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Hockey: New arena to boost program

By The Observer · Monday, April 19, 2010

Recruiting, training and community support — all three are fundamental to the success of an athletic program, and all three will receive a significant boost with the opening of the new Notre Dame ice arena.

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Football: Getting defensive

By The Observer · Monday, April 19, 2010

The Irish defense matched the offense score-for-score in a scrimmage Saturday. Both junior safety Jamoris Slaughter and junior cornerback Robert Blanton returned turnovers for touchdowns, while the offense struggled to find the end zone in 11-on-11 unless junior tight end Kyle Rudolph was making the play. Irish coach Brian Kelly held Rudolph, coming off of a separated shoulder last season, out of much of the scrimmage as a precaution.

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Football: Making strides

By The Observer · Monday, April 19, 2010

Irish offensive coordinator Charley Molnar certainly hopes his unit will put on a good show in Saturday's Blue-Gold Game, but in terms of a game plan — well, there is none, he said. "It's a practice session with a crowd, which brings the pressure up another level, and both sides of the ball are anxious to perform and make a move," Molnar said. "I think those are the benefits of having a spring game in front of a big crowd in the Stadium. As far as the actual play selection, to me that's really secondary when the spring game comes." The annual game in Notre Dame Stadium represents the end of spring practice, and Irish fans are anxious to get their first look at coach Brian Kelly's squad — and especially at new starting quarterback Dayne Crist, a sophomore who will take the reigns from NFL-bound Jimmy Clausen. While Kelly has repeatedly said the defense is ahead of the offense at this point, Molnar said Crist and the rest of the unit have continued to make strides toward where they want to be by Saturday afternoon. "We have some things yet that Coach Kelly and the staff feels like we must cover by the completion of spring practice," Molnar said. "We touched on some of those [Monday] and we'll touch on some of those Wednesday and Friday. "For the most part, we really want to see our offense just master the base concepts that we have in the run and the pass game. If we can do that, we'll come out spring ball feeling a lot better than we do right now."

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Bookstore Basketball: Teams fight for final 16 spots

By The Observer · Monday, April 19, 2010

Book It and Lock It came in the favorite, and did not disappoint, dominating BrosLikeThisTeam.com for nearly the entire game and winning 21-12. Consisting of seniors Pat McHugh and Mike Bramante, junior Aaron Nichols and law students Kieran Pillar and John Romps, Book It and Lock It looked like a legitimate contender on the Bookstore courts Monday night. They had the inside-outside game and were knocking down the outside jumper — even on the shaky Bookstore rim — and rebounded and defended well over their opponents. BrosLikeThisTeam.com, made up of seniors Patrick Robb, Wes Howard and Joe Idaszak, junior Kevin Laughlin and freshman Mike Dobrovic, gave Book It and Lock It a good run, but were simply overmatched and had no help from the referees. BrosLikeThisTeam.com was visibly and audibly upset by some of the commissioners' calls, as their foul total climbed to eight in the first half, while Book It and Lock It had none. Book It and Lock It was pleased with its performance, and especially happy with the great performance of their standout player, Nichols. "I think we played pretty well, a lot better than our last game," McHugh said. "Aaron [Nichols] was pretty much unstoppable." The Bros, who wore lacrosse pennies with the names Brosemite Sam, Brosef Stalin, Brochocinco, Apolo Anton Brono, and Haranbrody across the back, knew they were not the favorite heading into the game, and just wanted to make a game out of it. "We knew we were the underdogs," Dobrovic said. "Coming in, we just wanted to play hard and keep it as close as possible." Dobrovic attributed the loss to a lack of production offensively, which was due in part to a stifling defense from their opponents. "We struggled offensively," he said. "They weren't letting us get to the hoop."

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Baseball: ND hoping to keep up win streak

By The Observer · Monday, April 19, 2010

Although Notre Dame is still several wins away from reaching the .500 mark, a weekend sweep of Seton Hall has given the Irish (15-19, 5-7 Big East) a renewed confidence as they head to Michigan Tuesday for a nonconference matchup. Propelled by the team's recent success, Irish coach Dave Schrage said he believes his squad has weathered the storm to reach a turning point in the season. "Well, we've won four games in a row," Schrage said. "We have to look ahead though. Michigan is a top of the Big 10 team, and we just want to keep playing good baseball right now. Right now we're trying to build off the momentum that we achieved over the weekend." Michigan (22-12, 6-3 Big 10) is currently tied with Ohio State for first place in the conference and has won six of its last seven games. The Wolverines are led at the plate by sophomore catcher Coley Crank, who paces the squad with six home runs and 38 RBIs. But Michigan has also been getting the job done on the defensive side, and is second in the conference with a .968 team fielding percentage. Notre Dame will have to rely on its timely hitting, a factor that was missing for the better part of the season, which has returned at a critical point in the schedule. "They've been doing a lot of extra hitting, which always pays off," Schrage said. "I think we've settled into a lineup, so guys are more relaxed. If anything, as the season goes on the hitters catch up to the pitchers. I think we're definitely in that groove right now." The Irish will be without their top three starters: senior Eric Maust, junior Brian Dupra and sophomore Steve Sabatino, who all pitched in the weekend series against Seton Hall. Schrage said that the starting pitcher will be a game-time decision between sophomore LHP Ryan Richter and freshman RHP Adam Norton. Notre Dame's lack of depth in the rotation comes on the heels of an injury to junior ace Cole Johnson, who went down last month with soreness in his throwing shoulder. "We hoped that Cole would throw last Tuesday, but he was playing catch and felt pain," Schrage said. "He got relooked at again on Thursday and was starting to feel better. He's going to try and throw a little bit in the bullpen, and we'll see where his status is. Right now he hasn't been able to overcome his soreness." Despite a disappointing start to their final season, the seniors have spurred Notre Dame's recent success and have displayed a sense of urgency in the second half. Schrage said he expects them to rise to the occasion heading into a rivalry game against the Wolverines. "A lot of them are playing, and they want to make something of the season," Schrage said. "They have a lot invested in this program, and they want to make their last year special. I'm expecting them to step up again." First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. in Ann Arbor. The two teams will meet again Wednesday at Frank Eck Stadium with a 6:05 start.

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Men's Golf: Championships loom large

By The Observer · Friday, April 16, 2010

In a game where the ability to control one's emotions is paramount, the Irish have reaped the rewards of maintaining their composure this season. But under the surface, a competitive drive fuels Notre Dame as they prepare for the Big East championships Sunday.

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ND Women's Tennis: Irish face DePaul, Marquette

By The Observer · Friday, April 16, 2010

The No. 5 Irish will wind down the regular season against No. 22 DePaul today before facing Marquette on Senior Day Sunday in the final regular season matches of the year. Seniors Cosmina Ciobanu, Kali Krisik and Colleen Rielley will be honored at the Courtney Tennis Center prior to Sunday's match.

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