Blue and Gold Illustrated

June/July 2023

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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42 JUNE/JULY 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TODD D. BURLAGE T he two youngest of the six Kavanagh siblings, Notre Dame senior Pat Kavanagh and Fighting Irish sophomore Chris Kavanagh grew up on practi- cally a predetermined athletics course all the way back to when they played youth lacrosse to- gether about a decade ago. Growing up on Long Island, N.Y., in an athletically diverse and talented family, Pat and Chris watched and learned as two of their older brothers, Matt and Brendan, parlayed s ta n d o u t co l l e ge ca re e rs a t Notre Dame and Hofstra, re- spectively, into pro lacrosse — both are now in the Premier Lacrosse League. And now Pat, 21, and Chris, 19, are following a similar course and making their mark as two of the best college players in the country on the nation's top-ranked team most of this season. During a recent edition of the "Re- LAXin' Podcast," hosted by ESPN la- crosse analyst Paul Carcaterra, Chris, the youngest, explained how he was forced to grow up fast just to keep up. There's a 13-year difference between Chris and his oldest sibling. "Growing up in a big family, one of six, there was just a constant drive to bring the best out of me," shared Chris, who has four brothers and one sister. "They kind of gave me a boost at maturing." Naturally gifted and forever pushing each other, Pat and Chris were always expected to become standout lacrosse players. And they did. Through NCAA games of April 30, Chris led the Irish and was tied for 16th nationally with 3.00 goals per game. Pat led the nation with 3.55 assists per game and ranked fifth with 5.27 points per game. With a 9-2 record and a No. 3 national ranking heading into its final regular-season game, the two standout attackmen have put Notre Dame in its best position to make a run at a national title since Matt — the second-oldest Kava- nagh sibling — led the Irish to a national runner-up finish in 2014. "Pat and Chris pushed each other and always made each other better," Matt, 30, said of his two younger brothers. "It was always an 'anything you can do, I can do better' type of attitude." Pat explained how his father, Kevin Kavanagh Sr., had his boys on ice skates, " before we could even walk," adding, "Hockey taught us how to be tough, gritty, just selling out, putting your body on the line." Veteran coach Kevin Corrigan be- lieves the Kavanaghs are ready to lead the Irish in the postseason. "The Kavanagh family has always been all in. They drive each other," he said. "They motivate each other, and nobody cheers for each other harder than they do. It's a great family dynamic." ✦ Pat And Chris Kavanagh Are Chasing Irish Lacrosse History Pat (No. 51) led Notre Dame and the nation with 3.55 assists per game plus was fifth in the country with 5.27 points per game as of April 30, while Chris (No. 50) led the Irish and was tied 16th nationally with 3.00 goals per game. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS ND SPORTS BASEBALL (25-17 OVERALL, 13-11 ACC) Won 12 of their 19 contests in April, including a three-game home sweep of then-No. 8 Virginia April 21-23 … Stood in third place in the ACC Atlantic Division with three-game sets versus North Carolina State May 4-6 and at Boston College May 18-20 remaining. MEN'S GOLF Tied for ninth at the ACC Championships April 21-24 at Pinehurst, N.C., carding a 13-over-par team total of 877 … Senior Palmer Jackson paced the Irish with an even-par 216 to finish 16th individually. WOMEN'S GOLF Tied for ninth at the ACC Championships April 13-16 at Greensboro, N.C., notching a 30-over team total of 894 … Sophomore Montgomery Ferreira led the way for the Irish, tying for 12th individually with a 2-over 218. MEN'S LACROSSE (9-2 OVERALL, 3-2 ACC) The nation's No. 3-ranked team posted a pair of home wins versus No. 1 Duke (17-12) April 8 and No. 18 North Carolina (16-9) April 22 … Lost at No. 2 Virginia 12-8 April 30 … Stood in third place in the ACC standings ahead of its regular-season finale at North Carolina May 6. WOMEN'S LACROSSE (13-5 OVERALL, 6-3 ACC) The country's No. 7-ranked squad was edged 12-11 at home by No. 2 Boston College April 8, but bounced back to close the season with four wins en route to tying for fourth place in the ACC … The No. 5-seeded Irish beat No. 4 Virginia 15-13 in the quarterfinals of the ACC Championship April 26 in Charlotte, N.C., but then fell to No. 1-seeded BC 9-4 in the semifinals April 28. SOFTBALL (29-16-1 OVERALL, 11-12-1 ACC) Notched wins in 10 of their 17 April contests to secure a seventh-place fin- ish in the ACC … Will host the league tournament May 10-13 in South Bend. MEN'S TENNIS (13-14 OVERALL, 3-9 ACC) Lost two of its last three matches in the regular season to finish 10th in the ACC … Fell 4-3 to No. 7-seeded Louisville in the league tournament April 20 in Cary, N.C. WOMEN'S TENNIS (15-10 OVERALL, 6-7 ACC) Split their last four matches of the regular season to finish eighth in the ACC … Dropped their ACC Championship opener to No. 9-seeded Wake Forest 4-2 April 20 at Cary, N.C. — Steve Downey Irish Roundup

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