Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/705594
buoyed considerably by the deci- sions of linebacker Manti Te'o and tight end Tyler Eifert to return for their senior years. Likewise, the de- cisions by left tackle Ronnie Stanley and defensive lineman Sheldon Day to come back as seniors in 2015 was crucial to a 10-1 start. But are those days over? Concus- sions/head trauma and CTE warn- ings in football are more present than ever, and the goal of players to "cash in" the potential millions of dollars while they can is expand- ing. Team MVP/wide receiver Will Fuller opted to leave after his junior season to get paid in the NFL as a first-round pick, and so did Butkus Award winner and junior linebacker Jaylon Smith — who showed just how fragile a football career can be after suffering major knee damage in the Fiesta Bowl. Running back C.J. Prosise and cornerback KeiVarae Russell also had a year of eligibility left in 2016, but moved on to the NFL, while 30- game starting right guard Steve El- mer decided to leave football upon his early graduation as a junior to pursue other professional career opportunities. SIGNING DAY JOY … AND QUESTIONS No school in history will ever say it had a bad recruiting class on Na- tional Signing Day. At Notre Dame, Top Five Female Rookies 1. Sabrina Massialas (Fencing) — In March, the ACC Women's Fencer of the Year for Foil merited first- team All-America notice by finishing third nationally in her event. In April at Bourges, France, she captured the FIE Junior World Women's Foil Championship, defeating top opponents from Russia, China and Italy, among others, in the process. Five former Notre Dame alumni in fencing will be at the Rio Olympic Games this summer, and down the road Massialas appears headed for a similar destiny. 2. Anna Rohrer (Cross Country/Track) — The heiress to the phenomenal legacy of 10-time All-American Molly Huddle (2006 Notre Dame graduate and 2016 Summer Olympics qualifier) and 2015-16 four-time national champ Molly Seidel could be Rohrer. Her 19:59.7 clocking at this year's NCAA Championships was good for sixth in the 6K run, with Seidel winning it all in 19:28.6. Rohrer also finished second to Seidel in the ACC Championships. Their performance propelled the Notre Dame women to finish No. 8 in the final team standings in cross country. 3. Ali Wester (Softball) — The younger sister of star captain Karly Wester also started all 56 games (the Irish went 43-13) at either second base or left field, and finished second to her big sister in batting average (.423) and hits (77). The Huntington Beach, Calif., native was second-team All-ACC and named one of 10 finalists for National Freshman of the Year. 4 (tie). Arike Ogunbowale/Marina Mabrey (Women's Basketball) — After the blind side departures of All-American Jewell Loyd and captain Taya Reimer, the Irish needed the two freshmen to grow up well ahead of schedule. They did during the amazing 31-1 regular season, with Instant Offense Ogunbowale finishing third in scoring (11.4 points per game) and Mabrey fourth (10.7), plus placing second in steals (53) and third in assists (69).