Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ND SPORTS to pull Waldrum back to the Lone Star State, where he was raised and pre- viously coached at Baylor, in recent years. The offers made him realize that eventually he wanted to find his way back home. When the next level came knocking, Waldrum had to answer. The Houston Dash is a new team in the second-year NWSL backed by the MLS franchise Houston Dynamo. Join- ing the fledgling league, the country's third attempt at professional women's soccer, is a bit of a gamble. Waldrum said the facilities and financial support that come from the partnership with the Dynamo proved to be a crucial part of his decision. "If it had been a Houston pro team not owned by an MLS franchise I wouldn't have given it a second thought," he said. "Having that foun- dation really interested me." So did the chance to spend more time with family. Waldrum's only son, Ben, had his first child shortly after Waldrum announced he was leaving South Bend in the first week of January. He has since split his time between Texas and Indiana while giving Notre Dame a bit of help in narrowing down the choices for his successor. "He has been such a great leader for us, precisely because he built a truly elite program in a way that reflects Notre Dame's core values," athletics director Jack Swarbrick said in a state- ment. "His passion for this university and its women's soccer program is unquestioned and is further reflected in his willingness to assist us as we transition to new leadership for the program." Waldrum helped Swarbrick and the Irish athletic department whittle the possibilities of who would take his place down to a short list. Notre Dame expects to make a decision as to who will take over the program in the near future. Whoever does assume the posi- tion will step into a situation ready for success, thanks to the foundation Wal- drum built during his 15 years with the Irish. GEREK MEINHARDT REACHES TOP OF FENCING WORLD Fencing firsts are part of the rou- tine for Notre Dame graduate student Gerek Meinhardt. The San Francisco native was the first U.S. foilist to win a medal at the Senior World Cham- pionships in the spring of 2010. He became the country's youngest Olym- pic fencer when he made the trip to Beijing in 2008. So it's no surprise that Meinhardt recently became the first American to rank No. 1 in the world in men's foil. The 23-year-old MBA student fin- ished third at a world event in Paris last month to jump Italy's Andrea Cas- sara for the top spot. His victory comes at a time of unprecedented success for U.S. fencing, a climb that he has led during much of his international career — one that came dangerously closing to plummeting to an early fin- ish a few years ago. Meinhardt missed a year on the strip in 2010-11, after his third knee sur- gery to repair a torn meniscus. A year before he won the individual NCAA championship as a sophomore at