Print Edition for The Observer for Monday, February 19, 2024

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VOLUME 58, ISSUE 53 | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM

Belles for Life makes blankets, hats Student group emphasizes taking ‘actionable steps’ to support anti-abortion cause

By NATALIE SMITH News Writer

Blanket fabric and yarn were scattered across tables at Saint Mar y’s Haggar College Center on Thursday night. The crafting supplies were a part of the Belles for Life spring kick-off event where students made baby blankets and hats for expecting mothers.

“We are making baby blankets and then knitting and crocheting baby hats.

We are also making hearts for expecting mothers. We’re probably going to send them to a local center that works w ith women, especially expecting women,” sophomore Belles for Life president Kathr y n Schneider said.

The event supports the club’s mission, which is to help women. The group wants to make sure that these women know that they are supported by their communit y.

“First and foremost, we are a pro-life club. A big part of that is not just fighting against abortion, but also fighting for moms in need,” Schneider said. “Making sure that she has the support she needs when she finds out she is pregnant and to support her and her baby. A big part of what we do is making sure that moms in the area, especially South Bend and the tri-campus communit y, have the resources they

NATALIE SMITH | The Observer

see BELLES PAGE 4

Belles for Life members smile as they hold two of the blankets they made for women and expecting mothers. The club is an anti-abortion group that aims to raise awareness for those affected by abortion.

DIANE PARK | The Observer

The history of Junior Parents Weekend at Notre Dame

By CADE CZ ARNECKI and THOM AS DOBBS From t he A rchives Resea rchers

In this edition, we delve into the nuanced narrative of Junior Parents Weekend (JPW) at Notre Dame.

Initiated in 1953, JPW has since cemented itself as a core Notre Dame tradition, evolving from a single day of introductory activities into a weekend of familial engagement and University immersion. The articles we’ve researched shed light on various aspects of JPW, from its origins and evolution to the humorously detailed campus-wide evacuation plans for non-juniors. We explore how this event has become a unique intersection of academic and familial worlds, reflecting the changing dynamics between students and their parents. Through these stories,

SAME SEX BLESSINGS: FIDUCIA SUPPLICANS NEWS PAGE 3

we gain insights into how JPW and the Notre Dame community have mutually influenced and evolved with each other.

JPW: A Steadfast Tradition Feb. 15, 1985 | Claire Kneuer | Feb. 23, 1979 | Observer Staff | Feb. 20, 1953 | Scholastic | April 24, 1953 | Scholastic | Researched by Thomas Dobbs The tradition of JPW at Notre Dame, inaugurated in 1953 as Parents-Son Day, has remained a cornerstone of the University’s student experience. Initially conceived as a collaborative effort between the Junior Class and the University administration, it was designed, in the words of Thomas W. Carroll from the Department of Public Relations, to “better acquaint students’ parents with the everyday life their sons

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lead on campus.” Parents-Son Day quickly evolved from a single-day affair into a weekend-long celebration, reflecting its immediate success and significance.

The inspiration of this tradition was highlighted by then-University President Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, who, in addressing the parents at the inaugural JPW, expressed a sentiment of inclusion: “I want you parents to feel you belong here at Notre Dame as your sons are the main part of our University.”

His words established the cornerstone for what would blossom into a deeply cherished and increasingly inclusive tradition, as the weekend naturally expanded to include daughters following Notre Dame’s decision to admit women in 1972.

Fast forward to 1985, the core principles and even schedule of JPW

Junior parents visit campus

By M ARYCL AIRE HICKEY News Writer

Feb. 15, 1991 | Andrew McCloskey | Feb. 15, 1992 | Fr. Robert Griffin | Feb. 19, 1998 | Fr. Jim Lies, C.S.C. | Feb. 16, 2001 | Mike Connolly | Researched by Thomas Dobbs

This weekend parents and guardians of juniors made the trek to South Bend to celebrate their students’ time at Notre Dame.

The weekend’s key note event was the President’s Dinner held Saturday night in the Joyce Center.

Universit y President Fr. John Jenkins spoke about his time as an undergraduate student at Notre Dame and compared it to current students’ experiences. This was Jenkins’ last Junior Parents Weekend (JPW ) before he steps dow n as president.

In his speech, Jenkins said this is the second time the class of 2025 has gathered

see ARCHIVES PAGE 4

see PARENTS PAGE 4

had remained remarkably consistent. The chairwomen of JPW in the same year, Julie Schuessler, captures its enduring spirit: “What is special about JPW is that it brings your two worlds together - the world of school meets the world of home.”

This integration of the familial and academic spheres has been a hallmark of the JPW experience, offering a rare opportunity for parents to directly engage with the University community.

JPW: A Forum for Family and University Engagement

DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM SCENE PAGE 7

W LACROSSE PAGE 12

HOCKEY PAGE 12

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TODAY

THE OBSERVER | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM

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The Fighting Irish band plays in the Compton Family Ice Arena stands on Saturday during Notre Dame’s senior night hockey game against Minnesota. While the Irish lost 3-2 on Saturday, they won on Friday with a score of 6-1 to break a three-game losing streak.

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Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Study in South Africa Information Session Spes Unica Room 134 4 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Learn about studying abroad in South Africa.

Knit and Stitch 2nd Floor St. Liam Hall 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Knit or learn to knit in the company of others for a restful break.

Healthcare Mini Career Fair Regina Hall Noon - 2 p.m.

Meet interested employers.

Mr. ND Washington Hall 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Enjoy watching men from various dorms perform their talents.

Keenan Revue Stepan Center 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Attend Keenan Hall’s annual comedy performance.

Bengal Bouts Second Round Dahnke Ballroom 7 p.m. - 11 p.m.

See the men’s boxing club 2nd round fights.

Lecture Series with Dr. Staud and Dr. Lichon 119 DeBartolo Hall 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Listen to speakers.

The Musicians Network Jam Session 110 Washington Hall 7:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.

Come play music.

Senior Soup Night LaFortune Community Kitchen 4 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Stop by to chat and have soup with others.

African Drumming Circle Celebration Haggar College Center 2:30 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Celebrate Black History Month.

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Campus weighs in on same-sex blessings

By PETER BREEN Associate News Editor

W hen the Vatican issued a rare declaration allowing priests to bless same-sex couples Dec. 18, Notre Dame theolog y professor Ulrich Lehner posted a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, calling it the most unfortunate public announcement from the Church in decades.

“It is — and I hate to say it — an invitation to schism,” the historian of Christianity wrote.

Lehner’s statement was mentioned in articles about the declaration by the Associated Press and Reuters, which were both featured on the University’s news service.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reported the declaration, which Pope Francis signed off, was the pope’s “most definitive step yet” to make the Church more welcoming to LGBTQ+ Catholics. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered” and can be approved under no circumstances.

Senior Ryan Wachter said he appreciated how Francis has moved the Church to be more open to people like himself who struggle identif ying as both queer and Catholic.

“The fact he’s identif ying us is really a huge first step,” Wachter said.

From the Roman Inquisition to a ‘creative’ dicastery The declaration, “Fiducia Supplicans: On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings,” was issued by the Vatican’s doctrinal office, the Dicaster y for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The dicaster y is a direct successor to the Roman Inquisition, which Pope Paul III established in 1542 to watch over matters of the faith, according to the Vatican. The Roman Inquisition famously put Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei on trial in 1633 for believing in heliocentrism.

Notre Dame theolog y professor David Lantigua said in the 20th centur y the dicaster y would weigh in on doctrinal questions and problematic theological ref lection — for example, aspects of Latin American liberation theolog y.

Lantigua, who studies the current pope and Catholicism in the Americas, said the role of the dicaster y has shifted further under Francis. W hen Francis gave the summons to Argentine Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, who was appointed to lead the dicaster y in July 2023, Lantigua

added, the pope stressed the office should take on more of a “creative” role of wrestling with difficult Church questions.

“Now it’s sort of meant to open up things,” Lantigua said. “Or open up a can of worms perhaps.”

Fiducia Supplicans, which in English means “supplicating trust,” was the first declaration issued by the dicaster y since 2000. A declaration is the most important type of document the dicaster y can issue, according to the Pillar. The office also issues letters, vademecums, responses and other kinds of documents.

Under its previous prefect in March 2021, the dicaster y issued a response that stated the Church did not have the power to bless same-sex unions.

The response stated relationships cannot receive God’s grace unless they are “positively ordered,” and it wasn’t licit to bless any relationship that involved sexual activity outside of marriage — an “indissoluble union between a man and a woman, naturally open to the generation of children.”

The good elements in relationships involving such activity cannot “render them legitimate objects of an ecclesial blessing, since the positive elements exist within the context of a union not ordered to the Creator’s plan,” according to the response.

Blessings of same-sex unions also amount to an imitation of nuptial blessings, despite there being no grounds for considering such unions to be “even remotely analogous” to God’s plan for marriage, the response added.

Seed of the Holy Spirit or confusion?

In a Jan. 18 article about Fiducia Supplicans for the McGrath Institute’s Church Life Journal, Notre Dame theolog y professor Fr. Paulinus Odozor, a moral theologian, wrote the declaration directly opposed the dicaster y’s 2021 response.

According to section 31 of the declaration, blessings may in fact be imparted to same-sex couples who “do not claim a legitimation of their own status” and beg God to elevate the good elements in their lives and relationships.

To be ver y clear about the difference between a samesex blessing and the marriage sacrament, the declaration stated same-sex blessings can neither occur in a liturgical setting nor be performed with any clothing, gestures

or words that are proper to a wedding.

Odozor wrote the declaration “rightly insists” people seeking blessings shouldn’t be subject to ex haustive moral analysis. The declaration explained the request for a blessing is a seed of the Holy Spirit that must be nurtured — not hindered.

“No priest worth his ordination would ever turn away people who come for blessings as individuals or as groups of people or even simply as sinners on any grounds, including those living in a same-sex relationship,” Odozor wrote.

For all the rich theolog y of blessings contained in Fiducia Supplicans, Odozor wrote he worried it would inf lame passions on both sides of the debate.

On the one hand, the declaration could appear to have little regard for the Church’s perennial doctrine about marriage. On the other, the document might be viewed as callous and lacking in sympathy for those whose lifestyles go against Church teachings.

Odozor added he was concerned a priest would be cooperating in sin if he blessed a same-sex couple seeking validation, on some level, for their “sinful” union.

“W hen such a couple is openly known to be living together as a same-sex couple, should the priest, even in private and a non-liturgical setting ‘bless’ them as a couple, knowing that they are not seeking for guidance to get out of their relationship but for God to help them lead a happy and fulfilled life as a couple? ” he wrote.

Lehner wrote on X some clerg ymen would use Fiducia Supplicans as a pretext to do what the declaration explicitly forbids.

Vatican News reported more than 100 Catholic churches in Germany held services to bless same-sex couples on May 10, 2021 — in defiance of the dicaster y’s 2021 response. And in March 2023, 67 bishops at a German synod voted 38 to nine, with 11 abstentions, in favor of allowing liturgical blessings for same-sex couples, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Lehner signaled out German clerg ymen in his statement, writing Fiducia Supplicans does not permit same-sex blessings in a liturgical setting and “explicitly rejects the actions of German priests who performed such blessings.”

Both Odozor and Lehner wrote they thought the declaration would mislead members of the Church in any number of directions.

Exposing the Church’s fault lines Lantigua said the purpose of broadening of the Church’s classical understanding of blessings and reform in general isn’t to make the Church “relevant.” He added reform wasn’t tied to a politically progressive outlook either.

“Reform is a big word for Francis, and it’s a scar y word for some,” Lantigua said.

The Church has always performed self-examination through reform movements, Lantigua said, citing the Benedictines, the mendicant orders and the Jesuits.

Lantigua explained reform movements called the Church to a deeper holiness and discipleship in Christ, so it could be more “attentive to the cries of the world today.”

According to Lantigua, Francis’ vision for reform came from his experience seeing the reform of the Second Vatican Council play out around the world and especially in his home, South America. Lantigua said the theologians who shaped Vatican II and its reforms desired to renew the Church by going back to its sources, such as scripture and the writings of the Church Fathers.

Many traditionalist Catholics who don’t like Francis’ vision for reform, Lantigua added, disagree with the pope about whose cries the Church should listen to.

Ver y soon after Fiducia Supplicans came out, German Cardinal Gerhard Müller, who was prefect of the dicaster y from 2012 to 2017, wrote same-sex blessings were “blasphemous.”

Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò dubbed Francis a “servant of Satan” for approving the declaration.

Notre Dame provost John McGreev y, a historian of American and global religion, told the Washington Post he was stunned at the criticism of Francis by conservatives over the declaration.

In the middle of Januar y, Vatican News reported the symposium of African bishops published a letter that stated they would prefer not to offer same-sex blessings because the practice could lead to confusion and scandal in Africa, a continent where homosexuality is illegal in most countries.

Lantigua said Francis, a “spiritual master” trained in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, doesn’t have a problem with a little bit of destabilization in the Church because crisis is a normal posture of the spiritual life.

“A characteristic of the pastoral life of the Church

for far too long has been avoiding the tensions and the conf licts rather than really tr ying to address them,” Lantigua said.

On the pastoral meaning of blessings Senior Buddy Williams, who is president of a club that supports the Latin Mass, Children of Mar y, said the dichotomy between the dicaster y’s 2021 response and Fiducia Supplicans stuck out to him.

“They’re from two different prefects,” Williams said.

“They both have to be true.

They both have to be consistent with Church teaching in the past.”

W hy Francis would sign both documents, Williams said, was puzzling.

“I think the main line that Cardinal Fernández was tr ying to push to develop the doctrine a little bit while keeping it the same is the idea of blessing people without blessing unions,” he added.

Junior Nathan Desautels, vice president of Young Americans for Freedom, a conservative activism club, said he supported Francis and valued a consistent Church. Desautels added he believed homosexuality was a disordered inclination and prefers a Church that is also loving.

“The Church is open in that it’s a universal religion and that we love all people regardless of what they struggle with,” he said. “We’re always inviting them to join us in worship.”

Notre Dame Right to Life president Kylie Gallegos, a senior, wrote in an email the declaration was straightforward if read with a genuine understanding of Catholic teaching, while Kathr yn Schneider, a sophomore at Saint Mar y’s and president of Belles of Life, wrote via email the Church should be careful about how it approaches welcoming groups of open sin.

Senior Elijah Mustillo, a transgender Catholic, wrote in an email he thought Christians have the duty of creating an approachable Church.

“If there are barriers to entr y, people aren’t going to want to come in. Sometimes we end up welcoming people into our house and telling them at the same time they must leave part of what they are carr ying outside. I think a blessing is a Christian way of extending welcome to two people coming inside together,” Mustillo wrote. “It says, ‘We are glad you both are here.’”

Contact Peter Breen at pbreen2@nd.edu

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THE OBSERVER | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM

Archives CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

More than just a series of social events, JPW has served as a vital link between Notre Dame and its extended family. The 1991 Notre Dame London Program participants’ formation of the letters JPW symbolized the anticipation and unity that this weekend fosters. The diverse schedule, including movies, a President’s dinner, and various receptions, reflects the University’s commitment to embracing and celebrating family involvement in the collegiate experience.

While JPW certainly offers parents a glimpse into the lives of their children on campus, it also presents an opportunity for faculty to speak directly to parents themselves. These events are marked by conversations that delve into the shared aspirations and concerns for the students’ futures.

Take, for instance, the 1991 iteration of JPW, set amidst the Persian Gulf War. It offered more than just a platform for celebration; it was an avenue for serious, thoughtful dialogue. Fr. Robert Griffin eloquently captured the essence of this exchange in a letter to the campus paper.

Reminding parents of their own Vietnam War experiences, he wrote, “The refrain of those years was, ‘Give peace a chance,’ so I supported the peace movement.

When some of the students ‘made love, not war,’ I defended the students to their parents.” He further argued that there was insufficient attention paid to the potential for a wider war in the Middle East and the concerns for students who, in the event of a draft, would be directly impacted by overseas conflicts.

In his 1998 article “Parents Say the Darndest Things,” Fr. Jim Lies offered a humorous yet insightful commentary on the evolving dynamics of family relationships, particularly relevant in the context JPW at Notre Dame. Fr. Lies reflected on the transition from adolescent embarrassment to adult appreciation of parents, a journey that mirrors the personal growth students experience at the University.

He amusingly recalled, “I don’t remember how long it took my Mom to learn not to embarrass me in public places.” Reflecting on the essence of the transformation both students and parents undergo, Fr. Lies further mused, “But it leads me to wonder if the reason we can invite our parents to campus during Junior Parents Weekend is because they have learned just enough so as not to embarrass us with privileged information.”

In 2001, Mike Connolly’s (‘02) article, “Choices, Good and Bad,” offers an under-appreciated perspective on the importance of communication between students and their parents. “It wasn’t that my parents wanted to approve or disapprove of my decisions ... They just wanted to know what was going on,” he wrote. The widespread use of cell phones may have bridged this gap, yet it’s undeniable that some students

lament the era of constant connectivity, feeling burdened by the expectation of daily communication. Nevertheless, JPW is the ideal occasion to remind ourselves of the vital support we receive, in whatever form, from those in our lives. It’s a celebration of shared experiences that acknowledges the critical role of parents in shaping the lives of Notre Dame students.

The Unpredictable Underbelly of JPW Feb. 15, 1991 | Lisa Eaton | Feb. 15, 1991 | Lynn O’Donnell | Feb. 21, 2005 | James Vranish | Feb. 22, 2010 | Laura Myers | Researched by Cade Czarnecki Junior Parents Weekend has long had a double meaning. To third-year students it signifies the crossroads of home life and school life — a time where parents both share and hear embarrassing stories about their kids.

According to everyone else, JPW is one of the worst weekends on campus. Dating back to 1990, students have griped about the lull that sweeps across campus during JPW and results in a completely “dead” weekend.

Lynn O’Donnell, an Accent Writer in 1991, anticipated the impending boredom for nonjuniors brought on by JPW, so she took it upon herself to create an itinerary for everyone looking to escape the quietness of South Bend during JPW. Some of her options for students looking to getaway included a ZZ Top concert, the Indianapolis Boat Sport and Travel Show, or a trip to the outlet malls in Michigan City.

But for the Juniors wrapped up in the craziness that is JPW, the weekend has historically brought more than enough action right to campus, even when there are no scheduled events. For example, James Vranish (‘06), a Junior in Siegfried Hall in 2005, informed the Observer that he spent JPW throwing snowballs at bewildered parents, including those of his girlfriend.

The most memorable aspects of JPW often arise from spontaneous moments. Laura Myers (‘11), who was an Assistant Sports Editor in 2010, recounted her JPW experience with a mix of humor and bewilderment. Her highlights — or perhaps lowlights — included receiving a barrage of unsolicited professional advice, fielding numerous inquiries about her GPA, her mom urging her to do Tequila shots, and her mom deliberately attempting to shake hands with handsome young men during the Sign of Peace at Mass.

While experiences certainly differ, the legacy of JPW is that of memorable and spontaneous moments for Juniors and that of boredom and escape for everyone else. Regardless, JPW always reinvents Notre Dame campus life for everyone, even if only for a few days.

Contact Cade Czarnecki at cczarne3@nd.edu and Thomas Dobbs at tdobbs @nd.edu

Parents CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

all together. The first was for drop-off in August 2021, when students and parents alike were ner vous about what the future might hold.

Jenkins looked back on parents’ stress about how their children would fit in at school and how students battled homesickness and adjusted to life on a college campus.

Jenkins said JPW is a special event that allows students to show their parents a glimpse into their lives at Notre Dame, meet their friends and their friends’ parents.

Junior Gabi Maletta said her favorite part of the event was the dessert, but she also enjoyed Jenkins’ speech.

“I was also really surprised at how much I loved Fr. Jenkins’ speech. It totally resonated w ith my JPW experience,” Maletta said.

“I feel like ever yone in the

room was just silent listening to him almost in tears.

It was amazing.”

Maletta also appreciated the opportunit y to show her parents what her day-today life is like at school. She said they walked around to her classes and stopped by her favorite study spots.

“They also got a chance to meet some of my professors for both my majors, which was really fun and exciting,” she said.

Junior and President’s Dinner chair Derick Williams gave welcoming remarks to students and their families at the dinner.

Follow ing his introduction, junior class president Rose Nguyen spoke on behalf of the class of 2025.

Nguyen ref lected on the importance of this milestone not only for the students but also for their parents and guardians who helped reach this stage of their lives. She said the college experience is part of a shared stor y bet ween the

parents and children and the experience has meaning for both.

JPW co-chairs Lauren Rivera and Lucas Chalfoun also spoke at the dinner and thanked their parents for their support. Rivera and Chalfoun led the committee responsible for planning the weekend’s events, which included academic workshops, campus tours, residence life open houses and the Class of 2025 Mass.

The events kicked off on Friday afternoon w ith the hospitalit y room in Duncan Student Center and ended w ith a continental breakfast in Dahnke Ballroom on Sunday morning.

The next time the class of 2025 and their families w ill meet is for graduation in May 2025.

Caroline Collins contributed to the reporting of this story.

Contact MaryClaire Hickey at mhickey3@nd.edu

Courtesy of Mary Kate McGuirk

Junior residents of Pasquerilla East Hall and families gather together in the family room for snacks and a meet-and-greet with hall staff and fellow students before the President’s Dinner on Saturday.

Belles CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

need.”

Club treasurer and junior Jocely n Porter said that she would love to do another event similar to this and produce even more supplies. Since the knitting and crocheting took a long time, the group didn’t buy a lot of supplies for the event.

Instead, they focused on making as many items as they could during the allotted time.

“I personally do not know how long it takes to make these hats, I think around 45 minutes. We didn’t specif y the amount of time to make the hats. I only bought materials to make five blankets just because it is a little time-consuming, but [hope to make] as many as possible,” Porter said.

Porter said attendance varies for the club’s events,

but for this event which required students to make hats and blankets, most people stayed until they completed their project. Students who are not able to attend afternoon events were able to participate in this event, which was held at night, Porter added.

“I feel like people usua lly stop in and out. This event is t wo hours long but it’s running so you can come at any time. I would say around 30 to 50 people attended,” Porter said.

“There’s usua lly a prett y good turnout and some of t hese faces here are new to me. I t hink we def initely get new people each time which is great.”

Junior Piper Ogden, who isn’t a member of t he club, but still enjoys attending events, feels t hat t he initiatives and projects of Belles for Life, even if t hey might seem like sma ll

gestures, are benef icia l to t he communit y.

“One t hing I t hink for t he pro-life movement is t hat it’s important t hat we ta ke actionable steps. Even t hough it’s a simple t hing to ma ke blankets, I t hink it’s somet hing t hat we k now we’re doing and we’re going to ma ke somewhat of a dif ference by being able to give someone a blanket,” Ogden said.

The club hopes to have more events like t his one later in t he semester. Even if not many people attend, t hey still see it as a positive t hing t he club can do for ot hers and a way to give back to t he communit y.

“I t hink just litt le ser v ice t hings like t his are good.

I mean even if t his was a more reg ular t hing I t hink people would do t his,” Ogden said.

Contact Natalie Smith at nsmith03@saintmarys.edu

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THE OBSERVER | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM

Be proud of your low Uber rating Gracie Eppler The Soapbox

Out of all the places to be, seat 36B on a Spirit Airlines f light is one of the more unpleasant.

There are other contributing factors which could increase this displeasure. Say, for example, if said f light was to take off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. And if the f light followed a seven-hour layover in a Starbucks-void terminal.

But to truly ma x imize displeasure, this f light would have to follow a 48-day bender of actionpacked Mardi Gras events in New Orleans. The f lyer would have to be fatigued and filled w ith greasy foods and dreading their upcoming finance exam.

By the time I arrived at seat 36B, it was already taken … by a Hawaiian print duffel bag.

The woman in seat 36C gave me a once-over and said, “Darn.” Then she added, “It’s nothing against you, hon. I just thought we were gonna get luck y, Stan.”

Stan, who stuffing his mouth full of Steak ‘n Shake fries in seat 36A, let out a disappointed grunt. Then he laughed — a large, dopey laugh which was not at all appropriate for the slight chuck le-deser v ing joke just told.

I put my bag above us and scooted in bet ween the couple. The woman (Jodi) leaned for ward to ask Stan a question, and he leaned back. I leaned for ward, and they leaned for ward too. They were both yelling much louder than t wo people sitting w ith only seat 36B bet ween them needed to yell. “Russ is gonna pick us up,” Stan shouted across my seat to Jodi. As he did, a large clump of his fries shot out of his mouth and onto my leggings. “Oh, did I do that? ” Stan asked ver y loudly.

He reached for ward to w ipe it off my thigh, but then considered other w ise and just grinned at me awk wardly.

Stan and Jodi were in their seventies. I guessed they were from Fort Lauderdale instead of Chicago. I guessed w rong. They met in the Windy Cit y t went y-eight years ago and now resided in a suburb. Stan played the ukulele and drove a Harley. Jodi had a pink loofa she used as a neck pillow. She was afraid of f lights and covered her ears ever y time we hit a patch of turbulence. Stan reassured her: “Don’t worr y, hon — a landing is just a controlled crash.”

I asked them how they met. They told me a thug introduced them. They told me there were about t went y-something kids who called them “grandma” and “grandpa,” but only 14 they really liked to claim. They told me they’d been in Fort Lauderdale for a Willie Nelson concert, the same man whose autobiography Stan was reading (“Roll Me Up and Smoke Me W hen I Die” — which I really should give a read, considering Stan guffawed at ever y other page).

Stan and Jodi told me a lot of things. I told them a good amount too. We chatted and laughed and swapped stories, because they’re the t y pe of couple who like to talk on airplane rides, and I’m the t y pe of girl who likes to listen.

If my sister had her way, ever y Uber driver would go silent when she entered the car. She’d avoid the dreaded “So where are you headed? ” because she hates small talk. It’s awk ward and inconvenient and futile.

W hich is precisely why I love it. Small talk w ith strangers is awk ward, yes, but discomfort often fades into humor. Perhaps it’s inconvenient, though I’d call it entertainment. And it is most definitely futile, which makes it alluring. The promise of never hav ing to see the Macy’s cashier or the woman you’re pressed up against on the metro means the stakes are low and the gains are high.

My eagerness to engage in conversation, however, has proved itself unappetizing to some. I have

LETTER Late Feb. 7, the Universit y held t wo noteworthy events addressing povert y, which could mark a turning-point in the Universit y’s commitment to being a force for good in the world.

The first, which took place in the McKenna Hall auditorium, celebrated the long-awaited launch of the Provost’s Povert y Initiative. The attendance was impressive and included many administrators from the Dome and deans and directors from colleges and centers. The program featured an informal discussion w ith professor James Sullivan, the director of the Laborator y for Economic Opportunities (LEO), the appointed leader of the Povert y Initiative. Explaining that the initiative was a ref lection of Notre Dame’s mission as a Catholic universit y, Sullivan laid out the Initiative’s bold and ambitious goal — to make Notre Dame know n as one of the top povert y research universities in the world. To get there he pledged to hire a “dream team” of the best povert y scholars in their fields w ith support from a recent, $100 million gift, the “largest

the lowest passenger Uber rating out of any of my friends at 4.87 stars. “Leave your driver alone. The key to a 5-star rev iew is to just not say any thing,” a friend instructed me.

But what’s the fun in silence?

I can recall the specific ride which first dragged my rating dow n. He was picking up my friends and me from a dinner off campus. I asked him if he believed in love. He said he did, up until Tuesday, when his w ife filed for a divorce.

But back in seat 36B, my desire to make small talk was pay ing off. W hat could have been perhaps one of the most unpleasant experiences of my life transformed into a fun conversation w ith a pair of new friends. I quick ly learned the reason why Stan laughed so much and the reason why he loved Willie Nelson were attributable to the same phenomenon — smoking pot. Stan gave me a bit of adv ice too: when driv ing high, “if you see triple, always pick the middle one.”

Small talk w ith strangers often makes people annoyed, but sometimes makes a good stor y. So I’ll take the risk of dropping below 5 stars on my passenger Uber rating if it means I’m not sitting bored in silence.

W hen we landed in Chicago, Stan got his hat out from his overhead bin and placed it over his silver y hair. “I’ll always remember you as French Fr y Girl,” he told me.

“Well, I think you should probably be know n as French Fr y Guy,” I said as I stood from seat 36B. He laughed. It wasn’t really that funny, but I laughed too.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Gracie Eppler is a junior business analytics and English major from St. Louis, MO. Her three top three things ever to exist are 70s music, Nutella and Smith Studio 3, where she can be found dancing. Reach her at geppler@nd.edu.

EDITOR

single donation to an academic priorit y in the Universit y’s histor y.”

The second event was held shortly after the first in the Morris Inn’s Smith Ballroom where Princeton Professor Matthew Desmond gave a lecture on his best-selling book, ”Povert y,

by America.” The size of the audience wellexceeded the ballroom’s capacit y and late arrivers had to listen to the speech in the reception area. The crowd was diverse and included not only Notre Dame students, administrators and facult y, but a sizable of number of people from the South Bend area including social workers, teachers, union representatives and communit y activ ists. Some of those present remarked that the large and receptive audience made the experience feel more like concert or a rally.

Professor Desmond spent little time describing the miser y and the disgrace of povert y in our land of plent y. He condemned our countr y’s grow ing inequalit y as “sinful” and ex horted us to take responsibilit y for our hoarding resources instead

of sharing them and the foot exploiting our poor instead of empowering them. He concluded w ith a plea to all of us to get involved, “If you love fairness and justice, if all this hardship in your countr y v iolates your sense of decency, this is your fight.”

With these t wo dramatic events, Notre Dame set the stage for an all-out war on povert y. If we are to succeed, we must deploy our formidable economic, intellectual, moral and spiritual resources in solidarit y w ith those we have marginalized, oppressed and ignored. Professor Sullivan rightly emphasized that Notre Dame’s Povert y Initiative w ill be grounded in the Catholic social teaching principle of subsidiar y. This means, I believe, that we must launch our war to end the crushing povert y in our home cit y of South Bend, where we live, work, pray and play.

Clark Power Professor in the Program of Liberal Studies Feb. 13

Read your favorite columnist online at ndsmcobserver.com

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THE OBSERVER | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM

INSIDE COLUMN

It’s better together Andrew McGuinness Sports Editor

The most annoy ing thing about being a secondsemester senior is that you are forced to think about the future. It’s a fairly steep price to pay for ever y thing you get to do w ith friends and (at least in my experience) hav ing a lighter course load than in the past. It’s not like I haven’t done plent y of this in the past, but now it’s a central theme in ever y thing I’m involved in — including, of course, The Obser ver.

W hile talking w ith some of our w riters I thought might be interested in replacing me as Sports Editor, one of them asked me a question after the 30-minute joy ride which was me taking them through the Google Doc explaining all of the position’s responsibilities which was passed dow n to me by prev ious department editor Aidan Thomas (which was passed dow n to him by fellow former Sports Editor Mannion McGinley and passed dow n to her by fellow former Sports Editor Hayden Adams and which potentially has a even longer lineage). He wanted to know what my favorite part of the role was.

I thought about it for a moment. The last year has been stressful but certainly rewarding. It’s given me a new appreciation for Aidan and Manni and ever yone else who came before me (and a little guilt for not being more helpful when I was just a w riter or Associate Sports Editor). Constantly swooping in to grab stories and working week ly (and sometimes even more frequent) production shifts has been ex hausting, but I always felt a satisfaction whenever I left the office or submitted a stor y. Getting to talk w ith some incredible athletes and coaches across the tri-campus has been an incredible experience. Spending a night walking through Greenv ille, South Carolina (which may not sound like much but was a fun little experience) w ith colleagues and other student media friends the night before the Clemson game was great to take in too.

But my answer to him was easy. It was getting the chance to develop relationships w ith the rest

of our Editorial Board, laughing during our weekly meetings and during production shifts. Being able to oversee the great work done by ever yone in the department and show new w riters the ropes fell in the same boat. Holding the position was a lot of work, yes, but it also presented opportunities and strengthened bonds in ways which may not have other w ise happened.

For a long time, I’ve thought of myself as an introvert. Being social just never came easy to me, even when I was just a little kid. But as I found my friend group near the end of high school, gradually connected w ith some of the other guys in Siegfried Hall, was whole-heartedly embraced while interning for my beloved Philadelphia Phillies t wo summers ago and shared the student media grind in offices and press boxes spread out across campus, my opinion of myself began to change.

It still feels weird to think of myself as a people person. Even some of my closest friends might be surprised at that evaluation, and in truth, maybe that label doesn’t exactly hit the nail on the head.

I’ve never been the life of the part y, nor am I particularly outgoing or athletic or confident or any of the other qualities associated w ith the label.

And yeah, part of that may be an occasionally excessive focus on my interests, as anyone who was around me for any singular moment in the last t wo Octobers can attest.

The most comfortable thing for me to do on a weekend night is still to throw on a hockey game or knock out some homework. There’s always — always — a little ner vousness in my stomach on the nights I decide to go out. Last year, I w rote my Inside Column about my relationship w ith those feelings and concluded they would probably never fully leave. A year later, I’m still right.

But I’m also able to put them away once I see my friends’ faces, whether on the football field after Senior Day or in the Dahnke Ballroom for the 100 Days Dance or across whatever bar we’re at that night. I know I’m not always a perfect person to be around — yes, I’m actually aware I talk too much about Philadelphia sports (I am sorr y and am always tr y ing to do better, even if it may not

seem like it). But through acts big (like repay ing me for what seemed like a small favor by buy ing me a Notre Dame football jersey!) and small (as simple as complimenting me after a broadcast), I feel more love than longing.

Overall, it’s been a weird senior year. A lot of my friends are liv ing off campus, so I’ve missed out on a lot of the small, day-to-day interactions w ith them which I cherished the last few years. Even my friends who are still in Siegfried I feel like I haven’t seen as much while balancing classes w ith being Sports Editor and my sports broadcasting duties all while being an R A (why yes, that is a lot, thank you for noticing — I hope a prospective employer does the same). However, it’s also allowed me to appreciate the good times w ith them even more. That may be more of a silver lining than a true positive, but I always tr y to be optimistic.

I’m not sure if this is earnest self-ref lection or just being overly self-conscious, but I feel like sometimes I take up too much space by focusing on my interests to let all of these wonderful people in my life know how much they mean to me, and to just be a good friend in general.

This column is part of my ongoing efforts to make sure that isn’t the defining takeaway others may have of me when the not-so-distant future of graduating college becomes the present.

To ever yone here and all of my friends elsewhere all across this campus, thank you so much for ever y thing. I w ish I could have shared ever y great moment of the last four years w ith you, but I’m happy I did for quite a few of them. There’s no one I want to see the rest of my Notre Dame experience through w ith other than you. I know it can seem like I’m stuck in my ow n world at times (and sometimes, it’s simply because I am), but I care a lot more about the one I share w ith all of you and the experiences we’ve had together. I hope you do, too — and I hope there are a lot more of them still to come.

You can contact Andrew at amcguinn@nd.edu.

The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Submit a Letter to the Editor: viewpoint@ndsmcobserver.com

7

THE OBSERVER | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM

THE DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM REIMAGINES CLASSICAL BALLET

By NATALIA RODRIGUEZ Scene Writer

This past weekend, I had the privilege of bearing witness to the expression of stories that have never been told before by people who had previously been unable to tell them. Dance Theatre of Harlem, the first African-American ballet company founded in 1969 amid the injustices and frustrations of the civil rights movement, paid a visit to Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center on Saturday, gifting us two joyous, innovative shows each presenting three distinct pieces that celebrate and spotlight black creativity.

The curtain rose, and we were greeted by the vibrant, eclectic notes of Stevie Wonder’s best. The dancers, sporting creamy orange costumes, danced to numbers that drew inspiration from the messages articulated within Wonder’s brew of funk, soul, jazz, pop and more. As Wonder‘s music was remembered, his commentary and criticism of race, spirituality and society as a whole was illustrated by the dancers‘ emotive interpretation of his songs “Look Around,” “You Haven’t Done Nothin’,” “Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away,”

“Village Ghetto Land,” “Saturn” and “Higher Ground.”

One would not typically think that Stevie Wonder‘s songs could be performed as ballet, yet the Dance Theatre of Harlem‘s “Higher Ground” skillfully proved otherwise.

The program’s second piece focused on the life of Hazel Scott, the first African-American woman to host her own television show, and as composer Erica Lewis-Blunt described her, the Beyoncé of her time.

Scott has become a lost figure, where choreographer Tiffany Rea-Fisher states, “Her erasure from history was intentional because she was so audacious. People actively tried to erase her … so to be able to not only not erase her but celebrate her for all that she is and was is really super-super exciting.” Aside from her musical excellence, Scott was an outspoken civil rights activist, ultimately exiled from the country at the height of McCarthyism to make a home in Paris. “Sounds of Hazel” reanimated the legacy of Hazel Scott, flowing from her early life in Trinidad (one of my favorite pieces as it reminded me of my own Puerto Rican roots) to her later successes as the musician and entertainer who played two pianos through a fabulous dance to

“The Jeep is Jumpin’.”

The ballet came to a close with William Forsythe’s “Blake Works IV (The Barre Project).” The dancers focused on a ballet barre at the center of the stage, showcasing their precise, poised technique to the moody, electric composition of James Blake. The dancers moved fluidly in bursts of velvet purple, each gracing on and off stage to individually boast their own diverse skills. The ensemble’s remarkable talents and profound displays of feeling made for an entrancing, immersive experience.

Ultimately, I felt that the Dance Theatre of Harlem refreshed my own preconceptions of traditional ballet while unwaveringly continuing to dismantle the Eurocentric imaginations of beauty and artistic restrictions within the ballet world. Dance Theatre of Harlem has broken the mold, reshaping understandings of ballet while redefining what it means to challenge, and subsequently strategically recognize and employ, these prejudiced biases in their steadfast efforts to reimagine Blackness in ballet.

Contact Natalia Rodríguez at nrodrig8@nd.edu

‘IS THIS MUSICAL ABOUT US?’: HOLLYWOOD'S MUSICAL PROMOTION PROBLEM

By ANDY OTTONE Scene Writer

Hollywood has a long history with movie musicals.

Films such as “The Wizard of Oz,” “The Sound of Music,” “All That Jazz” and “Singing in the Rain” are still considered classic films to this day, not only as musicals but as representations of the American film industry.

Broadway musicals have been adapted for the stage as long as there has been a film industry. At the second Academy Awards ceremony ever in 1929, a film called “The Broadway Melody,” adapted from popular Broadwa y shows at the time, won Best Picture. In fact, many Best Picture winners have been musicals. Most recently, 2002’s “Chicago” was the last musical to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, with others such as “Les Misérables,” “La La Land” and Spielberg’s remake of “West Side Story” having been nominated for the same award since.

Every year, adaptations of Broadway musicals get released into theaters. Within the last month, Paramount released a musical version of “Mean Girls,” and the month before that Warner Bros. came out with a musical “The Color Purple,” both pulled from the stage. If you hadn’t seen these films, though, you might not have noticed they were musicals. That’s the problem: Hollywood doesn’t want to advertise musical films as musicals.

Where does Hollywood’s problem with musicals come from?

To understand the “why” of the issue, we have to look at the recent history of movie musicals, specifically how they are promoted. The aforementioned “West Side Story” remake releases a trailer, with lead actress Rachel Zegler singing the song “Tonight” throughout. That same year, Ben Platt stars in “Dear Evan Hansen,” in the same titular role he originated in New York. Similarly, he sings throughout the trailer. Lastly, rounding out my examples from 2021, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s pre-Hamilton musical “In the Heights” hits theaters. Out of the three films, this is the film most open about being a musical in its promotion. But, all three are open about being musical films. So what changed?

In December of 2019, one movie released that I genuinely believe changed how general audiences will feel about musical films forever. One of the most popular, well-known Broadway musicals of all time received a film adaptation. Tom Hooper’s “Cats” is one of the most bizarre films I have ever seen, a conclusion shared by many. The film’s reception was not positive, and general audiences latched onto it for its sheer absurdity and bad digital effects. Ultimately, “Cats” became a laughing stock.

“Cats” didn’t turn studios off from producing musical films entirely. As mentioned above, there were three released in 2021. However, films as products are measured ultimately by how successful they are financially. In 2021, lockdowns were still in effect. Movie theaters were struggling, as were the films within them.

None of the three 2021 releases made much in their total box office revenue, and even with it’s great critical reception, Spielberg’s “West Side Story” is still considered a box-office bomb.

Where are we today?

If musical movies aren’t making much money, why advertise the films as musicals? Instead, market them on other merits. “The Color Purple” was a remake of a beloved historical drama, “Mean Girls” is an updated take on a comedy classic and “Wonka,” also a musical by the way, had Timothée Chalamet in it. All three recent musical films leaned into this in their marketing because that is what the studios all felt their strongest attributes were.

Being a musical might even be considered a weakness for these films, by their producers.

That brings us to last Sunday. During the Super Bowl, I hear the opening notes to a song I know very well.

I see a green woman, bleach-blonde Ariana Grande, Bowen Yang and Jeff Goldblum. I know what movie this is for. But I keep waiting for more of the music.

The trailer ends, and I finally hear the ending notes of “Defying Gravity” from the hit musical “Wicked.” As the broadcast moves on, I have a thought: If “Wicked,” one of the most successful musicals of the 21st century, cannot even advertise itself as a musical, what hope does any other show have? I guess the only option is to wait and see.

Contact Andy Ottone at aottone@nd.edu MARISSA PANETHIERE | The Observer

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SPORTS

THE OBSERVER | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM

MEN’S LACROSSE

ND BASEBALL

Kavanaghs lead Irish to 21-8 win over Marquette

By MATTHEW CROW Associate Sports Editor

On Sunday afternoon, No. 1 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse continued its strong start to the year, rolling past Marquette 21-8 in Milwaukee to improve to 2-0 on the year.

As was the case in their season-opening 25-3 w in over Cleveland State on Wednesday, the Irish offense was the stor y. The Kavanagh brothers led the way, w ith graduate student attacker Pat (five assists and two goals) and junior attacker Chris (four goals and three assists) each racking up seven points to tie for the team lead.

With the v ictor y, Notre Dame has now opened its 2024 slate by scoring at least 20 goals in consecutive games for the first time in program histor y. The 46 goals they’ve posted are the most ever for an Irish team in a two-game stretch.

But while they faced little resistance in jumping out to a 10-0 lead in the first half against Cleveland State, Marquette — who entered Sunday’s game 3-0 behind a high-powered offense — offered Notre Dame its first taste of adversity and didn’t wait long to do so.

After Marquette won the opening faceoff, Jake Stegman put the Golden Eagles in front w ith a goal just seven seconds into the game. Pat Kavanagh would even things for the Irish just over a minute later w ith his first goal of the season, but Stegman quick ly answered w ith his second score of the quarter to put Marquette ahead again.

Notre Dame leveled things at 2-2 behind a goal from midfielder Jordan Faison — the freshman two-sport star would score tw ice on the afternoon after recording a hat trick in his lacrosse debut on Wednesday — and the Irish would add two more en route to a 4-2 advantage midway through the first.

But the Golden Eagles defense buck led dow n, holding Notre Dame scoreless for the final six minutes of the period. And after Marquette found the back of the net w ith just one second remaining in the quarter, the buzzer sounded w ith the top-ranked Irish clinging to a 4-3 lead.

The start of the second quarter was similarly tense, w ith each team trading goals in the opening two minutes.

But from that point on, it was all Notre Dame. The Irish

rattled off six unanswered goals while holding the Golden Eagles scoreless for more than 15 minutes across parts of the second and third quarters.

Chris Kavanagh got the ball rolling w ith a pair of goals less than a minute apart to stretch Notre Dame’s lead to three. From there, Pat Kavanagh showcased the playmaking ability that’s helped him become the Irish’s all-time assists leader by setting up Notre Dame’s next three goals. One went to Faison, while the other two came on perfect feeds (one being a no-look pass) to graduate student attacker Jake Taylor in a continuation of the duo’s prolific partnership that was one of the nation’s most effective last season. The goals were two of four on the day for Taylor, who has now scored a teamhigh nine in just two games.

Notre Dame’s lead stretched to 11-4 just 10 seconds after Taylor’s second goal when junior faceoff specialist Will Lynch secured possession and went coast-to-coast to score his first goal of the year. Lynch impressed on the day, w inning nine of 13 faceoffs to improve his w inning percentage to .667 this season.

Marquette finally stopped the bleeding w ith a goal to trim their deficit back dow n to six, but they couldn’t keep the f loodgates closed for long. The Irish would strike for five more goals before the end of the third quarter to finish w ith seven in the period.

Pat Kavanagh assisted Taylor for the third time in the game, and the next two Irish scores came from graduate student attacker Devon McLane, a transfer from Brow n who finished w ith a hat trick and has scored five goals in his first two games w ith the Irish. McLane’s third goal came on Pat Kavanagh’s fifth assist of the day, matching his total from the season opener.

In the final minutes of the third, Taylor and Chris Kavanagh added to their scoring totals to push Notre Dame’s lead into double digits for the first time.

Marquette would close out the quarter w ith a goal to make the score 16-7, but the Irish opened the fourth quarter w ith a decisive 4-0 run to effectively put the game out of reach.

First it was senior Eric Dobson — tabbed by USA Lacrosse Magazine as Preseason National

Midfielder of the Year — who scored his second goal of the game to put the Irish back ahead by 10. Then Notre Dame looked to the Kavanagh connection, as Chris threw a high “alleyoop” pass across the middle of the field to Pat, who jumped to catch the pass and fire the ball into the back of the net from close range before landing.

Goals from graduate student midfielder Reilly Gray and Chris Kavanagh raised Notre Dame’s scoring total to 20. After Marquette snapped the run w ith its eighth goal, Irish sophomore midfielder Ma x Busenkell tallied what would ultimately be the last score of the afternoon as Notre Dame closed out the 21-8 v ictor y.

W hile the Kavanaghs did much of the damage w ith 14 combined points and three Irish players – Chris Kavanagh, Taylor and McLane – earned hat tricks, it was a largely balanced offensive effort again for Notre Dame. 10 different Irish players scored a goal after 14 did so against Cleveland State.

The Irish were also buoyed by a strong defensive performance, as Marquette was held in single digits for the first time all season. Notre Dame limited the Golden Eagles to just 15 shots on goal while finishing w ith a 32-25 ground ball advantage. The Irish have now ceded just 11 goals across two games this season.

After starting the year w ith two games in five days, Notre Dame w ill have a full week off before returning to action. However, the Irish w ill also be entering the brunt of their non-conference schedule, w ith a pair of high-profile Sunday afternoon matchups in South Bend next up on the docket.

Next weekend, Notre Dame w ill host Georgetow n, who has started the year 1-2 but did so against three ranked opponents and knocked off No. 19 Penn on the road on Saturday. The follow ing Sunday, the Irish w ill face No. 4 Mar yland in a rematch of the triple-overtime thriller that Notre Dame won in College Park last year. Both games w ill be available on ESPNU. Contact Matthew Crow at mcrow@nd.edu

Irish sweep series against Rice

By ANDREW McGUINNESS Sports Editor

Notre Dame baseball spent its offseason working on the issues that plagued the team throughout its inconsistent 2023 season, one that ended short of the NCA A Tournament one year after the team reached the College World Series.

They felt like they were in good position entering the new campaign, but ultimately, all that matters is the results.

A series loss to Lipscomb set the tone for last year’s underwhelming season.

This time, the Irish began their journey in much stronger fashion, sweeping their opening weekend series against Rice.

It wasn’t necessarily the prettiest beginning to the season offensively for the Irish. It took Notre Dame 17 innings to score their first run that came on a base hit. After falling behind four batters into Friday’s opener, the Irish clawed out a run on two walks and two hit by pitches, all coming with two outs. Graduate student outfielder David Glancy took a 3-2 pitch in his first at-bat with the Irish after transferring from St. John’s.

Notre Dame loaded the bases again in the fifth by taking advantage of mistakes by the Owls. Glancy reached on an error, junior infielder Jack Penney worked a walk and graduate student outfielder Tito Flores reached on an infield single to load the bags. Another run was forced home when graduate student infielder Simon Baumgardt was plunked and the Irish doubled their lead when a run scored through the backdoor on a 6-4-3 double play.

The Flores hit was Notre Dame’s third and final hit of the series opener. However, the Irish pitching staff had more than enough support.

Sophomore Caden Spivey and junior Radek Birkholz each delivered 3 quality innings, recording as many strikeouts (4) as hits allowed. Graduate student Bennett Flynn was just as stellar, allowing just 1 hit while punching out 3 over 2 innings. Graduate student Nate Hardman shut the door with a 1-2-3 ninth inning, finishing off the 3-1 Irish victory. Hardman picked up the save and Birkholz got the win.

Saturday once again saw the Irish push across several early runs by doing anything but tear the cover off of the ball. Glancy crossed the plate with Penney providing a distraction on an unsuccessful attempt to steal second.

Rice immediately countered with 2 runs in the bottom of the frame on a home run and an RBI single. Yet another unearned run came in for the Irish when Glancy drove in sophomore infielder Estevan Moreno on a thirdinning sac f ly after Moreno reached on an error to start the inning.

The scoring continued going back and forth.

Jack Riedel drove in his second run of the game with a fourth-inning sac f ly. Junior outfielder DM Jefferson scored another equalizing run on a wild pitch, then the Owls went back ahead on Brendan Cumming’s RBI triple in the bottom of the inning.

But Notre Dame finally found its power stroke in the game’s late stages. Glancy connected on the team’s first home run of the season to lead off the eighth, tying the score at 4. After graduate student infielder Josh Hahn earned a two-out free pass, Baumgardt launched a tworun shot to center, giving the Irish their first lead since the top of the first.

The Irish tacked on three more runs in the ninth despite managing just one hit (and a single at that). The Owls put one more across themselves but never threatened to comeback. Graduate student Tobey McDonough was credited with the win, his first in an Irish uniform after transferring from Brown.

However, Notre Dame’s pitching faltered a bit in the series finale. This time, it was the Irish making a costly error. Treyton Rank reached on an error to lead off for the Owls, then scored two batters later on a round-tripper

by Pierce Gallo to start the scoring. Rank drove in a run for Rice himself on a sacrifice f ly the next inning, giving the Owls their largest lead of the weekend.

Notre Dame would chip away on a couple of occasions, cutting the lead to one twice. A three-run blast

by Rice’s Riedel in the sixth seemingly put the game out see BASEBALL PAGE 11

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DAILY

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CROSSWORD | WILL SHORTZ

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HOROSCOPE | EUGENIA LAST Happy Birthday: Low-key and persistence will get you where you want to go without interference. Stick close to home, optimize what works best for you, and eliminate dead weight. Step back, and you’ll get a clear picture of where your money goes and what you can do to save. Get your facts straight and stick to the rules to avoid costly penalties. Say no to temptation and indulgent behavior.

Your numbers are 4, 18, 21, 23, 30, 37, 48.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Don’t take on an emotional battle you aren’t ready to lose. Do your due diligence, find out where your allies stand, and disclose information that someone may use against you if you decide to skirmish. Use your intelligence, not your brawn, if you want to win.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t believe everything you hear. Let your curiosity take over, and your direct questions help differentiate between truth and fiction.

Call on trusted allies to step in and help you turn your ideas into something tangible. Your reputation will depend on consistency and integrity.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Don’t learn the hard way. Question everything and everyone, and go to the source if you want the lowdown. Don’t feel you have to exaggerate to grab someone’s attention. A direct approach will help you attract legitimate candidates to help you reach your goal.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Work alongside people who share your concerns.

You can make a difference if you take an innovative approach to change. Use your experience, intuition, and passionate approach, and you will drum up enthusiasm and the hands-on help and support you need.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Someone you think you can trust will have a hidden agenda that will take you by surprise. Keep an open mind, but don’t sign on the dotted line unless you have read the fine print. A poker face will help with negotiations. Only reveal what’s necessary.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Changing your daily routine will give you more time to learn something new. Keeping up with trends will make you a valuable employee or community contributor. Don’t be afraid to spotlight yourself and your skills.

Making your presence visible will attract robust helpers.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): An energetic approach to fixing your digs will ward off tension and help you bring about changes that will lower your overhead. A disciplined approach to money, health, and legal matters will set roadblocks for anyone trying to scam you or tamper with your personal affairs.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Go on a learning expedition. Find out all you can before starting a discussion with someone who uses pressure tactics to talk you into something that makes you uncomfortable. Turn your attention to stabilizing your home environment and expanding your creative interests.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Emotional problems will escalate if you or someone close to you isn’t honest regarding intentions or feelings. Be sure to stick to the facts, be precise, and ask questions when someone confuses you with their rhetoric. Don’t sign up for something you cannot afford.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Don’t be afraid to test your options before moving. Let your heart and intuition guide you, and you will recognize and eliminate barriers before they can turn into something problematic. Avoid overreacting, overspending, and making premature choices.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): When dealing with friends, relatives, and associates, keep your wits about you. Someone will be unpredictable, misleading, or ask for something you don’t want to deliver. Someone will withhold pertinent information. Walk away from extravagant situations and people. Stick to those you love and trust.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A kind gesture will bring you joy and respect. An open-door policy that makes others feel comfortable in your environment will help you gain support to fight issues that concern you. A disciplined approach to how you handle money and responsibilities will pay off.

Birthday Baby: You are steadfast, optimistic, and generous. You are helpful and reputable.

SUDOKU | THE MEPHAM GROUP

JUMBLE | DAVID HOYT AND JEFF KNUREK

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SPORTS

THE OBSERVER | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM

ND BASEBALL

ND SOFTBALL

Irish baseball fills vacancies in new season

By TYLER REIDY Associate Sports Editor

Last year, Notre Dame baseball experienced an important transition. With much of the 2022 College World Series team’s core still intact, the Irish took the field under a first-year head coach in Shawn Stiffler.

While that group missed out on postseason glory, it set a new precedent for baseball in South Bend – one marked by blue-collar work ethic and day-to-day growth.

Now, the transition period is over, and Stiffler relishes the opportunity to bring that culture to Friday’s season opener at Rice.

“I’m as excited for this opening day as I’ve ever been. I cannot wait to go compete with this team,” he said. “We would lose because I’d be on the mound, but I would give anything to pitch for this team and play for them. These guys bring such joy and excitement every day, you can’t help but have juice when you’re around these guys.”

In a season of competitive maturation, Notre Dame posted a 30-24 record in 2023. The team held its own in the ACC, going 15-15 while winning at least one game in every conference series. While the Irish certainly hope to play meaningful baseball in mid-May once again, they also appreciate the ways in which this year is different.

“I just think we all feel a little bit more comfortable in our skin,” Stiffler said. “The players know what to expect on a daily basis from me, and I have a better idea of how their day flows, how their weeks flow and really how their semesters flow … We’re all echoing the same message all the time now, and I think that just leads to some more consistency on the field.”

Pitching: Dennies headlines group with vacant innings to fill While Notre Dame had a solid earned run average of 4.61 last season, it must replace its two workhorses from last season, Aidan Tyrell and Blake Hely.

The Irish must also navigate junior left-hander Jack Findlay’s absence due to Tommy John surgery recovery. To fill those voids, Stiffler expects the staff’s growth to take center stage.

“The first thing I see as our strength is the pitching staff — just that they’re a year older,” Stiffler mentioned. “I’m seeing more maturity out of the pitching staff, and I think we’ve raised our floor quite a bit throughout the entire roster, but especially on the pitching staff side … Guys understand

their roles, they understand what we expect out of them and there’s more momentum.”

Jackson Dennies is one such pitcher. Last year, the senior right-hander shifted from the bullpen to the rotation and thrived, with his 3.11 ERA leading all Irish starting pitchers. As Notre Dame’s Saturday starter, Dennies detailed his offseason work to expand his arsenal.

“It’s really exciting when you get up there. You try to add a new pitch because the uncertainty in it is just immense,” Dennies said. “You start throwing the pitch, and [on] day one it looks terrible. But then on day 21, it’s looking a lot better than it was. And so just finding fun in that process to get out there every single day and challenge yourself to make it just a little bit better than the day before.”

Beyond Dennies, Stiffler noted four hurlers who could crack the rotation early on.

According to him, senior righthander Matt Bedford took major strides in the offseason and might get involved. Last year’s midweek starter David Lally Jr., a sophomore right-hander, might also take that next step.

The transition could also come naturally to sophomore righthander Caden Spivey, who posted a 4.11 ERA in 35 freshman innings.

The fourth name, Will Jacobsen, leads the group of graduate transfer arms.

Jacobsen, a right-hander, came over from Harvard, where he played both ways and earned Second Team All-Ivy League honors last year.

“Having that experience, I know how hard hitting is, and I think that gives me confidence on the mound sometimes,” Jacobsen said. “But I also think it’s been really beneficial for me being able to focus on my pitching to help me try to take my development to the next level.”

The three remaining pickups — Bennett Flynn (Davidson), Nate Hardman (Evansville) and Tobey McDonough (Brown) — combined for over 120 innings last season. The Irish also recruited two enormous freshman right-handers — Jack Radel and Hagan Ward — to anchor down the bullpen.

Notre Dame still faces a major question: Who will they throw to? Vinny Martinez graduated, and Danny Neri departed for UCF, leaving the Irish with 12 returning catcher at-bats.

They belong to junior Joey Spence and senior Tony Lindwedel. The Irish can also pick from three freshman backstops — Carson Tinney, Troy Reader and Davis Johnson.

Stiffler mentioned that the position battle currently includes

Irish softball goes 3-0 in Florida

three players and will develop throughout the season.

By TYLER REIDY

Infield: Irish carry potential up the middle with experience on the corners

The season’s second weekend took Notre Dame softball to Jacksonville where the team won all three of their games at the Jacksonville/University of North Florida Invitational. After topping Samford twice and Jacksonville once, Notre Dame headed home early, canceling its Sunday morning matchup with North Florida. With the 3-0 showing, the Irish extended their win streak to five and improved to 6-2 on the year.

During Notre Dame’s season-opening press conference, no name came up more often than Jack Penney. Among position players, the junior will be the headliner as he transitions from third base to shortstop.

Last year, Penney produced a .900 OPS, clubbing 10 home runs and swiping eight bags.

He then spent the summer back home in the Cape Cod League, where he started playing short after the All-Star Break.

“The biggest adjustment of starting to go play short again was the footwork part of it,” Penney said. “Third base is the hot corner for a reason — balls get on you quickly, sometimes you don’t have to move your feet to have as much momentum towards first base as you would have on any given shortstop ball that you get …

It’s a range position compared to the third base at short, and I just wanna move as much as possible and not get stagnant and find myself waiting for the ball.”

Penney also cited his work with assistant coach Logan Robbins as vital to his improvement. He now feels “stronger without having to swing as hard” thanks to posture and extension tweaks.

Next to him in the middle infield, versatile sophomore Estevan Moreno will once again man second base.

Moreno flashed potential at the plate in 2023, slugging three home runs against Virginia and driving in 24 runs. But he also chased more than he would have liked, collecting a team-high 65 strikeouts.

Stiffler’s portal acquisitions ensure that Moreno will remain Notre Dame’s youngest infield starter in 2024. Josh Hahn, a 65-game starter at UCLA, will bring professionalism to first base. Last year, he improved his slash line drastically to .326/.379/.395 after posting a .186/.319/.322 in 2022.

Across from him, Tulane transfer Simon Baumgardt has third base covered. His first game in an Irish uniform will correspond with his 150th in college baseball. In 2023, Baumgardt belted 13 home runs for a Green Wave team that won the AAC and reached the NCAA tournament.

Editor’s Note: The full version of this article is published online at ndsmcobserver.com Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu

Associate Sports Editor

Friday: Notre Dame 11, Samford 1 (5 innings) After ending their first weekend of play with a shutout of Liberty, the Irish remained in control against Samford, scoring in every inning. The day opened with Notre Dame’s first home run of the season, coming from a likely suspect. Senior first baseman Karina Gaskins launched her 39th career round-tripper, a solo shot that set the tone.

The Irish would add two more runs in the first, doubling their lead on sophomore outfielder Mickey Winchell’s opposite-field single. Three runs followed in the second, with Notre Dame converting three walks into a 6-0 lead.

In the Irish circle, Micaela Kastor allowed her only run in the bottom of the second, but thrived otherwise. The sophomore right-hander would finish the afternoon with just four baserunners and one run allowed across four innings.

Over the game’s remaining three frames, Kastor’s run support would only grow. Runscoring singles from senior catcher Carlli Kloss and senior infielder Cassidy Grimm expanded the Irish lead to 9-1 by the end of the fourth.

In the fifth, freshman infielder Addison Amaral moved the game into run-rule territory with the first long ball of her career.

The two-run blast moved Notre Dame ahead 11-1 before freshman right-hander Kami Kamzik finalized the contest with a twostrikeout inning in the circle.

Friday: Notre Jacksonville 4

Dame

6,

To start the second game of the day, Notre Dame’s offense kept rolling. The Irish posted a pair of runs in the first, with junior infielder Jane Kronenberger doubling home the contest’s first run.

Dolphin pitching would retire 10 straight Irish hitters through the fourth inning, but Notre Dame remained ahead 2-0 with even better dealing. Graduate right-hander Alexis Laudenslager allowed just one hit in her first trip through the order, stretching her shutout streak to eight

innings.

However, Jacksonville snapped it with authority in the fifth.

Notre Dame had scored twice in the top of the frame, moving ahead 4-0 on Amaral’s two-out single. The Dolphins then went on the attack, tying the game at four with a two-out, three-run home run from leadoff hitter Madison Bratek.

But the Irish broke back ahead quickly with two runs in the sixth.

Kloss doubled home Grimm for the lead before Kronenberger collected her third RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly. All told, the top four hitters in the Irish lineup went 7 for 11 with five runs batted in against Jacksonville.

At that point, Notre Dame needed stability in the circle, and right-hander Shannon Becker provided that and then some.

The junior made her fourth consecutive scoreless appearance, retiring all six Dolphins she faced with three strikeouts to end the game.

Saturday: Samford 2, Notre Dame 7 Playing on the home side of the box score for the first time, the Irish concluded their weekend with another win over Samford.

Once again, Notre Dame never trailed, taking the lead in the second and never looking back.

Becker piggybacked her dazzling relief appearance with a wonderful start in the circle.

Holding the Bulldogs scoreless across three innings, she allowed relievers Kamzik and Kastor to pitch with the lead. The two combined for four innings with two runs (one earned) allowed to reach the finish line.

After a Grimm RBI groundout, Notre Dame took full control of the game in the third inning.

With two runners on, Amaral cranked her second homer of the weekend, pushing the Irish lead to 4-0. Through eight games, the impressive freshman leads Notre Dame with a .652 slugging percentage and 9 runs batted in.

An inning later, Samford bookended a Gaskins RBI single with run-creating defensive miscues. Notre Dame walked away with its second consecutive three-run inning, carrying a 7-0 lead. Samford would chip away with runs in the bottom of the fourth and seventh, but the Irish remained comfortably ahead to the final pitch.

With Sunday’s cancellation, Notre Dame works with an added day of rest before a trip to California. The Irish will compete in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, playing five games against Mississippi State, Baylor, Oregon, Oregon State and Utah.

Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu

SPORTS

W Lacrosse CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

second career games when Notre Dame downed the Wildcats in 2020. They played their 67th, 67th and 68th games, respectively, in a win that will earn an immediate entry into university record books.

For the first time in 27 years of program history, Irish women’s lacrosse took down No. 1.

Northwestern came into the match on a 22-game win streak, a run that dated back just over a calendar year to Feb. 11, 2023.

In that span they lifted the 2023 national championship and opened 2024 by taking down No. 5 Syracuse to establish themselves as favorites to repeat.

NotreDamehadotherplans.The Irish fell behind early on, conceding three early goals. Izzy Scane, who torched Notre Dame for ten goals exactly one year prior, was among the scorers. For a moment, a brief fear washed over Loftus that the top-ranked Wildcats were going to run away with another

Hockey CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

forward, buried a ridiculous feed from senior defenseman Jake Boltmann on the back door.

Boltmann had skated down below the right circle before zipping a precise pass along the goal line for the waiting.

As the period progressed, the first-line center wouldn’t have to wait long for another goal. Parked at the hash marks, Knuble redirected a Nelson one-timer that was clearly heading wide right.

The redirection angled the puck just inside the far post, extending Notre Dame’s lead to 3-0.

After Friday’s game, senior captain Landon Slaggert described the emergence of Knuble, his linemate.

“I think we’re definitely hitting our stride at the right time right now,” Slaggert said. “[Cole Knuble’s] an easy player to play with, he finds you in the soft areas and stuff. He’s definitely playing well, [and] it’s nice to see that translate on the score sheet, but I don’t think that’s how he rates his game. He’s been doing well all year, but it’s nice to see it kinda show up now.”

Mere moments after Knuble’s 4th goal in five games, Slaggert himself would light the lamp. Off a slap shot from senior defenseman Zach Plucinski, he deposited a massive rebound at the left faceoff dot. The captain’s team-leading 18th goal forced Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko to pull Close, who had entered the

Baseball CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

of reach. But the Irish bats had a rally in them. Glancy’s second home run of the season started the seventh with a bang and was immediately followed by three straight free passes. Small ball got the Irish

NDSMCOBSERVER.COM | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | THE OBSERVER

11

win in the lopsided regional rivalry.

Washed over everyone but the Irish squad and their coach, that is.

Christine Halfpenny has been a college head coach for nearly two decades, and has presided over 13 years of Notre Dame teams. This season she has continually expressed an appreciation for her experienced squad — featuring 17 seniors and graduate students — refusing to quit.

“I think that’s a calling card for this team. We never go away,” Halfpenny said. “Ultimately, I knew to expect that resiliency. They weren’t going away.

Not tonight. Not this season.”

Not tonight indeed. The Irish had other chances to fade over the course of a sixty-minute heavyweight fight that featured 49 total fouls. Notre Dame’s first two contests saw no more than 40 fouls — combined. But through every blow absorbed, Halfpenny’s squad refused to relent.

Early in the fourth quarter, after two quarters of periodic alternation between a tie ballgame and small Irish leads, Northwestern

seemed poised to take control.

In a span of roughly three minutes the Wildcats brought the score level and took their first lead since their initial 3-0 advantage.

With a little under 10 minutes left until the final horn, it was the visitors who had the momentum.

But it was Notre Dame who then found their second gear. The Irish poured in 5 consecutive goals to tie the game, take the lead and eventually put the contest out of reach.

Unsurprisingly, it was the program’s veterans who answered the bell. Among the scorers in Notre Dame’s final burst were Wolak, Ahern, senior Keelin Schlageter and senior Abby Maichin.

As the Irish offense found their groove, more veterans put in the dirty work to give the attack their chances. Notre Dame won five of the game’s last six draw controls after Northwestern’s go-ahead goal, with another pair of seniors — midfielders Mary Kelly Doherty and Kelly Denes — doing the lion’s share of the damage.

After the game, Halfpenny gave plaudits to Denes, currently

on pace to lead the Irish in draw controls for a third consecutive season, for sparking the rally.

“It starts with Kelly Denes dominating the draw today,” Halfpenny said. “Against a really fantastic, highly respected Northwestern draw unit … She had 8 draws herself. She won direction over and over again. And when you can do that, that fuels the team.”

With Denes providing the fuel, Wolak, Ahern and Choma hit the accelerator. The trio accounted for over half of the Irish goals on the night, including the one that put the visitors away for good. The game ended with a 14-10 final, as the intimate atmosphere in the stands and balcony of Loftus Sports Center slowly ascended from tense excitement to euphoric celebration.

After the game, Choma made sure to spread the praise around.

Notre Dame finished the contest ahead in just about every statistical category, from goals to turnovers forced.

“It’s really special,” Choma said.

“We have such a mature team

this year … I think we all know what we’re here to do for our last year. And we just love each other so much and it’s so evident out there on the field. It takes everyone, from Lilly [Callahan] all the way up to Jackie on attack.

We all put the pieces together.”

Notre Dame may have made program history on Friday night, but they know there’s still more to come. The Irish still have five more games against ranked opponents on the docket. They’ve proven they can take down the best of the best, and with that proof comes further pressure.

But with yet another chapter added to the extensive legacy of the team’s upperclassmen, Notre Dame managed to leave Loftus Sports Center with even more experience than they entered with.

The sort of experience, accentuated by the hoarsely hollered lyrics of a 2010s pop sing-along, that can’t be replicated until the final whistle of a season-defining win blows.

weekend with a 179-minute shutout streak.

Inside the second period’s final four minutes, Aaron Huglen took advantage of a fallen Irish defender to capitalize on an odd-man rush. But Notre Dame erased Minnesota’s lone goal quickly, striking with 36.5 seconds to play.

Nelson forced a turnover at the blue line, marching down to the dot before beating Nathan Airey glove-side.

The Irish would take a 5-1 lead to the second intermission, using 4 freshman goals to counter the absence of experienced forwards.

“I’m proud of our guys because some guys had to come into the lineup and step up because we’re missing a couple [of] key guys,” Jackson said. “You feel for the older guys, but the younger guys are our future. They’re certainly an impactful group, so hopefully they continue to develop over the rest of the year, and they become the leaders moving into next year.”

Late in the third, Irish defenseman Drew Bavaro capped the beatdown with a power-play goal.

After sniping home a wrist shot, the senior skated to center ice, grabbing the chest of his jersey and bringing everyone’s attention to the “Notre Dame” spelled out across the front. Bavaro’s swagger resembled that of the entire Irish team, which Jeff Jackson said played one of its best games of the season Friday.

added there,” Justin Janicke said. “[Carpenter’s] got a lot of grit, he makes good plays on the wall, and I think we’re doing a good job of finding each other and communicating well. That’s one of our big things – just talking to each other, working through plays in practice and reading off each other.”

Seven minutes later, Notre Dame’s fourth line delivered.

Senior winger Brady Bjork, playing on just his third game of the season, forced a neutral zone turnover, setting up freshman center Jayden Davis to skate into the offensive zone. Davis veered left before wiring a shot off the right post and in for his first goal since Oct. 8.

“I’m happy for Jayden [Davis] getting the opportunity and then taking advantage of it. That’s the most important thing,” Jackson said. “He’s a smart player, and he’s got a little grit to him. Hopefully, he can be a guy who contributes down the road.”

The play also handed Bjork his first collegiate point.

Minnesota, however, showed no concern over the surprise goal.

The Gophers took all of 18 seconds before retying the game on Jaxon Nelson’s 2-on-1 snipe from the left side.

The visitors would control the remainder of regulation, outshooting Notre Dame 14-7 in the third period. But the Irish hung in there, forcing a 3-on-3 overtime for the second consecutive Senior Night.As expected, the extra period featured end-to-end action, with both teams generating odd-man rushes within the

opening minute. But as the 78th second elapsed, a 1-on-1 situation won the game for Minnesota.

Immediately after Close robbed Bavaro in tight, NHL first-rounder Jimmy Snuggerud entered the offensive zone alone against Nelson, a second-rounder. The St. Louis Blues selection won the matchup, cutting inside and shooting around Nelson’s to beat Bischel under his right arm.

Still, with the help of Penn State’s 4-2 victory over Michigan, Notre Dame walked away from Saturday’s game in good shape.

The Irish lead the Wolverines for home ice by 3 points and will travel to Ann Arbor next weekend.

After that, Notre Dame will go on bye while Michigan travels to Minnesota for a difficult series.

Isolating the Notre DameMichigan series, the Irish can clinch home ice by taking 5 of the available 6 points. That means winning twice in regulation or winning one regulation game plus winning an overtime or shootout.

“If we could continue to play like we did [Friday night and parts of the game [Saturday], that’s the most important thing right now – just that we take it one day at a time,” Jackson said. “[We’ve] got a tough road trip next weekend against a really talented Michigan team. We’ve had some success in that building, but it’s a different year [and] different team, so hopefully we can continue that kind of success.”

Saturday: Minnesota 3, Notre Dame 2 (OT) An emotional and

highly-anticipated Senior Night game brought over 5,300 fans to Compton Family Ice Arena.

And the “hockey gods” rewarded them, not only with Notre Dame donning iconic green sweaters but with one of the Big Ten’s most entertaining games this season.

After a competitively scoreless first period, the action once again intensified in the second. Both teams potted their only 2 goals of regulation, with Minnesota striking first at 1:44 of the frame.

Extended Gopher time in the Notre Dame zone resulted in Connor Kurth curling a centering feed from behind the net. The pass hit Plucinski’s skate, caroming over the Irish goal line.

Still, Notre Dame concocted an answer in less than five minutes.

Junior forward Justin Janicke tallied on a transition wraparound that played out with controversy.

As he swirled behind the cage, junior forward Tyler Carpenter entered the goal crease, clinging to the crossbar while his linemate slid the puck home underneath him. After a long review process, the officials ruled goaltender interference did not occur during the sequence.

Janicke’s goal served as the third in four games for a third line put together due to Silianoff’s extended absence. Justin Janicke, Carpenter and junior center Hunter Strand are all roommates, and their chemistry has flashed throughout February.

“I’ve played a lot with Hunter [Strand] since I’ve been here but not a lot with Tyler [Carpenter].

I think he’s been a key piece

within one, with run scoring on a groundout and another on a wild pitch. Junior catcher Joey Spence delivered a clutch two-out double to knot the score at 7, then scored the goahead run when senior outfielder T.J. Williams followed his hit with an RBI single.

Rice wouldn’t go away

quietly. They failed to score after loading the bases with one out in the seventh but evened the score at 8 in the following frame.

But the Irish made a statement with their swings in the ninth. Another lead-off shot, this time coming from freshman catcher Carson Tinney,

restored the Irish edge. More misadventures by Rice (two walks — one intentional — and an error) juiced the bases for Flores, who delivered the knockout blow with a towering grand slam to left. The Irish won by a final of 13-10, with senior Ryan Lynch getting the win.

The Irish will head south next weekend for a four-game series against FIU. The Irish and Panthers play on Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. and again Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

Contact J.J. Post at jpost2@nd.edu

Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu

Contact Andrew McGuinness at amcguinn@nd.edu

12

THE OBSERVER | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM

ND WOMEN’S LACROSSE

Wolak, seniors lead Irish to first win over No. 1 in program history

By J.J. POST Associate Sports Editor

MEG LANGE | The Observer

Irish attack Maeve Dwyer successfully captures a draw against Butler. The team dominated in a 25-3 home win against the Bulldogs, coming off the high of their recent victory over No. 1 ranked Northwestern.

For a brief moment on Friday night, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was 2010 in Notre Dame’s Loftus Sports Center.

Following the final bars of the traditional postgame alma mater, the chorus of Enrique Iglesias’ hit “I Like It” blasted over the facility’s speakers. The ensuing commotion in the impromptu sing-along by the Irish players may not have featured the same solemn reverence of their alma mater rendition, but it came with unbridled joy in spades.

The type of jubilation only brought by making history. The type of emotion only sparked by providing proof of concept for a graduate student-laden squad that bet big on their returning veterans.

Entering Friday, Notre Dame had beaten Northwestern, one of the premier powers of women’s collegiate lacrosse, just once in their previous ten tries. That lone win was a 17-15 triumph, occurring weeks before a potentially

special 2020 campaign was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Graduate student midfield Kasey Choma was one of a select few current Irish players that were a part of that 2020 team, which climbed all the way to No. 2 in national polls before seeing their season suspended permanently at an unblemished, but unfinished, 7-0 record. Choma knew how much it meant to score a win over a top-five team, and wanted the same for her teammates.

“Me, Madison [Ahern] and Jackie [Wolak] know what it took that year to beat Northwestern.

Unfortunately the season got canceled that year. We were so hungry and really wanted it for our senior class too, to feel what that felt like. We knew what we had to do,” Choma said.

That lost season afforded four of Notre Dame’s seven goalscorers on Friday an additional season of eligibility to bring their college careers full circle. Ahern, Wolak and Choma were playing in their see W LACROSSE PAGE 11

HOCKEY

Irish take 4 points from No. 8 Minnesota

By TYLER REIDY Associate Sports Editor

Despite a disappointing dismount, Notre Dame hockey accomplished exactly what it needed to this weekend. With an at-large NCAA tournament bid likely impossible, the Irish have focused on setting themselves up for Big Ten postseason success. Taking four points at home from No. 8 Minnesota represents a good start.

“We played one of the hottest teams in the country — a top-10 team — toe-to-toe all weekend,” Irish head coach Jeff Jackson said. “[It was a] disappointing finish, but [we had] a good weekend for the most part. I’m pleased with [how] the guys battled as hard as they could.”

Notre Dame’s performance allowed it to take a season series from Minnesota for the first time in six years. Before an exasperating Senior Night loss in overtime, the Irish played whack-a-mole with the Golden Gophers in a 6-1 Friday win. With two weeks remaining in the regular season, Notre Dame remains ahead of Michigan by 3 points for home ice in the Big Ten quarterfinals.

Friday: Notre Dame 6, Minnesota 1 When Jeff Jackson earned his 400th Irish head coaching victory on Dec. 1, Notre Dame romped Michigan 6-1. When he coached his 1000th Division I Friday night, his team did the same to Minnesota. The Irish, despite missing two top-nine forwards, senior Grant Silianoff and graduate student Trevor Janicke, cruised offensively. More impressively, they did so with 24 hours’ notice on the latter’s injury, which he suffered in practice Thursday.

The scoring began with Notre Dame’s makeshift second line of freshmen Brennan Ali, Danny Nelson and Carter Slaggert.

Midway through the first period, the three swooped into the zone against a trio of Gopher skaters. Nelson centered for a prime Ali look, then fired the rebound through the body of Minnesota netminder Justen Close. The puck was trickling in regardless, but Slaggert arrived on the scene and pushed it over the line for good measure.

That goal held up until 90 seconds had passed in period two.

Cole Knuble, another freshman see HOCKEY PAGE 11

SOFIA CRIMIVAROLI | The Observer

Notre Dame hockey hosted No. 8 Minnesota this weekend at Compton Family Ice Arena. The Irish beat the Golden Gophers on Friday 6-1, but ultimately came up short 3-2 in overtime on senior night on Saturday.