Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com JUNE/JULY 2021 13 Kasey Choma — Lacrosse T h e s o p h o m o re m i d - fielder from Manorville, N.Y., earned ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors April 27. The week prior, she racked up 11 goals on 14 shots for No. 5 Notre Dame in wins over No. 19 Louisville and Virginia Tech. She then followed that up with a hat trick in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals against No. 7 Duke. Through 15 games, Choma led the Irish in goals (38) and points (42). Alexis Holloway — Softball The senior from Crown Point, Ind., was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week April 27. This honor comes after she threw two com- plete games in a four-game sweep of No. 13 Virginia Tech April 23-25. In both perfor- mances combined, she gave up just two earned runs in 16 innings of work with 11 strikeouts. Through May 3, Holloway had made 18 starts, pitched 107 innings, and posted a 12-6 record with a 2.67 ERA and 99 strikeouts. Spencer Myers — Baseball The senior outfielder from Tampa, Fla., began the season in a slump before finding his stroke in recent weeks. The switch-hitter went 9 for 17 (.529) at the plate with three stolen bases in a four-game stretch, which included a 2-1 series victory against Boston College April 23-24 and an 8-7 win over Valparaiso April 27. After batting .171 over the first month of the season, Myers had improved his average to .273 as of May 4, while also playing strong defense in center field. Michael Shoaf — Track and Field The sophomore thrower from Rocky River, Ohio, had a big weekend at the Clark Wood Invitational April 23 in Louisville, Ky. He placed second in the shot put with a personal-best of 18.74 me- ters, setting a program record. Shoaf also finished 13th in the hammer throw with a distance of 52.54 meters. TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom UNDER THE DOME 35 Years Ago: June/July 1986 In what is believed to be a first at the University of Notre Dame, two freshman football players — quarterback Tony Rice from Woodruff, S.C., and linebacker Rod West from New Orleans — enroll in summer classes. The caveat is they receive no academic credit for their work, but the purpose is to get them acclimated to a col- legiate curriculum, sponsored by the Freshman Year of Stud- ies, under the supervision of esteemed chemistry professor Dr. Emil Hofman. The admission of Rice in particular spurs controversy be- cause he is a Prop 48 casualty who must sit out his freshman year of football, along with USA Today Defensive Player of the Year John Foley and basketball player Keith Robinson. Consequently, the school is accused of lowering its standards so that first-year head coach Lou Holtz can build around a quarterback who can engineer his option offense. Blue & Gold Illustrated catches up with Rice on campus, and his summer curriculum includes algebra/trigonometry at 8 a.m., English/communications at 9:15 a.m., chemistry at 10:30 a.m. (under Hofman's tutelage) and a study skills seminar in the afternoon. "A lot of people told me that I'll never make it at Notre Dame," Rice said, also revealing much hate mail for not choosing in-state Clemson. "They told me it's too tough, and why don't I just go to some all-black college where I belong. … It's hard at times, but it's been a very good experience and I know I can do it." 15 Years Ago: June 13, 2006 Citing Notre Dame's return to prominence in 2005 under first-year head coach Charlie Weis in 2005, Sporting News and Lindy's rank the Fighting Irish No. 1 in their 2006 football annuals. Weis' inaugural campaign saw the Irish finish 9-3, "highlighted" by a 34-31 last-second loss to No. 1 USC to earn him a 10-year contract extension. Still, Notre Dame finished in the Associated Press top 10 (No. 9) for the first time in 12 years. The return of Heisman Trophy candidate Brady Quinn at quarterback, consensus All-American wide receiver Jeff Samardzija, 1,000-yard rusher Darius Walker and nine of the 11 starters on defense — led by future second-round picks Victor Abiamiri and Trevor Laws along the line, and Tom Zbikowski at safety — has Notre Dame ranked in the top four in five of the seven annual college football previews, and no lower than No. 9 (The Gold Sheet). Weis says the high preseason projections provide him the perfect opportunity to hone his sarcasm and deflate some egos. "Don't worry about them trying to live up to the hype — because I will be unmerciful," he said. "Every time there's a mistake I'll say, 'I guess you're reading the papers again, huh? That's right, you're an All- American, you're an up-and-coming Heisman Trophy winner, you don't need to listen to me.' "It's going to be a bad training camp. It's going to be good for me, but bad for them." Five Years Ago: June 10, 2016 Notre Dame junior second baseman Cavan Biggio is selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the fifth round (No. 162 overall) of the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft. Biggio capped his stellar three-year Irish career by hitting .311 with four homers and 28 RBI. He led the Fighting Irish in hits (61), total bases (89), walks (54), stolen bases (14) and runs scored (43), and tied for the team lead in doubles (12). The youngest son of Houston Astros Hall of Fame second baseman Craig Biggio, who was drafted 22nd overall in the first round by the Astros out of Seton Hall in 1987 and went on to play 20 years for the club, says he is ready to carve out his own path on the professional level. "My dad did his own thing," he told MLB.com. "He was a great ballplayer, a Hall of Famer and every- thing, but at the end of the day, I'm not my dad at all. "We're two different types of players even though we profile the same on paper — being a leadoff hitter and playing the same position — but I'm just going to make a name for myself as Cavan and people are going to evaluate me as my own player and not hold me to the expectations of what and who my dad was with the Astros." Anniversaries In Notre Dame Athletics History: June/July Freshmen Tony Rice (above), a quar- terback, and Rod West, a linebacker, enrolled in classes at Notre Dame during the summer of 1986, which is believed to be a first for the Irish football program. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS