Sports

SMC Swimming & Diving: Belles complete first day at MIAA championsips

The Belles ended the first day of the MIAA championships at Jenison High School in Jenison, Mich., on Wednesday with one event in the books.

Projected Lineup: Baseball

C: No. 30 Forrest Johnson, Junior, Did not play in 2012

Men's Basketball: Close call

Men's Lacrosse: Stout backline thrives on symbiotic relationship

The Irish play on an artificial surface in Arlotta Stadium, but Irish coach Kevin Corrigan speaks about his team in natural terms. Corrigan describes the dynamic between his All-American senior goaltender John Kemp and the rest of the defensive unit as a "symbiotic relationship."

Projected Lineup: Men's Lacrosse

Goaltender: No. 1 John Kemp, Senior, 16 GS, 6.27 GAA, .637 save percentage

Condra excels in Ottawa

Even with the fairly recent development of the NHL Winter Classic, very few hockey players get the opportunity to play the high-level outdoor games, matches the participants say are reminiscent of their childhood days on the pond.

Women's Lacrosse Capsules

Top Returner

Projected Lineup: Women's Lacrosse

Goaltender: No. 33 Ellie Hilling, Senior, 10.9 GAA, 44.9 save percentage, 12-5 record

Baseball: Juniors Jagielo and Slania return to same team

Men's Lacrosse Capsules

Top Returner

Hefferon: Johnson takes talents to pitch (Feb. 13)

"HA-ha!"

SMC Swimming and Diving: Belles head to conference meet

Saint Mary's will complete their season and look to place highly this weekend at the annual MIAA championships in Jenison, Mich.

Bengal Bouts: Prelims kick off 83rd Bouts

In training they solidified their bonds of camaraderie, but in the ring those bonds will no longer matter - at least for 10 minutes.

Men's Tennis: Irish fall to Wildcats

Despite No. 29 Notre Dame's best efforts, No. 7 Kentucky came back from behind to win a close 4-3 match Tuesday afternoon at the Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Center in Lexington, Ky. The squad's record now stands at 5-4, with all losses attributed to ranked opponents.

Turning the Corner

Heading into last year's court-storming upset of then-No. 1 Syracuse, Notre Dame was 3-3 in conference play and 11-8 overall. The Irish won that game and the next eight and closed out the Big East season on a 9-2 tear.

SMC Basketball: Belles prepare for Senior Night

Coming off a 72-61 loss to Alma on Saturday, Saint Mary's commemorates senior night Wednesday, with the Belles playing host to Hope in their season finale.

Track and Field: Mesidor makes the jump to ND

The Irish may be the defending Big East indoor conference champions, but even the athletes who contributed last year, including sophomore long jumper Keith Mesidor, know they must improve in order to repeat this weekend in Geneva, Ohio. This means setting lofty goals, something that Mesidor in particular is used to.

Men's Tennis: Irish hit the road to face No. 7 Kentucky

Exactly one year ago, Notre Dame played in possibly its most exciting match of the 2012 spring season, losing a 4-3 thriller to then-No. 6 Kentucky at the Eck Pavilion.

ND Softball: Gumpf continues to lead Irish in 12th season

Entering her 12th season with the Irish, Deanna Gumpf continues to assert her dominance as one of the top coaches in college softball.

Bernard: ND playing up to tournament standards (Feb. 12)

The Big East tournament does not begin until March 8, and the NCAA tournament does not begin until March 23. But make no mistake, the Irish played a tournament game Monday night. They did a number of things better than Louisville in their 29-point victory. No. 2 Notre Dame shot better from the floor than the No. 10 Cardinals by a wide margin and collected almost twice as many rebounds. But the Irish also bested Louisville in an intangible yet immensely important category: intensity.