Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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18 PRESEASON 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom Brooke Littman — Soccer The junior from Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., didn't allow a single goal in Notre Dame's 0-0 draw with Purdue in an exhibition match Aug. 11. Littman will serve as the full-time starter in the net for Notre Dame in 2018 after opening 10 games in 2017. Last year, she posted a 5-3-2 record with four shutouts, a 0.94 goals against average and a .756 save percentage. Davis Chatfield — Golf The sophomore from Attle- boro, Mass., was one of two Irish golfers to qualify for the 2018 U.S. Amateur Champi- onship at Spyglass Hill Golf Course and Pebble Beach in California. He qualified thanks to his performance at the Pawtucket (R.I.) Country Club qualifier, where he carded 2-under-par 68 to finish first. During his freshman campaign in South Bend, Chatfield was the top finisher for Notre Dame twice, earning one top-10 showing and four top-25 efforts. Amanda Sirico — Fencing The senior from Bowie, Md., brought home a gold medal after participat- ing in the 2018 World Fencing Championships. She was one of three with Irish ties on the four-person Team USA squad in the senior women's epee that finished in first place. Last season, Sirico notched a 52-9 overall record and posted a 9-0 mark at the ACC Championships. Ben Albin — Golf The senior from Santa Fe, N.M., was named to the Golf Coaches Association of Ameri- ca's list of Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars. In order to be recognized, golfers must be a junior or senior academi- cally, compete in at least three full years at the collegiate level, participate in 50 percent of his team's competitive rounds, have a stroke average under 76.0 in Division I and main- tain a minimum cumulative career GPA of 3.2. In 2017, Albin averaged 73.13 strokes per round while earning two top-10 finishes. TOP OF THE CLASS ✦ GIMME FIVE Notre Dame's first football game ever was played on Nov. 23, 1887, an 8-0 loss to the Michigan Wolverines. Since then, the Fighting Irish and Wolver- ines have played nine other times to open a new campaign, almost all in the 20-year span from 1979-98. This year's contest will mark the 11th time Notre Dame will open a new season against Michigan, although that doesn't necessarily mean it also was the Wol- verines' opener. In both 1979 and 1982, Michigan played a football game prior to facing Notre Dame, but the Irish still won that year's opener against the Wolverines both times. In the six seasons from 1985-90, the two teams opened their seasons against each other five times, with the exception occur- ring in 1989 when reigning national champ Notre Dame started with Virginia in the Kick- off Classic. The opponent that faced the Irish most in an opener in consecutive years was Ka- lamazoo in five straight from 1919-23, which Northwestern tied from 1969-73. Here are the five schools Notre Dame has faced most often to begin a new campaign: Rk. Opponent Number Record 1. Michigan 10 6-4 2. Northwestern 9 8-1 3. Purdue 8 7-1 4. Kalamazoo 7 7-0 5t. Indiana 6 6-0 5t. Pittsburgh 6 5-1 Getting To Know … SENIOR KICKER JUSTIN YOON Hometown: "Nashville, Tenn." High School: "Milton Academy [in Milton, Mass.]." Favorite Food: "I'm a big Korean dish guy. I don't know if people will know it, but it's called Kimchi Stew. It's pretty good and pretty healthy, too." Favorite Movie: "I would have to go with 'The Longest Yard.' That was my first American movie and I really enjoyed it." Favorite Music: "Whatever everyone plays, I just follow that." Favorite Pro Sports Team: "I'm a Detroit Red Wings fan." Favorite TV Show: "I'm a big 'Dexter' fan. I love mystery and it's really interesting how that's portrayed." Favorite part about playing for Notre Dame: "There are a lot of good things. But when I first came in and ran through the tun- nel and the first extra point I kicked, everyone was yelling 'Yoon!' I haven't seen that any- where else. It was a tremendous experience and I'm never going to forget that." What kicker do you model your game after? "I would say the biggest model I've followed after is [former Baltimore Ravens kicker] Justin Tucker." MOVING? LET US KNOW! Call 1-800-421-7751 Feeling The Draft … Beyond Just Football In a survey this summer compiled by ESPN's Stats & Information crew led by Matt Williams, data was compiled from the past 10 drafts in every professional sports league where United States collegiate players are tabbed. These leagues included the NFL, NBA, MLB (although only the top 10 rounds for baseball), NHL, MLS, WNBA, MLL (lacrosse) and NFL (softball). In what became titled "The Ultimate Draft Ranking" also predicated on how high up the ladder an individual was drafted, Notre Dame finished fifth with an Ultimate Draft score of 1,291.7, behind the top four of North Carolina (1,706.6), Maryland (1,580.4), Duke (1,482.0) and Kentucky (1,351.9) — all far more renowned "basketball schools," with the Tar Heels, Blue Devils and Wild- cats particularly putting out a plethora of first-round selections into the NBA. However, in total number of draft picks selected in the 10 years from 2009-18, Notre Dame's 109 ranked fourth, behind North Carolina's 140 and then Florida and LSU tied with 122. Rounding out the top 10 after the No. 4 Irish were Maryland and UCLA with 107 apiece, Ohio State at 105, Florida State and Oklahoma 102 each, and Alabama with 99. Naturally pacing Notre Dame over the past 10 years was football with 38 NFL selections, highlighted by eight in the first round, most recently guard Quenton Nelson and tackle Mike McGlinchey this past spring. Also contributing a high volume from Notre Dame was men's lacrosse — which has been to four Final Fours since 2009 — contributing 23 to the MLL (seventh overall in the sport), and men's soccer — the 2013 national champs — adding 20 MLS pick (sixth most in the sport). Next spring women's basketball team could add a record four in the first or second round — for- wards Brianna Turner and Jessica Shepard, and guards Arike Ogunbowale and Marina Mabrey. MCGLINCHEY