Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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16 JUNE/JULY 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom Eric Gilgenbach — Baseball The junior from Rochester Hills, Mich., was selected to the 2018 All-ACC third team. He finished the season with a .270 batting average, 30 runs scored, a ca- reer-high and team-leading 10 home runs, and a team-best 45 RBI. Gilgenbach was joined on the All-ACC squad by junior second baseman Nick Podkul and junior third baseman/out- fielder Matt Vierling, who were both named to the second team. Morgan Reed — Softball The senior from Maylene, Ala., finished her Notre Dame career by nab- b i n g N a t i o n a l Fa s t p i t c h C o a c h e s A s s o c i at i o n A l l - Region honors for the fourth straight season. During her se- nior campaign, she recorded a .314 average with six home runs and 24 RBI in 47 games. Reed will leave Notre Dame in the all-time top 10 for slugging percentage (.550), on-base percentage (.414) and fielding assists (329). Abby Heck — Golf The freshman from Memphis, Tenn., closed her first year strong at the NCAA Regional May 7-9 in Madison, Wis. She sat at 2-over-par with seven holes to play in the final round, but finished with two pars and five straight birdies to finish with a 3-under 69. Heck finished in a tied for 23rd with a 1-over 217 for the tournament to help Notre Dame to a 12th-place finish out of 18 teams. Allison Miller — Tennis The senior from Norcross, Ga., finished off her Notre Dame career with a bang, taking home All-ACC honors. She became the 26th and final all-confer- ence honoree (by 14 players) under outgoing head coach Jay Louderback, who retired May 3. Miller, who posted 12 sin- gles victories in dual action during her final season, graduated from the College of Science with a degree in neurosci- ence and behavior. TOP OF THE CLASS ✦ GIMME FIVE This May, Notre Dame women's tennis coach Jay Louderback announced his retirement after 29 seasons at the helm that featured 24 bids to the NCAA Championships, 19 conference titles and two advancements to the Final Four (2009 and 2010). Louderback was one of 10 head coaches in the Fighting Irish athletics department this year who have served at least 10 years at the school. Men's soccer coach Bobby Clark, who led Notre Dame to the 2013 national title, likewise retired in November after 17 seasons. Yet the Irish still have four other head coaches who have held their positions for at least 20 years, and a couple of others nearing that milestone. Here are the five head coaches who currently have the longest tenure at Notre Dame: Coach (Sport) Years 1. Muffet McGraw (women's basketball) 31 2. Kevin Corrigan (men's lacrosse) 30 3. Caming Xie (diving) 21 4. Martin Stone (rowing) 20 5. Mike Brey (men's basketball) 18 Notes: Softball coach Deanna Gumpf completed her 17th season at Notre Dame this spring, while hockey coach Jeff Jackson has put in 13 years and women's golf coach Susan Holt has had 11 … Brian Kelly is five seasons away from match- ing Knute Rockne's school-record 13-year tenure (1918-30) in football, and three away from tying Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian and Lou Holtz for second place. Getting To Know … 2019 DEFENSIVE END AND NOTRE DAME COMMIT HUNTER SPEARS Through Memorial Day weekend, Notre Dame had 10 commit- ments in its 2019 class — including four defensive linemen. Among them is 6-5, 260-pound Lone Star State product Hunter Spears. Rivals rates him as a four-star recruit and the No. 20 weakside defensive end nationally. Hometown: "Sachse, Texas." High School: "Sachse." Major: "I want to do pre-med." Nickname: "A lot of kids call me 'Big H.'" Favorite Food: "Steak and mashed po- tatoes." Favorite TV Show: "'The Office.'" Favorite Movie: "I'd say 'Monyeball.'" Favorite Music: "Either rap or country mu- sic, even though those are polar opposites." Favorite Musician: "My favorite artist right now is Drake." Favorite Professional Sports Team: "The Dallas Cowboys." Favorite part about Notre Dame: "It's really just the relationships. The ones I've already been building so far and the ones to come." Who's the best player you've ever lined up across from? "I'd probably say Kamron Fields. He was a quarterback at Lakefield and now he plays baseball at Texas. He was a dual athlete that could run and was pretty hard to tackle." CHARTING THE IRISH NOTRE DAME MEN'S BASKETBALL AMONG 'ELITE' COMPANY Even after an injury-filled season in 2017-18, Notre Dame has still fielded one of the more accomplished men's basketball programs over the past five years (2013-18). The Irish made a pair of Elite Eight appearances in the NCAA Tourna- ment (2015 and 2016) during that five-year stretch, which was done by only 11 other programs during the same span. Of the programs that have achieved that feat, only three — Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan with three each — have more Elite Eight appearances than the Irish. Notre Dame is one of only three ACC schools to advance to a pair of regional finals, joining bluebloods North Carolina and Duke. Moving? Let us know! Call 1-800-421-7751 MOST ELITE EIGHT APPEARANCES FROM 2013-18 Rk. Program Number (Years) 1. Kansas 3 (2016-18) Kentucky 3 (2014-15, 2017) Michigan 3 (2014-15, 2018) 4. Arizona 2 (2014-15) Duke 2 (2015, 2018) Florida 2 (2014, 2017) Gonzaga 2 (2015, 2017) North Carolina 2 (2016-2017) Notre Dame 2 (2015-16) Oregon 2 (2016-17) Villanova 2 (2016, 2018) Wisconsin 2 (2014-15)