Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MAY 2018 59 ND SPORTS since Gerek Meinhardt in 2014. "He's one of the best I've ever seen — as a freshman, as anyone," Kvar- atskhelia said of Itkin. "He breezed through the field and delivered a masterpiece in the finals." Also earning first-team All-Amer- ica honors for the men were junior Axel Kiefer (tied for third in foil) and sophomore Ariel Simmons (tied for third in epee). Second-team All-Americans for the men were seniors Jonah Shain- berg (fifth in sabre) and Nicholas Hanahan (fifth in epee). Simmons repeated as a first-team All-Amer- ican, while Shainberg became the 26th four-time All-American in pro- gram history. Among the women, junior foil Sa- brina Massialas led the Irish with a runner-up placement. Joining her as first-team All-Americans were se- nior Francesca Russo (tied for third in sabre) plus juniors Elyssa Kleiner (tied for third in foil) and Amanda Sirico (tied for third in epee). Junior Tara Hassett finished sev- enth in sabre to earn second-team All-America notice. ✦ MEN'S GOLF The Irish turned in a historic performance at the ACC Championships April 20-22 at New Lon- don, N.C. Notre Dame's sixth-place finish was the best ever by the program, and it achieved it by carding a 19-under-par 845 team score over three rounds. It marked the lowest score at the league tournament and the second-lowest tally ever in program annals. The low individual finisher for Notre Dame was sophomore Davis Lamb, who tied for eighth place with a 9-under 207. In addition, freshman Davis Chatfield tied for 12th with an 8-under 208 and sophomore John Felitto was tied for 19th with a 6-under 210. The NCAA Regionals are slated to take place May 15-17 at multiple sites and the NCAA Championships are scheduled for May 25-30 at Stillwater, Okla. WOMEN'S GOLF Notre Dame finished in 10th place with a 34- over 898 — just eight strokes out of fifth in a field that included 11 teams ranked in the top 55 of the latest Golfstat rankings — at the ACC Cham- pionships April 21-23 at Greensboro, N.C. Juniors Emma Albrecht and Maddie Rose Hamilton led the way for the Irish, finishing tied for 18th with a 5-over 221 and tied for 20th with a 6-over 222, respectively. The NCAA Regionals are slated to take place May 7-9 at multiple sites and the NCAA Cham- pionships are scheduled for May 18-23 at Still- water, Okla. MEN'S LACROSSE (6-5, 1-3 ACC) The No. 18 Irish dropped three of their last four matches of the regular season, including a 10-9 loss at North Carolina April 21. Junior at- tack Ryder Garnsey finished as the team's top point producer, notching 25 on 16 goals and nine assists. Sophomore midfielder Bryan Costabile contributed a team-best 21 goals and finished second with 23 points. Notre Dame has now earned a berth in the four-team ACC Tournament in all five seasons it has been in the league. The Irish will face No. 2 Duke in the semifinals April 27 in Charlottesville, Va. The winner of that game will take on the win- ner of the contest between top-seed Syracuse and fourth-seeded Virginia April 29. WOMEN'S LACROSSE (9-8, 3-4 ACC) Notre Dame closed the season on a high note with a 16-7 home win over San Diego State on Senior Day April 21. Freshman midfielder Maddie Howe led the team during the regular season in both goals (38) and points (53), while junior attack Nikki Ortega paced the squad in assists (19). The Irish alternated losses and wins over their final eight contests, but finished with the No. 5 seed in the eight-team ACC Tournament. Notre Dame was slated to face No. 4 seed Virginia April 26 in the quarterfinals at Durham, N.C. The win- ner will take on either No. 1 seed Boston College or No. 8 seed Louisville in the semifinals April 27. The championship match will take place April 29. SOFTBALL (29-18, 12-8 ACC) After a five-game winning streak that included a sweep at home against Syracuse, Notre Dame cooled off a bit and dropped six of its last nine games, including two of three versus Boston Col- lege April 20-22. Junior outfielder Ali Wester has been the team's top hitter, compiling a .403 aver- age with 26 runs scored, 18 RBI and 14 steals in 41 starts over 47 games played. Freshman Alexis Holloway has been the workhorse on the mound, making 27 starts and nine relief appearances. She was 17-11 with four saves and a 2.33 ERA. The Irish close out the season with four home games — versus Bowling Green April 24 and No. 10 Florida State April 27-29. The ACC Champi- onship will be held May 9-12 in Atlanta, while the NCAA Tournament begins with regional play May 18-20. BASEBALL (17-23, 8-13 ACC) After a four-game losing streak in mid-April, Notre Dame turned it around in the last two games of a home series against Virginia Tech April 20-22, winning 8-7 in 12 innings and 6-5 to grab its first series win since taking two of three games from Wake Forest in late March. Junior infielder Nick Podkul has paced the of- fense while starting all 40 games, batting a team- best .320 with five home runs and 29 RBI. On the mound, fifth-year senior left-hander Scott Tully was 4-1 with a 4.19 ERA in 10 starts. The Irish will play eight straight home games — Valparaiso April 24, Boston College April 27- 29, Western Michigan May 1 and Pitt May 4-6 — before hitting the road again to take on North- western May 15. — David McKinney Irish Roundup Notre Dame notched an 8-7, 12-inning walk-off win versus Virginia Tech April 21 to snap a four-game skid. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS