Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MAY 2020 41 ND SPORTS coach Gia Kvaratskhelia didn't have any time to truly digest the damage that was being done to his program as the flood of cancellations from coronavirus inundated the profes- sional and collegiate sports worlds. Only five days after winning four of the six events at the NCAA Mid- west Regional Championships and qualifying the maximum 12 athletes for the 2020 NCAA Championships, Kvaratskhelia's team had the plug prematurely pulled on their season late in their quest for a third national title in four years. "Athletically speaking, we were peaking at the right moment, confi- dence was flying high," Kvaratskhe- lia said. "It was all the ingredients to make something happen out of it, and we're talking about attacking a title." Shortly after the season cancella- tion, the dorms at Notre Dame were evacuated and its students told to go or stay home. "It happened so quickly," Kvar- atskhelia said. "We couldn't even get the team together to kind of convey what we felt. It was chaos." Kvaratskhelia shared his "condo- lences" by phone with all of his se- niors and sent a letter to every team member to convey his disappointment and share his gratitude for all the hard work they put into the season. "For a few of them, it was the only opportunity they had for NCAA par- ticipation. They qualified as seniors after four years of hard work," Kvar- atskhelia explained. "They accepted the fact that the competition was not going to happen, but it's still hard to accept that it's over, that your athletic career at the college level is finished just like that." As difficult as it was for the Irish coaches and players to accept having their season canceled, Kvaratskhe- lia's upbringing brought a unique perspective beyond program pity. Growing up under communist So- viet Union rule in the Republic of Geor- gia, Kvaratskhelia's young adult years were marked by civil war and deep economic depression, especially dur- ing the 1990s when the Soviet Union was fighting and killing to maintain its stranglehold on the region. "I can recall standing in the bread line for 10 to 12 hours to get a loaf of bread, tents in the streets, people shooting at each other. I look at ev- On March 17, after consultation with its mem- ber institutions, the Atlantic Coast Conference made the decision to cancel all athletic-related activities, including all competitions and prac- tices through the end of the 2019-20 academic year. The unanimous decision was made to miti- gate the further spread of coronavirus/COVID-19. Here is a final recap for the Irish winter and spring teams that saw their seasons end pre- maturely. BASEBALL Final Record: 11-2 overall, 3-0 ACC National Ranking: No. 24 by Collegiate Baseball Games Canceled: 40 Notable: Notched the program's best start since 2015 (11-1) … Junior outfielder Spencer Meyers batted .431 and led the nation in steals (15) … Junior first baseman Niko Kavadas, who led the Irish with 12 home runs in 2019, finished tied for eighth nationally with seven homers … Notre Dame notched its first three-game ACC road sweep since 2016, versus defending ACC Tournament champion North Carolina March 6-8. FENCING Final Record: Men 32-8, Women 35-7 National Ranking: Men No. 3, Women No. 3 Events Canceled: 1 (NCAA Championships) Notable: Picked up four titles at the NCAA Mid- west Regional Championships, with freshman Marcello Olivares (men's foil) and sophomore Miriam Grady (women's epee) being joined by sophomore Kara Linder (women's sabre) and senior Morgan Partridge (women's foil) … For the sixth straight year, the Irish were poised to send the maximum allotted 12 fencers (six men and six women) to the NCAA Championships before the competition was canceled. MEN'S GOLF National Ranking: No. 24 by Golfweek Events Canceled: 5 (including NCAA Champi- onships) Notable: Was the first golf program in the coun- try to win four tournament titles during the fall … The previous program record for titles in a season, let alone just in the fall, was three … Achieved their first Golfweek top-10 ranking (No. 7) in the process … Senior John Felitto carded a 6-under-par 210 to take home the individual title at the Col- leton River Collegiate March 2-3 in Bluffton, S.C. WOMEN'S GOLF National Ranking: No. 73 by Golfweek Events Canceled: 5 (including NCAA Champi- onships) Notable: Freshman Lauren Beaudreau fired a 10-under 206 (the best 54-hole score in program history) to finish fifth at the Westbrook Invita- tional Feb. 23-24 in Peoria, Ariz. HOCKEY Final Record: 15-15-7 overall, 9-9-6 Big Ten National Ranking: — Games Canceled: 0 Notable: After falling to Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals and finishing at .500, the Irish were projected to miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 … Senior defenseman Tory Dello was named one of three finalists for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors. Junior first baseman Niko Kavadas racked up seven home runs (tied for eighth nationally) and 17 RBI in Notre Dame's 13 games this season. PHOTO COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH MEDIA Irish Roundup