Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MAY 2021 11 UNDER THE DOME 4 Offensive linemen from Notre Dame who could be selected in the 2021 NFL Draft April 29-May 1: Aaron Banks, Liam Eichenberg, Robert Hainsey and Tommy Kraemer. That would mark the second time in the program's his- tory four from that position group would be chosen in the same draft since college football went to two platoons in 1964. The first occurred in 2003 with center Jeff Faine in the first round, fol- lowed by Jordan Black and Sean Mahan in the fifth, and Brennan Curtin in the sixth. 10 Players selected from Notre Dame in the 1994 NFL Draft, the first year it was reduced to seven rounds. That remains the program's single-year seven-round record, and it featured three first-round selections in defensive tackle Bryant Young (No. 7 overall pick), offensive lineman Aaron Taylor (No. 16) and safety Jeff Burris (No. 27). T h e c l o s e st t h e Irish have come since then is eight in 2014, led by perennial All-Pro guard Zack Martin in the first round, defensive tackle Ste- phon Tuitt and tight end Troy Niklas in the second, and the late defensive lineman Louis Nix and guard Chris Watt in the third. The overall school record came in 1946 when 16 were cho- sen among the top 182 picks. 21 Notre Dame hockey players — or everyone eligible — who earned Academic All- Big Ten honors. To be eligible, students must be on a varsity team, been enrolled full time for a minimum of 12 months, and carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher. This means freshman are not yet eligible, but all the Irish sophomores, juniors and seniors were. Seniors Pierce Crawford, Matt Hellickson, Nick Sanford, Dylan St. Cyr, Matt Steeves and Colin Theisen had the added distinction of earning Big Ten All-Academic Team honors each of the past three seasons. Notre Dame was one of 16 teams invited to this year's NCAA Tournament, but it had to withdraw before the opener because of COVID-19 testing results. Meanwhile, junior ALEX STEEVES, the team's top scorer, younger brother of Matt and two-time Big Ten All-Academic pick plus second-team All-Big Ten honoree, signed a three-year entry level deal with the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs. 32 Team national championships are recognized by the University of Notre Dame after the combined men's and women's fencing pro- gram clinched its third such title in four years March 28. Since 1977, it was the 11th national title achieved by Fighting Irish fencing (either separately by men and women or combined since), tying the football program for the most, with football's most recent occurring in 1988. However, whereas the NCAA recognizes two other football national title seasons for Notre Dame in 1919 and 1964, the university does not because they were not consensus titles as the other 11 were. The other national titles have been three in women's soccer (1995, 2004 and 2010), two in women's basketball (2001 and 2018), two in men's tennis (1944 and 1959), and one apiece in men's golf (1944), men's cross country (1957) and men's soccer (2013). 42 Points (101-59) Notre Dame men's basketball lost by against North Car- olina on March 10 in the ACC Tourna- ment after having trailed by 50 at one point. It was the program's largest margin of defeat since Dec. 22, 1971, when the Irish suffered a 58-point loss (114-56) at UCLA against head coach John Wooden's dynasty. It was Notre Dame's first sea- son under Richard "Digger" Phelps, and four days earlier the Fighting Irish had lost 94-29 at Indiana. 2011 W a s t h e last season Notre Dame baseball de- feated Louisville — losing 20 straight — until a 5-3 victory versus the Cardinals March 27 on a walk-off home run by Ryan Cole, his second in a six-day span. Under head coach Link Jarrett, the resurrected Fighting Irish program finished the month of March ranked among the nation's top 15. ✦ BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS