Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ND SPORTS Irish Roundup HOCKEY (16-12-1, 5-9-1) Senior Bryan Rust helped Notre Dame snap a three-game losing streak in dramatic fashion against Maine Feb. 8. Rust scored twice in the final 68 seconds to turn a 2-1 loss into a 3-2 victory and provide a bit of hope for the end of the regular season. The Irish have struggled against the depth of the Hockey East schedule, but Rust's dramatic efforts could be a momentum-swinging jolt in their last five games. SWIMMING Tim Welsh coached the final home meet of his 29-year career, a convincing 204.5-94.5 win over Cleve- land State Feb. 8. The Irish finished their dual meet schedule with a 7-5-1 record and will spend most of the month preparing for their first ACC Championships in the last week of February. The women also capped their dual meets with a 7-5 record thanks to a 162-124 win over Cleveland State. They begin a bid for an ACC title Feb. 19. TRACK & FIELD Fifth-year senior Jeremy Rae won the prestigious Meyo Mile at the Meyo Invitational Feb. 7-8 at Notre Dame, finishing in a school-record 3:57.25. It was his third consecutive sub-four-minute mile at the event. Graduate student Nick Happe crossed the line two seconds later for a third-place finish. The Irish also swept the 400-meter races at their biggest home event of the year. Junior Chris Giesting won for the men in 46.38 seconds. Senior Michelle Brown captured first for the women's team in 53.15 seconds, a meet record. TENNIS The Irish men started their season 6-0 before falling 5-2 to No. 22 Illinois Feb. 5. No. 16 Notre Dame swept Toledo and William & Mary in January before squeaking out a series of 4-3 victories over Min- nesota and two against Kentucky. The 23rd-ranked women's team rolled off three straight wins to move to 5-1 early in their spring sea- son. They have wins over three top-50 teams with the only loss coming to No. 26 Arizona State in late January. SOFTBALL (3-1) Sophomore pitcher Allie Rhodes started her season in style with a 70-pitch no-hitter. Rhodes coasted through the Morehead State lineup during a four-game tournament Feb. 8-9 in Auburn, Ala. Junior Emilee Koerner led off the game with a solo home run, one of three she hit that day in wins over Morehead State and host Auburn. The Irish needed extra innings to finish a 3-2 win over Auburn. Sophomore Carly Piccinich scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the eighth inning. — Dan Murphy