Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Top Five Male Athletes 1. Quentin Monaghan (Tennis) — Predicated in part as a career achievement award for his singles and doubles play, he became the sixth multi-time All-American in program history. Furthermore, the Dean's List student earned esteemed awards nationally and from his alma mater: The National ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award and Notre Dame's Byron V. Kanaley Award, the most pres- tigious honor presented to an Irish student-athlete every year since 1927. Teaming with classmate Alex Lawson, who deserves acco- lades in his own right, Monaghan reached the NCAA doubles semifinals before losing an epic three-set match to UCLA's even- tual national champs, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 10-8. It marked only the sixth time in program's 93-year history an Irish duo advanced to the NCAA doubles semifinals, and the first since 1994. A year earlier, Monaghan became the first Notre Dame singles player since the format was introduced in 1977 to reach the semifinals. 2. Will Fuller (Football) — Whenever the Irish needed a get-out-of-jail card on the field, the All-American game- breaker was in the forefront, highlighted by 11th-hour game winning touchdowns at Virginia and Temple to keep alive College Football Playoff hopes. His 62 catches averaged a remarkable 20.3 yards and in- cluded 14 touchdowns. He joined 1987 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown (1988) and Michael Floyd (2012) as the lone receiver first-round picks from Notre Dame since 1970 — and Fuller achieved it as a junior. 3. Matt Landis (Lacrosse) — For the second consecutive year, the senior was hon- ored by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse As- sociation with the Williams C. Schmeisser Award as the nation's top player on defense. That's akin to winning the Outland Trophy or Butkus Award two years in a row in football while also helping your program be among the nation's top three during that time. 4. Jaylon Smith (Football) & Axel Kiefer (Fencing) — Smith was the best in the nation at his position, earning the Butkus Award as a junior. His role often forced him to be more an eraser of other mistakes than to be a playmaker, unlike a Manti Te'o in 2012. With his third-place finish in the NCAA Champion- ships for the foil event, Kiefer earned first-team All-America notice in his rookie season. Honorable mention: Demetrius Jackson (basketball) made second-team All-ACC while helping Notre Dame to a second straight berth to the Elite Eight. Senior Quentin Monaghan excelled in both singles and doubles play during his Notre Dame career, making history in both with his performances. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS