Blue and Gold Illustrated

Preseason 2014

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

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ND SPORTS coaching job in his hometown of Hous‑ ton. Waldrum left behind a legacy of national championships and a lineup of former high school All‑Americans. Romagnolo, who most recently spent three years as the head coach at Dart‑ mouth, plans to put her own spin on the solid foundation left for her in South Bend. "Randy was one of the premier coaches in the country. If I can keep them winning and getting deep into the playoffs, that's really my goal," she said. "I think every year at Notre Dame the goal is to contend for a na‑ tional championship. For me, it's just about installing my system of play, getting the team to be very aggressive going to goal and creating a lot of op‑ portunities." Romagnolo said she is pushing her players to attack more in one‑on‑one defensive battles and to push the tempo offensively. The results showed during the preseason with a 4‑0 exhibition de‑ but victory over Illinois State. The Irish, ranked No. 16 in preseason polls, expect to have a long list of play‑ ers who can contribute to the box score this season. Five different women scored goals in the team's first two ex‑ hibitions (the second game was a 2‑2 draw with Northwestern). Senior Lau‑ ren Bohaboy, who tied for the team lead with seven goals last year, is the only player who scored twice. The distributor on offense will be sophomore center midfielder Mor‑ gan Andrews. The former Gatorade National Player of the Year had seven goals and five assists as a rookie last fall. "She's going to start the possession and look to create opportunities for herself or for her teammates," Romag‑ nolo said. "She brings a really offensive mentality to the game and a high level of skill." ALAN TURNER ADDS ENERGY TO CROSS COUNTRY Alan Turner coached the sprinters during his four seasons in South Bend. So it comes as no surprise that this fall, when he takes over the entire track and cross country program at Notre Dame, that he wants to add a burst of energy to the entire group. Turner, a former national champion in the long jump at Indiana University, takes the reins this season from former coach Joe Piane. It's been 39 years since Notre Dame has had a new coach for its running teams. Piane, a two‑time na‑ tional cross country coach of the year, retired this spring after nearly four de‑ cades as the program leader. Piane passed on some of that insti‑ tutional knowledge to Turner while grooming him for the job during the last couple years. Turner said he plans to take many of those lessons to heart while trying to put his own mark on the program. "There are going to be some subtle changes. My leadership style is going to be a little bit more engaging with the student‑athletes," Turner said. Turner said his goal for the cross country program, both men's and women's teams, this fall is to jump into the top 20 at the NCAA Champion‑ ships. Both teams finished in the high 20s at last year's national meet. To get

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