his team had one more field goal attempt than Taylor had 3-pointers made. But on Sunday, it appeared that Taylor learned to share the ball a little more. In this year's 100-point performance, Taylor was 35-for-70 from the field, 24-for-48 from behind the arc and 15 of 17 at the free-throw line. To put his Sunday stats in perspective, he had as many attempts as Notre Dame had points on the same day (70). Wait, you mean he only needed 70 shots to reach triple-digits and not 108 shots to reach triple-digits? That right there is maturity, self-sacrifice and efficiency. He even had two assists and four rebounds. What a well-rounded player that Jack Taylor is. Except that none of his stats really matter. Grinnell won Sunday's game by 50 points against a school whose name sounds like a bad country band. So naturally, the Pioneers took all of their starters out early to show some form of mercy, right? Wrong. Taylor stayed in the game until there was 5:32 left in the second half and Grinnell up by only 60 points. And, oh yeah, Taylor attempted a 3-pointer three seconds before leaving the game, even with a fairly sizeable lead. But it's not Taylor's fault that coach David Arseneault left him in the game late. But he was part of the squad that gave up 123 points to a team that is 0-9 this season. The Knights came into the game averaging less than 79 points per game but managed to put up 44 more points on a Grinnell team that was just interested in chasing stats. So can we call what Taylor plays basketball? No. Basketball has passing and ball movement. Taylor has 37 career assists, and 20 career rebounds. Basketball has defense. What Arseneault and the rest of the Grinnell team are masquerading as basketball, would make James Naismith roll over in his grave and knock the next Taylor shot into the 15th row of the gym. It would be the first form of defense Taylor has ever encountered - which would be one more than me. Contact Matthew DeFranks at mdefrank@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.  

How I Met Your Dad Spin-off Destined for Disaster

Just in case fans aren't quite satisfied with nine entire seasons of the hit CBS show "How I Met Your Mother," creator Carter Bays has just confirmed the rumors about a spin-off series, "How I Met Your Dad."  This new series will follow the same outline as the original, only it will be told from a female perspective.  The mother presumably will be talking to her kids, telling them the long and detailed tale of how she met their father.  If it's anything like "HIMYM," it will take her approximately eight years to complete.