Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/204831
Familiar Role Irish picked No. 2 in both preseason ACC polls N By Lou Somogyi otre Dame begins play in a different conference this year, but it is in familiar league territory: It is a first-rate program that will start out a new season playing second fiddle. During its 18-year run in the Big East from 1995-2013, Notre Dame played bridesmaid to eight-time national champion Connecticut most of the time. Head coach Muffet McGraw's Irish won their first outright Big East title last season en route to their third consecutive Final Four and fifth overall (highlighted by the 2001 national title). Now that Notre Dame is in the 15team Atlantic Coast Conference, it starts at No. 2 again. In two separate ballots, one from the league's Blue Ribbon Panel and the other from its 15 head coaches, Notre Dame was ranked second behind the Duke Blue Devils, who they defeated 87-76 in the Elite Eight last April. Duke, 33-3 last year, returns three Preseason All-ACC picks, including guard Chelsea Gray, who missed the 2013 NCAA Tournament due to a seasonending injury. The preseason pecking order was virtually identical in both polls. Four Notre Dame players received individual accolades from the two different outlets. Taya Reimer, a 6-2 freshman forward, had 27 points while converting every shot in her Irish debut Oct. 30. photo by joe raymond Natalie Achonwa Sidelined At Least One Month Senior forward Natalie Achonwa will miss the first four to six weeks of the season following surgery to a torn meniscus suffered in practice. Achonwa set a single-season Irish record last season with 19 double-doubles while averaging 13.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. In Achonwa's absence, head coach Muffet McGraw will rely heavily on freshman Taya Reimer, last year's McDonald's Player of the Year. Reimer was 11 of 11 from the floor and 5 of 5 from the foul line for 27 points in 20 minutes against Division II California (Pa.) in a 118-49 exhibition win Oct. 30. Mean-