Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/219972
Under the Dome Top of The Class Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom Kim Holden — Swimming The former Irish standout in the pool is still reaping the rewards of her NCAA swimming career. Holden, who graduated from Notre Dame last spring, is currently working toward her doctorate of audiology at North Carolina. She recently won a prestigious NCAA post-graduate scholarship to help pay for her tuition. Holden earned All-Big East honors in 22 events during her Irish career and held a 3.817 GPA. She is the first Notre Dame studentathlete to win the award since the fall of 2011. Patrick Hodan — Soccer Notre Dame's rising star in the midfield is also succeeding in the classroom. He made the Academic All-America third team this season for the Irish. Hodan holds a 3.917 GPA in the business school. On the field, the sophomore is second on the team in scoring with seven goals and five assists. He's appeared in all but two games during his first two college seasons and made the Big East All-Rookie team in 2012. Pat Connaughton — Baseball The two-sport athlete recently received some baseball honors during basketball season. Connaughton was recently ranked one of the top 50 college prospects eligible for the 2014 MLB Draft, according to Perfect Game. The website listed the Irish junior as the No. 22 right-handed pitcher and 46th overall. Last spring, Connaughton had a 1.71 earned-run average in 10 starts. He averaged 11.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in the Irish basketball team's first four contests this year. Meg Vonderhaar — Volleyball The 6-1 outside hitter had a career day in a recent 3-0 loss to Virginia for the Irish volleyball team. Vonderhaar was the only Notre Dame player to reach double digits in kills in the match. She had a career-high 14 to lead the team in scoring. The junior was averaging 1.59 kills per set as a regular contributor through Nov. 24.