Print Edition for The Observer for Friday, February 28, 2025
Mass held for Fr. Hesburgh Forbes names ND ‘Best Large Employer’
Fr. Monk Malloy presided over the 10th anniversary Mass
By AVABELLA MITRANO News Writer
The University held a Mass on Wednesday to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the passing of former University President Fr. Theodore M. Hesburgh. Fr. Edward Malloy, Hesburgh’s successor, celebrated the Mass.
Malloy began with a story detailing Hesburgh’s final moments, describing Hesburgh as a man committed to prayer life, as he went to Mass every day except the day before his death.
“[Hesburgh] said Mass won’t be necessary because [he’s] going to die tomorrow … when I went to go chat with him, he said, ‘I’m thinking about eternity, and that I’m ready,’” Malloy said.
At Hesburgh’s funeral, students lined up on a very cold day to watch Hesburgh be driven from the Basilica of the Sacred Heart to Holy Cross Cemetery. There were
a multitude of speakers, Malloy said.
By ISABEL TORRES News Writer
The University of Notre Dame was recently named America’s Best Large Employer of 2025 by business magazine Forbes.
To qualify for the award, employers had to have at least 5,000 employees. Forbes’ assessment included a range of employee survey questions, including one that asked employees how likely they would be to recommend their employer to individuals looking for job opportunities.
ranked highly in areas of work environment, opportunities for advancement, training opportunities and salaries.
Angela Hubbard, who has been a building services custodian at the University for 34 years, highlighted Notre Dame’s improvements in openness to feedback.
“They made it better by letting us speak up and listening to what the employees had to say,” Hubbard said. “They try to do more things for us now.”
“It was a powerful impression of the energy of that day … I think there were many elements in Ted’s history that helped explain how he became a wonderful leader,” Malloy said. Malloy explained that Hesburgh had a very strong Catholic family and was originally from Syracuse, New York.
see HESBURGH PAGE 4
New Yorker journalist speaks on immigration
By BRIGID IANNELLI News Writer
Jonathan Blitzer, a staff writer at The New Yorker and author of “Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis,” which details the humanitarian crisis that has unfolded at the U.S.-Mexico border, spoke Wednesday at the Hesburgh Center for International Studies.
The lecture, titled “Getting Beyond the Border: How Immigration Became a Political Crisis,” was hosted by Notre Dame’s Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights.
Mary Gallagher, the Dean of the Keough School of Global Affairs, introduced Blitzer.
“Migration, with its implications for human dignity and human development, is an important theme at the Keough School,” Gallagher said. “It’s also an issue that’s critical for us as students, scholars and citizens.”
Blitzer began his lecture with
an anecdote, detailing an urgent phone call that Jeh Johnson, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, received from a top deputy in Customs and Border Protection during the spring of 2014. The deputy claimed that the situation in South Texas was out of control, as many families were arriving in droves from Central America.
“All of them were seeking asylum, which was their legal right, and something the government, by law, had to take seriously. These people were in dire need,” Blitzer said.
Johnson and his wife quickly traveled to McAllen, Texas to visit border patrol stations and temporary detention facilities.
“What they found shocked them ... children were everywhere,” Blitzer said.
Johnson then placed a call to the White House, saying, in an intentionally matter-of-fact tone that Blitzer noted, that the situation was “too big to downplay.”
“In Washington, the bottom
LETTER
line was always the same: What were the optics?” Blitzer said. “In short, how do we keep the border from instantly dominating our politics?”
Framing his lecture through the life of Cecilia Muñoz, who was on the receiving end of Johnson’s phone call, Blitzer then gave a comprehensive political history of immigration policy in the United States. He began with the mid-1980s, when Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which legalized nearly three million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.
He then described how, in the 1990s, Bill Clinton cut public services for green card holders and intensified enforcement operations against immigrants living in the U.S., comparing it to the Trump administration’s recent policies on immigration.
“That political moment was a lot like the current one,” he said.
To determine their winner, Forbes surveyed employees from a variety of companies and institutions across the United States. Through their surveys, they found that Notre Dame consistently
She maintained that the University’s initiatives to incorporate every employee into large-scale improvements were well received by employees.
In her time working at see FORBES PAGE 4
SMC announces governance project
Observer Staff Report
Saint Mary’s College president Katie Conboy announced a new shared governance and decision-making project to the student body via email Wednesday morning. Named the “Shared Governance Task Force,” the committee will be composed of two Board of Trustee members, two administrators, two faculty members, two staff members and two Saint Mary’s students. The names of these individuals were not released in the email.
Conboy wrote that the task force’s responsibilities will include developing and proposing a model of shared governance and communications that will reflect the College’s mission statement and values.
“We will be looking for community engagement along the way, not only here at the start of the project, but also periodically as we progress,” Conboy wrote.
The creation of this project
will be in collaboration with David Maxwell, a consultant and senior fellow for the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB). Maxwell will conduct a webinar on Wednesday, March 5 at 3 p.m. via Zoom to discuss the details of the project. The link to this webinar was shared with the student body shortly after Conboy’s email.
Over the course of the next several months, the task force and Maxwell will be expected to produce three statements: one of shared governance, one of principles, which will define the culture of decisionmaking, and one of threshold conditions for effective shared governance. They will also create a decision matrix and a communications strategy for the College.
Conboy shared that she will provide updates on the status of the project throughout its duration.
AVABELLA MITRANO | The Observer
Fr. Monk Malloy presides over the commemorative Mass for Fr. Theodore M. Hesburgh, detailing Hesburgh’s work for civil rights and Notre Dame.
QUESTION OF THE DAY:
Will children born today have better or worse lives than
Matthew Scariano sophomore Sorin College “Better.”
Patrick McKenzie senior Keough Hall
“Better.”
Corinne Quane senior Lyons Hall
“I hope so, it’s complicated.”
Johannes Machinya graduate Off-campus “Better.”
GRAY NOCJAR | The Observer
Jack Latilla-Campbell, a freshman in Keenan Hall, sings “Livin’ Vida Loca” during the opening act of the Keenan Revue on Thursday night in the Stepan Center. Keenan Hall will put on two more shows on the evenings of Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, March 1.
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The Observer regards itself as a professional publication and strives for the highest standards of journalism at all times. We do, however, recognize that we will make mistakes. If we have made a mistake, please contact us at editor@ndsmcobserver.com so we can correct our error.
Friday
Saint Mary’s vs. IU Kokomo
Angela Athletic and Wellness Complex
1:30 p.m.
Belles play Indiana.
Notre Dame vs. Michigan State Compton Family Ice
Arena
7 p.m. Hockey plays.
Saturday
NDCC and Sacred Music
Foley’s Venue/Foley’s in O’Neill Hall of Music
7 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Listen to choir.
Battle of the Belles
Angela Athletic and Wellness Complex
7:30 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Class years compete in athletic competition.
Sunday
Sylvan Trio performance
LaBar Recital Hall
3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Attend to hear renewed works.
Notre Dame vs. Louisville Purcell Pavillion
Noon
Women’s basketball plays the Cardinals.
Monday
South Bend Medical Foundation blood drive
Library Circle
Noon - 4 p.m. Donate blood.
Lecture on Jewish identity after Gaza 215/216 McKenna Hall
4 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Listen to discussion by Peter Beinart.
Tuesday
Concert by Schola Musicorum
Reyes Organ and Choral Hall
9 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. Hear ancient work.
Mardi Gras Carnival Rice Commons
6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Residence Hall Association hosts celebration.
BUILT2AFFORD supports energy efficiency
By ISABELLA PONCIROLI News Writer
BUILT2AFFORD, an initiative developed by Notre Dame faculty, aims to help low-income households in South Bend save energy. The program’s goal is to develop and test technology that can be used to retrofit older houses in the South Bend community in order to save energy and reduce costs, which is how the project gets its name.
The project, led by three Notre Dame faculty members, Ming Hu, associate dean for research at the School of Architecture, Chaoli Wang, professor of computer science and engineering and Matthew Sisk, associate professor of the practice in the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society, uses Google Street View to complete a detailed analysis remotely, on a large scale and in a non-intrusive way.
The National Science Foundation issued a grant to Notre Dame that will assist the researchers in developing this technology.
In the South Bend area, many of the older homes are less energy efficient, which comes at a great expense to their residents. Many homes
are not adequately insulated or lack properly sealed windows, causing the energy that is spent heating and cooling these houses to seep through windows and insulation.
Another issue the project hopes to address is the presence of lead, which is present in many South Bend homes built before 1970.
“One of the effective ways we conceal the lead paint is to paint over it, but imagine the house is too humid. The paint will peel down, so the lead will be exposed,” Hu said.
The team is developing a dashboard that helps South Bend residents identify simple renovations they can make to save energy, improve air quality and cut costs. Their current research includes analyzing existing houses in South Bend and simulating how much energy can be saved if they undergo a certain renovation.
“As a building scientist, I can extract the thermal value from the building material and determine issues based on the year of the build, based on the material and considering the construction time. That is my expertise, and Professor Wang’s expertise is to build a computer vision model to read the material,” Hu said.
The researchers’ process begins by analyzing a building from its Google Street View images. Then, they identify cost-saving solutions and train the technology to be able to recognize the same issues.
Residents will be able to evaluate the best way to save energy in their own homes remotely.
“We want to create a tool that everyone can use,” Hu said.
The initiative is currently in the first of two stages. The first stage is to develop and test the technology, while the second stage involves validating their research by physically retrofitting houses in South Bend.
“The retrofit solution is pretty straightforward,” Hu said. “It is nothing new, exactly. Our technology aims to identify the house, to figure out the exact window or insulation level we need to replace is the research part.”
She continued, “We work with both Ph.D. students and graduate students along with some undergraduate students to help us do field auditing. Most of them right now are doing the Google Street View image processing.”
There are many undergraduate research
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assistants participating in research for the project, including freshman Andres Perez.
“Last semester, I assisted with fieldwork, visiting homes associated with the project to capture thermal images of potential leakage points–such as doors, windows, ceilings–to identify possible energy leaks. These areas, especially in older houses, could lead to higher energy costs and health concerns in colder climates for more susceptible groups. Earlier in the project, I also worked on annotating image data relating to windows,” Perez wrote in a statement.
Currently, Perez is assisting a graduate computer science student, working to train a machine learning model to assess the condition and features of houses using image datasets of cities.
“The CS undergraduate students I know, including myself, are focused on downloading the previously mentioned image data. We are expanding our scope to multiple states, which requires a substantial amount of data to accurately account for the diversity of housing conditions,” Perez wrote.
The BUILT2AFFORD project has recently submitted its second stage proposal.
“We proposed that we retrofit eight houses in South Bend, and we record three months of data and use that data to validate the tool. And after that, we push it out so everyone can use the data, and the city will adopt the tool as well,” Hu said.
Siyuan Yao, a fourth-year Ph.D. student, shared his overall experience with the BUILT2AFFORD research.
“This project has given me the opportunity to collaborate with a large group of dedicated students. Both the professors and students involved are highly enthusiastic and hardworking. I am grateful to be part of such an energetic and collaborative team,” Yao wrote in a statement.
Yao said that the project has also broadened his understanding of housing concerns in South Bend. “My hope is that we can eventually build a nationwide database that will not only benefit our own research but also be valuable for others working on related projects,” he wrote.
Contact Isabella Ponciroli at iponciro@nd.edu
Hope in Ukraine
March 6, 2025 5:00 p.m. McKenna Hall
UKRAINIAN STUDIES HUB
Forum provides perspectives on Gaza conflict
By MARIA CLARA LOPES CORONA News Writer
Notre Dame’s forum series on Israel and Palestine continued with a lecture Wednesday examining Catholic perspectives on the conflict. Hosted by the University’s theology department and the Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion, the event brought together scholars to explore Catholic teachings on interfaith dialogue, human rights and international law. The discussion underscored the complexities of Catholic engagement with the region, balancing historical responsibilities, moral imperatives and the realities of political conflict.
Matthew Tapie, director of the Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies at St. Leo University, a Catholic university in Florida, opened by addressing the long and fraught history between Christians and Jews. He described it as “a tortured one,” shaped by centuries of discrimination and theological disputes.
He emphasized the importance of facing this history honestly, citing Pope John Paul II’s call for “unconditional trust in the power of truth.” The church, Tapie explained, has at times been indifferent or even complicit in hostility toward Jewish communities.
He referenced the Vatican’s response — or lack thereof
Hesburgh
He had decided early in his life that he wanted to be a priest.
One of Hesburgh’s greatest and closest colleagues was Fr. Edmund “Ned” Joyce. “Ted leaned to the left. Ned Joyce leaned to the right. Their friendship together shared the same vision of greatness for Notre Dame,” he said. Joyce and Hesburgh were able to transform the University into what it is today, with Hesburgh Library and the Joyce Center standing as symbols of this transformation, said Malloy.
Malloy then discussed Hesburgh’s involvement with civil rights under the Nixon administration, during which he served as the chairman of the Civil Rights Commission, building bridges between its members to develop the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Malloy noted that in his autobiography, “God, Country, Notre Dame,” Hesburgh stated that he only wanted one word on his tombstone when he died: Priest.
“He was a priest first of all. He was proud of that. He did everything he could to reinforce his presence in the lives of others,” Malloy said. “He was energetic. He was a quick learner. He wanted to travel. He wanted to be the first priest to celebrate Mass in outer space.”
After Malloy’s homily, “We Shall Overcome” was sung, which Hesburgh once sang with civil rights leaders.
Contact Avabello Mitrano at amitrano@nd.edu
— during the Holocaust, underscoring how historical failures continue to shape Catholic-Jewish relations today.
He acknowledged the emotional weight of these historical injustices, adding “there is reason to be very sad and discouraged.”
A central theme in Tapie’s remarks was the church’s recognition of Jewish attachment to the land of Israel. He noted that for many Jews, Israel represents not only a homeland but also a safeguard against persecution.
“The next chapter of Jewish life is there,” he said, explaining that Catholic-Jewish dialogue must take into account Jewish perspectives on Zionism and the state of Israel. At the same time, he cautioned that this dialogue must be balanced with recognition of Palestinian experiences and suffering.
“Palestinian peoples remain homeless and refugees,” he noted, referencing the Vatican’s recognition of a Palestinian state in 2015. A Palestinian priest he encountered on a visit to the West Bank reminded Tapie that “history cries out for a broad, informed engagement.”
Jordan Duffner, an author and scholar on Muslim-Christian relations, built upon this theme, urging Catholics to resist framing Israel-Palestine as a purely religious conflict. “Muslims, Jews, Christians and others are all on the same side,” she said, highlighting interfaith efforts to promote peace
Forbes
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Notre Dame’s investment in new infrastructure, including buildings and dorms, has positively impacted the employment of the University by increasing job opportunities and allowing employees to rotate the locations where they serve.
“There is nothing more that they can do to improve the university,” she said.
Looking externally, Hubbard also noted that the greater South Bend area has been positively influenced by the University’s aspirations to improve the city. She believes that as Notre Dame increases its internal infrastructure, there has been a direct positive correlation with improvement for the South Bend community.
Maryellen Driscoll, operations coordinator for the Institute for Social Concerns, shared that she believes working for Notre Dame is truly rewarding and deserves the praise it has received.
“It is unusual for me to be at a place that gets positive assessments like this,” said Driscoll. “I know little about other large employers, but I have had a positive experience.”
Contact Isabel Torres at itorres@nd.edu
and human rights.
Catholic social teaching, she explained, calls for solidarity with the vulnerable. “Each and every person of the land, Palestinian and Israeli, is deserving of rights …. a right to life, a right to safety and a right to a life of true flourishing,” Duffner said. She acknowledged the current suffering and despair, adding “it’s easy to feel hopeless.”
She also addressed misconceptions about Catholic engagement with the conflict.
“We Catholics have a responsibility to understand what is going on,” she said. She explained that the church’s teachings on justice and peace require Catholics to advocate for policies that protect all communities in the region.
The Vatican, she noted, bases its diplomatic stance on international law rather than theological interpretations of territorial claims.
“For Catholics, the basis of international law is natural law,” Duffner explained. She also referenced contemporary Catholic figures and modern authorities who have spoken on these issues, demonstrating the evolving nature of Catholic thought on the conflict.
She further stressed the moral imperative. “See, judge, and act, to truly look at the world and all its problems, to assess them in light of our moral convictions as Christians and as Catholics, and then to act and do something about it,” she said.
Daniel Schwake, executive director of Notre Dame’s Global
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
“The Washington consensus was that harshness towards immigrants was what a public preoccupied by law and order wanted the most.”
By the time Muñoz joined the Obama administration during the President’s first term, deportations were on the rise.
“Activists across the country were understandably enraged that, for immigrants, the Obama presidency didn’t seem all that different [from] the Bush presidency before it. Immigrants themselves were anxious and confused,” Blitzer said. This was in part because “Obama had inherited the massive enforcement machinery built up over the years after 9/11,” he added.
When Obama won re-election in 2012, Blitzer said, there was suddenly “the mandate and the momentum to pursue comprehensive immigration reform.” Obama needed to build his credibility and political capital and prove to Republicans that he could make tough decisions.
By 2014, though, due to a Republican-controlled House, Obama’s comprehensive immigration reform bill had stalled, and many people from the Northern Triangle of Central America began seeking asylum. The government was “flummoxed” by these new arrivals, Blitzer explained.
“It is natural and obsessioninducing to wonder how this
Gateway in Jerusalem, shared insights from his experience living and working in the region. He spoke about the unique role of Catholic institutions in fostering dialogue.
However, he cautioned against simplistic narratives, stating that Catholics must acknowledge their own historical baggage.
“We as Christians come with our own baggage,” he said. “We have contributed to the harm and hatred that is present today.”
Schwake highlighted the need for humility and deep listening.
“Sometimes we talk about it as if it were a football game,” he said, critiquing detached and overly simplistic discussions of the conflict.
He urged Catholics to “compassionately listen,” moving beyond rhetoric to approach the situation with an openness to learning from all sides, including those whose perspectives may challenge their preconceptions.
He also spoke about contemporary realities, including legal policies and the humanitarian concerns voiced by Vatican representatives.
The following Q&A session offered a platform for attendees to engage with the speakers.
One student asked about the ethical responsibilities of Catholics in the wake of increasing violence.
“Doing what we can in our own personal capacity to push for change is an essential part of Catholic social teaching,” Duffner responded.
shift caught everyone by such surprise,” Blitzer said. He used what he called the “original sin of the U.S. asylum system” to explain it. According to Blitzer, when migrants from El Salvador and Guatemala arrived in the U.S. in 1980, in the midst of the Cold War, most of their asylum applications were rejected. It later came to light that the State Department had been exerting control over the asylum process.
“If the U.S. were to acknowledge the fact that Salvadorans and Guatemalans seeking asylum were in fact fleeing repressive regimes in the region, it would mean that the U.S. was supporting regimes that were brutalizing their populations,” Blitzer explained.
At the same time, he said, “the U.S. adopted a foreign policy that, in effect, tightened the bonds between the United States and the wider region.” Thus, increasing numbers of Central American asylum seekers entered the country.
Ultimately, Blitzer argued that the Obama administration’s surprise in 2014 serves as an “origin story” of how the idea of “the border” and the larger question of immigration in the U.S. have been conflated in recent years.
“The situation with the border has effectively hijacked the conversation the country needs to have about immigration,” he said.
Blitzer described the national political conversation as “trapped in [a] catch-22,” in which those opposing reform argue that the
Other questions addressed the role of international law in peacebuilding, the Vatican’s stance on military intervention and the tensions between theological positions and political realities. Tapie, in response to a question about historical Catholic-Jewish relations, noted the importance of engaging with theological authorities from both past and present.
“Even God can’t change the past,” Gabriel Reynolds, one of the event’s organizers, remarked, underscoring the challenge of reconciling historical injustices with present realities.
Duffner also warned about the growing cycle of violence.
“The spiral of violence has taken the life of many,” she said, noting how ongoing suffering continues to escalate tensions rather than resolve them. She reinforced the collective responsibility of Catholics, reminding attendees that “we are all interdependent, we are our brothers and sisters’ keeper.”
As the event closed, the speakers reminded the audience that Catholic engagement with IsraelPalestine must be thoughtful, informed and committed to the dignity of all people. The conversation is not easy, and consensus may be elusive, but, as Schwake reminded the audience, “the pursuit of truth is the goal.”
Contact Maria Clara Lopes Corona at mcorona@nd.edu
country cannot make any changes to its wider immigration system without fixing the border when, in reality, the border cannot be fixed alone, without reference to the wider immigration system.
“The entirety of the immigration system, which has been essentially unaddressed now for decades, is borne completely by the U.S. asylum system, which was never designed to be the answer to the entirety of American immigration policy,” Blitzer said.
While Blitzer thought the Biden administration made progress in opening other legal avenues for migrants to enter the U.S. (as opposed to entering through the southern border), he believes that progress has been lost under Trump.
Finally, before taking questions from Jennifer Mason McAward, the director of the Klau Institute, Blitzer noted that the constant use of the words “crisis” and “invasion” to describe the situation at the border has serious consequences. Specifically, he said it has led the U.S. government to adopt a “military response” to immigration into the country. However, he did not deny that there was a humanitarian crisis occurring at the border.
“It’s a strange moment to be talking about this history because the history haunts the extremism of our present moment,” Blitzer said.
Contact Brigid Iannelli at biannell@nd.edu
LETTER EDITOR
Long live the Revue
On Nov. 6, 1976, “The New Keenan Revue” was presented to the Notre Dame student body in historic Washington Hall. One week later, it was performed for a second time due to popular demand from those unable to attend the first show. I write to you now in the midst of the 49th annual iteration of the show, where we get to sustain one of the most iconic traditions in a university that is characterized by its traditions. The show’s external appearance has changed over the years — captured best by The Observer stories that allude to financial frustrations and alumni leveraging their Revue talents into careers — and yet, the spirit and identity of the Keenan Revue has endured with certain determination.
Just like 49 years ago, Keenan Revue tickets are free. Just like 49 years ago, the show is built from scratch in the Keenan basement by residents. Just like 49 years ago, we make fun of dorms across campus (though less focus is placed on Flanner Hall these days). The show that exists today is a show that honors the generations of Knights that came before and sculpted the tradition that we are privileged to embrace today. It’s a show that highlights all the intricacies and quirkiness housed in our cinderblock building. With that dimension of the show particularly in mind, it is difficult to describe Keenan Hall without mention of the Keenan Revue; the two are eternally entwined. But why? What makes the Revue so special? It’s been around for years, sure, but so have many other dorm traditions … why does the Revue endure?
This is a question that has occupied my mind for much of this past year as I’ve served as the show’s director. It led to many rabbit holes that I continue to explore today, culminating in crafting a 50-plus page historical timeline that chronicled the Revue’s history documented in dozens of issues of The Observer as well as countless YouTube videos of archived shows. No one knows every detail of the Keenan Revue’s history, but I feel fairly confident in calling myself a pseudo-expert on the subject at this point. And I think I’m finally ready to answer the question of its significance once and for all.
For me, the best way to exemplify the significance of the Keenan Revue is with testimony, if you’ll indulge me.
My freshman year, I exited the fall semester with a mild liking for Keenan Hall. It was a silly place with silly people, where I had a few good memories. I hadn’t given up hope on Notre Dame’s residential life by any means, but I hadn’t found my groove either. I was content — until Keenan Revue season began. I attended the skit tryouts in the basement and witnessed some of the funniest bits of writing in my life. My involvement with the band was minimal — limited almost exclusively to some minor piano parts — but I was enjoying the rehearsals. As the show
neared, I was getting pretty excited.
And then I got a phone call. Logan Schott, the then music director and four-north Keenan RA, was on the other line with a tone of suppressed panic. He asked me if I had time to chat about the Revue that night — it was already 11:30 p.m. I was downstairs in the next 10 minutes, and it was in that meeting that he offered me an opportunity. There were adjustments being made to one of the songs — our opening song, “Feeling Good” by Michael Bublé — and they needed a lead singer. He knew I had past singing experience, and he was desperate. I did a very shabby impromptu audition and Logan told me excitedly that we were gonna try out the song onstage during the first day of Tech Week, the next Monday … three nights before opening night of the show.
That weekend passed quickly, filled with frantic practice sessions in the O’Neill Hall of Music, utilizing every live YouTube recording of the song I could possibly find. When Monday rolled around, I had no idea what to expect. Eventually, we got onstage to run the song and a number of technical difficulties immediately threw off the performance. I was unconfident, and it was reflected in my barely audible singing voice. We debriefed offstage and the music directors told the band quite bluntly that we had one more chance. They could get us back onstage one more time that night, and if it didn’t work out the act was to be axed from the show altogether.
This was perplexing, as one might assume. I saw the faces of the band fill with disappointment, and, somewhere in that moment, I reflected briefly. When Logan had called me down to the basement just days prior, he shared a bit of “Revue wisdom” with me. He told me that the show was not about the highest quality product, nor the most perfect version of a performance. It was about fun, and it was about love. I entered stage for this last-ditch effort at the song with his words echoing in my head, and I let loose. I stopped thinking about how I might sound or how it could impact my life in the future. Words just came out of my mouth. And, as if they were following the cinematic instructions of some creative director, the Knights of Keenan Hall gathered in front of the stage one by one. They cheered when I hit a good note, and they jumped around hugging each other when the band hit its key change perfectly. By the end of the performance, everyone left in the building for the night was standing in front of the stage, cheering me and the band on.
We went on with tech week, and I carried this newfound mentality through it all. When the show was performed, the song was well received and I experienced a lovely week of Yik Yak stardom, capped off by a round of applause greeting me to Moreau the
following Wednesday night. Miraculously, I had found a home in the Keenan Revue. From that day forward, my perspective was shifted — I saw Keenan Hall in its truest form. I had experienced the radical brotherhood of the building firsthand, seen how the guys would drop anything they had to support a freshman they didn’t even know. In relinquishing my preconceptions of what the performance should or had to look like, I found a space that celebrated the authenticity of its every individual. And I never lost my sense of that again.
Since my freshman year performance, I have endeavored to carry this mentality onward for my dorm’s future generations. After two years of serving as the show’s music director, I took the step up to direct the show this upcoming year. And as I entered my tenure as director this past fall, I ruminated on the origins of my own Keenan Revue journey. I asked myself the question: What makes the Keenan Revue significant? While many disjointed memories and quotes came to my mind, one overarching word echoed clearly: love. I thought about it through a couple more contexts and suddenly realized just how appropriate of a word it was. The Keenan Revue is love. It’s a labor of love, the culmination of countless hours of voluntary work by residents. It’s a love letter to the university we chide, making light of the things that make us us. It’s an invitation to the men of Keenan Hall to love all of our eccentricities and talents. The Keenan Revue can be described in many ways, but at the end of the day — it’s love. Now, as I celebrate every fleeting second of my final shows, I’m more aware of this fact than ever. Keenan is not exclusively defined by the Revue. I have cherished many joys across all aspects of hall life … but I attribute all the most positive memories to the perspective I gained from the Keenan Revue. One of authenticity and passion. One of love.
As director, I get the privilege of receiving many alumni emails about the Revue, whether concerning donations or tickets. And across them all, I feel the love. The love behind the show is a transgenerational feat, one which has persisted since our very first performance in Washington Hall on Nov. 6 of 1976. Whether you’re attending the Revue this weekend or not, I write this article as a testament to the power of radical friendship, the impact that embracing love in the ordinary can have — for me, it shaped my entire college career. All because of the Revue. Thank you for your continued support of our silly little show. We hope you enjoy this year’s show! And as they say across generations of Keenan Hall, Long Live The Revue.
Joey Kositzke senior Feb. 24
Valuing unseriousness
Imagine this: after a terrible cup of coffee and reading three chapters of “Dune” over four and half hours of sleep deprivation, you land in Perth, Australia. You take one step outside in the blazing UV-11 sun in a matching green sweatsuit you’ve been wearing for over 36 hours to cushion the United Airlines economy seat. Your pores immediately start exuding any water and salt left in your body. You look up and see the Indian Ocean sparkling into the abyss of a turquoise horizon. Sleep deprivation and dehydration subside to the largest amount of dopamine you’ve felt in days.
Because you just left America and its whirlwind of winter storms and political angst, you can already feel the laid-back climate of flat whites and jorts. You begin to relearn why you chose Perth: lush beaches, kangaroos and exploring the point furthest away on Earth from your hometown. “Now’s the time,” everyone says. “You’re gonna remember these months for the rest of your life.”
“Just like those first moments in college,” you think. As you begin to take it all in, waves of déjá vu hit you. It all feels too familiar. You, a new place and mixed emotions. You try to distract any anxiety you have by meeting your friend and her
mom for a lovely dinner, rejoicing at carbohydrates and water with ice. You shower, sleep and begin to feel like a human being. Then, you wake up. Emotions begin to curdle in your stomach. The thought hits you, the thought you’ve been avoiding for months, the thought that makes you feel riddled with uneasiness: orientation.
Eventually, the moment has arrived. The Uber pulls up. You haul your luggage. At a moment when you begin to think everything is going as expected, as thought through, an RA mentions “dance practice” for “freshers.” You look at your friend — you both know you’re freshers but don’t remember a dance being mentioned in the program description. Sweat hits your forehead, again.
Little do you know that for the next week, you and ten other Notre Dame students will spend four hours everyday dancing in the same bright yellow shirt under the beating Australian sun. The shirt will permanently smell like sweat. You may have a drop of water left in your body when it’s all said and done. Every moment, you remember that this experience is familiar. It’s the seemingly universal first-year experience at college (or “uni” for Aussies).
When me and my friends had this experience — that I keep reminding everyone of — we constantly referenced our own Notre Dame Welcome Weekend memories. In both Australia and America, we had the quintessential coming-of-age moments of
discovering what to do and who to talk to.
When I first experienced Welcome Weekend at Notre Dame, I felt anxious and out of place, as many students do throughout their experience. I didn’t know anyone in my classes. Nothing quite clicked at first. I thought everything mattered, but it didn’t. This time around, we all leaned into discomfort and silliness (that is, until the sun got the best of us). Because I entered with friends and a junior’s perspective, I am beginning this term with an invaluable social security to navigate an otherwise daunting four months. Because of my peers, friends and junior mindset, I was more committed to the “fresher experience” than I was the first time in 2022. For example, a first year me would not have been a fan of learning a five-minute dance to compete against four residential colleges. Junior me (eventually) found it to be a comedy and respectable competition. I mean, when else in your twenties can you dance to “Gasolina” and “Who Let the Dogs Out?”
Redmond (Reddy) Bernhold is a junior studying biochemistry and journalism. He originally hails from Minster, OH but calls Siegfried Hall his home on campus. When not writing, he explores South Bend coffee shops and thrift stores. You can contact Reddy at rbernho2@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Redmond Bernhold
Born Reddy
Regretfully, February
We regret to inform you that, despite our best efforts, February has come again. February is the Coldplay of all months. If it had a flavor, it would be Panera bread’s tortilla soup. If it had a scent, it would be the musk of the library’s untouched seventh-floor Medieval texts. If it were a Kardashian, it would be Kendall. It is tasteless and bleak, without glamour or ambition.
February, at least, does not try to be something it is not. It isn’t like deceitful March, who, under the guise of pretending to be the advent of spring, attempts to convince all its subjects that it is mild and tame. In reality, March is just a second coming of February — except March is two days longer. Cunning March is yet another bleak onslaught of winter, masking its true odor under a billowing cloud of flowery perfume. March is no more a warm, spring month than Wednesday is a weekend.
Nor is February as half-hearted as its predecessor. January is like any untrained Turkey trot participant. He jumps at the gun, sprinting from the starting lineup with unbridled gusto. But much too quickly onto his course, he realizes that he is untrained and unfit, and begins to slow, slow, slow, until he is at last crawling towards the finish line. Then, it’s off to his kitchen, where he stuffs himself with butter, bread and every other carb known to man.
January loses sight of his initial intentions. At New Year’s, he promises to change, to bring about a new era of transformation, to rally the other months behind him. But by that
second week of grey overcast and below-freezing temperatures, he gives up. He becomes grim and unmotivated, and this depression lasts for a good three weeks or so. February, on the other hand, takes itself at face value. It knows what it is and doesn’t attempt to be anything more. Every February holiday is man-made and lackluster. Even Valentine’s Day understands its ranking among the holidays: somewhere just above Labor Day but behind the Fourth of July. It knows its purpose; it accepts its station. Like February, Valentine’s brings with it a wave of depression (for those who have no lovers) and stress (for those who don’t know what to buy their significant other). It is by no means an easygoing holiday, and so, it fits very well within February’s portfolio. As does Fat Tuesday, which is really just a day to feel bad about yourself before feeling even worse for the next 40 days.
There is not much to be said about April, who is just a slightly less foxy March. By the time May rolls around, spring is truly in full bloom … and no one can enjoy it. May is full of late-night-cram-sessions and regretting-not-paying-attention-in-class. The permacloud dissolves, the snow melts and the sun reveals itself — just when it’s time for everyone to lock themselves inside. May is cruel, promising pleasure but dangling just out of reach. It is tantalizing and misguided. If January is a shirker, and March a swindler, if April is unremarkable, and May is sadistic, perhaps there’s no great shame in February’s bleakness. It is very bleak. So utterly bleak. If it were a sport, it would be croquet. If it were an airport, it would be Newark. If it were an app, it would be “Contacts.”
I had a conversation with February once, and it was
painfully burdensome. We were in an elevator. They were playing an acapella cover of a Duran Duran song. I asked if February was working on anything cool at the office. February said no, just the usual (something about revenues and marginal cost). I noticed February was eating a plain rice cracker and asked if he liked to cook.
“Yes,” he said.
“What do you cook?” I asked.
“Oh, you know,” he replied. “Chicken.” Lightly salted, I’d assume.
Though his general air of gloominess and misery sucks you in and almost makes you forget, February is short. Much shorter than any other month I’ve met (maybe it’s a growth deficiency).
Thankfully, we were never trapped in the same room again. I heard he was transferred to the Scranton office.
With the close of this gloomy month, we surrender ourselves to March, who gleefully awaits our arrival. Will we miss February when he’s gone? Let’s not be dishonest with ourselves! We don’t need to flatter a month who doesn’t attempt to do so himself. February knows we merely tolerate his presence. He has no shame about it.
February has ended. But never fear! Despite our best efforts, he will be back again next year.
Gracie Eppler is a senior business analytics and English major from St. Louis, MO. Her top three things ever to exist are ‘70’s music, Nutella and Smith Studio 3, where she can be found dancing. You can reach her at geppler@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Hey Dems, just be American
allows Trump to drastically raise costs on those struggling the most while giving a more than $1 trillion tax break to the richest 1% and increasing the national deficit in the process.
The President of the United States and the world’s richest man. This unlikely duo of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk has come to define the Republican Party and likely will continue to for years to come.
After senior Trump advisor Elon Musk’s Nazi salute at the indoor Washington inauguration celebration, more top Republicans have followed in making this gesture. This follows Musk’s comments at an alt-right rally in Germany where he said that it was time for the country to move beyond guilt for Nazi crimes.
At last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a conservative who’s who that included a speech from the president, Trump’s top strategist Steve Bannon concluded his speech yelling, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” as he held his right arm up in a Nazi salute. This seemed to be a formula as the next day Mexican actor and former presidential candidate Eduardo Verástegui opened his speech with a seemingly choreographed echo of the same three words and Hitler salute. Since this, a Michigan priest and an Idaho CEO have been removed from their posts for allegedly doing the Sieg Heil gesture in parody.
Last week, President Trump reversed the policy of congestion pricing in New York City meant to combat traffic, but what followed garnered more attention. The official White House social media accounts posted a celebratory AI-generated image of Trump smirking, wearing a crown that read, “Congestion pricing is dead. Manhattan, and all of New York, is saved. Long live the king!” While Trump may not be king in title, many of his allies and supporters have joined him in supporting an unconstitutional third term. Last week, at CPAC, stickers were also given out that read “Trump 2028: Finish the Job.”
Following the passage of the Republican budget plan, President Trump is poised to enact policy like the kings of old. The plan that passed late Tuesday night by two votes
Trump, Musk and the Republican Party of 2025 do not represent the values of America. The historic party of Lincoln, Reagan and apple pie has now become the party of the 1%. Already, in the second month of their trifecta, Republicans have lost the confidence of voters with policies that are neither popular nor effective.
In the seemingly endless rush of post-mortems following the Democrats’ election loss this fall, pundits have given the party just about every prognosis. Some moderates want the party to push to the center, while other leftleaning liberals want to devote the party to progressivism. My solution is neither, but rather both.
If Democrats want to win future elections, the answer is simple, they should just be American.
Opposing the Musk-Trump Republican Party is as American as it gets. Our nation was founded on the idea of freedom from the tyranny of a king and our greatest moment came from defeating the same Nazism that unfortunately runs rampant in the modern Republican Party. Democratic messaging should be easy to pull out of the mud. All we need to do is be American. Democrats must take the progressive populist message of the working class with the unabashed patriotism that many moderates describe. Democratic leaders cannot cave to conservative pressures to instill divisive fear and must frame the issues we face in words that everyday Americans can spell.
To be clear, this type of value-conservative, policy-liberal messaging is not a new idea, but America could not be more ripe for it to take hold across the country. Take, for example, the standing-room-only crowds at Senator Bernie Sanders’ rallies in the Midwest and Congressional town halls in conservative districts with voters angered by spending cuts.
If you are still not convinced that this is the path we should take, just look at examples from our past.
Like the Patriots who fought tyranny through the snow and starvation at Valley Forge to break free from a king across the sea.
Like the young men who gave the last full measure of devotion against brothers to preserve our union at Gettysburg.
Like the soldiers who climbed the cliffs of Normandy to defeat Hilter and his Nazi regime.
Like the generation who answered the call of what they could do for their country and put Americans on the moon.
Like the civil rights activists who marched because they had a dream about our country conquering the forces of hate.
Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger put it plainly: “Nazis? Losers. The Confederacy? Losers. The apartheid movement? Losers. I don’t want you to be a loser. I don’t want you to be weak.”
America is not a nation of losers. One day, we will look back at the history books detailing this era of Donald Trump and Elon Musk, where we saw Nazism and tyranny rear their ugly heads. As we read the pages, how will that story go? Will their power go unchecked, or, just like every other time in our American story, will the forces of evil be slammed into the dustbin of history?
America is a nation of winners and if Democrats want to win future elections, they need to answer the call of America’s greatest tradition. In the meantime, there will be lots of work to do and minds to change, so call your member of Congress and be a voice for what you believe in.
Jack is a proud Michigander, a small-towner, a man of Fisher, a senior, and a licensed boat captain in that order. He enjoys gritty Midwestern football, planespotting, and speechwriting. If you are in urgent need of his consultation or would like to berate him, he can be found frolicking about campus or via email at jsirian2@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Gracie Eppler
The Soapbox
Jack Sirianni Political Paraphernalia
CYNTHIA ERIVO: FROM DEFYING GRAVITY EXPECTATIONS TO DEFYING
By AJ BROOKSHIRE Scene Writer
Lent is right around the corner, and I think it’s safe to say that a lot of people are going to be holding more space for faith in the near future.
Maybe old musicals will become just a tad more popular again. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hip take on the Passion of Christ, “Jesus Christ Superstar,” is coming to the Hollywood Bowl this summer.
But who will play the role of Jesus? Surely it has to be a superstar to take on the part of the Messiah. Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba in “Wicked,” is up to the task, much to the joy and dismay of everyone online.
Many are concerned that a woman playing Jesus is simply Hollywood going a step too far — not to mention that she is black, bisexual and bald. They argue that an actress such as Erivo is just too distinct from how many Christians view Jesus Christ, and — viewing the role as a form of blasphemy — feel that Hollywood is attacking Christianity. With a mentality taken straight from the Pharisees in the musical,
they say, “She is dangerous!” Frankly, I think that this couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Jesus Christ Superstar” has been controversial since its debut in the 1970s for modernizing the timeless story we know from the Gospels. Jesus is portrayed as very human in this stage production, complete with conflicted emotions. Judas, who serves as a character foil for Jesus, is shown in a more sympathetic light than some are comfortable with. I would argue that the play does not mock or diminish the story of the Crucifixion. In fact, “Jesus Christ Superstar” does not shy away from the gory details present in the Bible at all. I saw the local youth theater production just this past summer and was shocked at how much time was devoted to the brutal whipping of Jesus. The entire show is all about showing mercy and love to others by standing up against a cruel society, which I think is a lesson we could all stand to learn from.
on an all-female recording of “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Critiquing her for being black is also bizarre, especially after John Legend’s incredible portrayal of Christ in 2018. It is simply unfair to claim that Erivo is unfit for the role until we see what she can do. With the way her career is taking off to the western sky, I would say Erivo’s potential is unlimited.
Cynthia Erivo as Jesus is an exciting thing for me. Her vocals are really powerful — just what I wanted from a superstar. She has experience with the
the subtle influence
Tim Rice, who co-wrote “Jesus Christ Superstar” with Andrew Lloyd Webber, argues that Cynthia Erivo is a great choice. He claims that none of us really know what Jesus looked like, so it can be exciting to see different takes on previously established narratives. The musical is an excellent way to connect modern audiences with the ancient religious text, so we should be taking every chance to create a truly relatable show that can reach wide audiences. Let’s all take some time to move past our unadulterated loathing and come together to celebrate talented people and a moving story. So if you care to find me this summer, I’ll be defying hatred by simply sitting back and enjoying the show.
Contact AJ Brookshire at abrooks8@nd.edu
By MACKENZIE HORTON Scene Writer
more deeply.
I’m mid HGW (hot girl walk) with my friend, Maggie. We are just about to finish lap three and begin lap four around St. Mary’s Lake. After exhausting just about every topic, ranging from summer plans to what we should get for dinner, we land on something new that we haven’t discussed before.
“What song would you want to describe your perfect life?” I ask my yacht rock–loving friend. She looks confused, and I try to explain what I mean better by saying, “Like … if you were able to imagine your perfect life, delivered to you in a 45 second clip, what would that sound like to you? Pop? Classical? Rock? Maybe a specific artist?”
At first, we begin like we usually do, laughing and connecting songs to funny little inside jokes.
We begin throwing out a wide range of random songs, and Maggie says, “Definitely something from ‘High School Musical’ for you!”
“No, no, definitely ‘Schylar Sisters’ from ‘Hamilton’ for you!” I respond.
Then, I started to really think about this question
First, I really thought about the true power of music. Music has a way of expressing emotions and weighty situations that plain old words just can’t. With the help of sad or happy melodies, matched with lively or slow beats, the words are illuminated in a new light.
Next, I think it is important to recognize the complexity of music and sound as it is tied to past experiences or emotions. Here, we are shown the transformative power of music and the way it can “bring people back in time.” For me, certain songs that I still listen to are connected to certain periods of my life. When listening to One Direction, I think about my childhood filled with baking, soccer and playdates. When listening to songs by Selena Gomez, I am taken back to my first concert in sixth grade. Lastly, when listening to “Midnights” by Taylor Swift, I’m suddenly 16 again, back in the coffee shop where I listened to that album for the very first time, surrounded by friends from high school. When I think about what my ideal life would sound like, I first have to think about what it would even look like. After some pondering, I believe that in my “perfect life” I would be in a constant state of
excitement, happiness and curiosity. In this perfect life, I would be surrounded with family and friends, traveling all the time, vanilla latte always in hand and wearing the most fun jacket I could find. Trying to find a song that would fully encapsulate this would be pretty difficult … but isn’t that the point?
No song is just happy melodies—rather, there are bound to be changes in tempo, tone and mood. Similar to music and sound, life is multifaceted. In a great song, there are combinations of slower beats and lively beats. In a great life, there are combinations of tough and demanding times in concert with fun and exhilarating moments.
No song is completely perfect, and no one’s life will ever be either. We learn that the combination of good and bad experiences make living much deeper and more complex.
But, if you were to ask me how I want my life to sound and didn’t want to get into a deep conversation about the complexity of music and our lives, I would maybe just say “Waves” by Mr. Probz, “Where Are U Now” by Justin Bieber or “I Like Me Better” by Lauv.
Contact Mackenzie Horton at mhorton5@nd.edu
ND MEN’S BASKETBALL
Irish unable to hang against No. 13 Clemson
By TYLER REIDY Sports Editor
On Wednesday night at Littlejohn Coliseum, Notre Dame men’s basketball couldn’t keep up with No. 13 Clemson. The Irish dropped an 83-68 result, finishing February with a 2-6 record and moving to 12-16 overall (6-11 ACC). Meanwhile, the Tigers continued their push toward a high NCAA Tournament seed, winning their 11th game in the last 12 tries and improving to 23-5 (15-2 ACC).
For Notre Dame, Wednesday’s game was all about sophomore guard Markus Burton. With his game-high 30 points, the Mishawaka native became the seventh-fastest player in program history to surpass 1,000 points. He got to four digits on a bucket just before halftime and reached the 30-point plateau for the second time this season, adding four rebounds and five assists.
Outside of his two-point aberration last Wednesday against SMU, Burton has scored at least 15 points in every full game he’s played.
“Right now he’s driving the ball, and there’s a dude guarding him and four other people standing around
ND MEN’S LACROSSE
him, and he continues to keep scoring, to keep going, to keep playing,” head coach Micah Shrewsberry said. “He’s playing major minutes. He’s doing his part, right? We just need more.”
The Irish couldn’t find much more because they were once again down two starting guards. Graduate student Matt Allocco missed his seventh consecutive game with a wrist injury, while news broke before tipoff that sophomore Braeden Shrewsberry would miss the remainder of the season with an abdominal strain. As a result, the Irish didn’t have the horses to run with Clemson for 40 minutes.
Junior forward Tae Davis tallied 15 points and senior guard J.R. Konieczny recorded eight, but the Irish only found 15 points outside of those two and Burton.
“We just don’t have the bodies to sustain that effort that we need to keep guarding in that way [when we were successful],” Shrewsberry said. “I thought they were subbing guys, they’d bring guys in and out and they just kind of wore us down.”
In a first half full of runs, the Tigers came out hot, building a 21-12 lead with still more than 12 minutes remaining until halftime.
However, Clemson didn’t score again for nearly seven minutes after that, as the Irish defense led a lead-taking, 10-0 run that finished with consecutive Konieczny buckets. Senior forward Ian Schieffelin reawakened the Tiger offense, scoring 10 straight points to put Clemson in a 41-31 halftime lead. The Tigers would lead by no less than six for the rest of the night, at one point going ahead by 19 down the stretch.
“We didn’t do a very good job of kind of rotating to the rim on some of our pick and rolls and some of our drives or some of their drives,” Shrewsberry said. “We’re playing our ball-screen defense, and they get two people on the ball, and if those guards were shooting it, they’re rebounding on the backside. We didn’t do a great job of coming in and cracking those guys on the backside.”
Though the Irish held top Clemson scorer Chase Hunter to 8 points, Schieffelin more than covered for him, spearheading a Tiger offense that finished with 23 assists. He led the team with a career-high 24 points on 9-for-11 shooting, adding nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.
“He’s a hard matchup, right? You’ve gotta decide how you guard him,” Shrewsberry described.
“The way he scored and he made a couple of threes in the first half, he scored around the basket, he’s just burying guys deep in the post. So you’ve gotta decide how you want to play and how you want to do it.”
Shrewsberry had more flowers to throw the way of Schieffelin in terms of his development, as the guard double-double against Notre Dame last year and has faced the Irish head coach three times now.
“This is my third year in a row playing Clemson, right? So I’ve kind of seen his progression,” Shrewsberry said.
“He was coming off the bench two years ago when we were here with Penn State, and now he’s stepped into a major role.”
“He’s a guy that probably–for me, because of how you vote, they’re at the top of the league–they should get multiple people on the allleague team, right? That’s what you do. You vote for people that are willing. He deserves multiple votes for all-league because he’s a problem.”
Senior center Viktor Lakhin helped out in a big
way for Clemson, totaling 18 points, five rebounds and five assists. Indiana native Jake Heidbreder chipped in nicely off the bench as well, nailing four three-pointers for a season-best of 14 points. Overall, the Tigers took great care of the basketball, turning it over just three times as the Irish did not record a single steal.
Notre Dame will finish the regular season’s final road trip at Wake Forest on Saturday. Just like last year, the Demon Deacons (19-9, 11-6 ACC) are slipping as their NCAA Tournament hopes hang in the balance. Since starting the ACC schedule at 7-1, they’ve gone 4-5 with three inexcusable losses in their four games–the last two coming against below-.500 teams NC State and Virginia. Senior guards Hunter Sallis (18.6 points per game) and Cameron Hildreth (15.0) lead Wake Forest in scoring from the backcourt.
Notre Dame and Wake Forest will square off at 5:15 p.m. on Saturday inside the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu
Irish prepare for a contest of the nation’s best
By NOAH CAHILL Associate Sports Editor
The stage is set at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta for a battle between the nation’s two best teams. Notre Dame and Maryland have dominated the last decade of men’s lacrosse, accounting for four of the past eight national championships, including the last three from 2022 to 2024. Saturday’s matchup will be a rematch of last year’s title game, where the Irish cruised to a 15-5 victory to secure their second straight championship. That victory tied the alltime series at 9-9, with Notre Dame winning the last three matchups. In their 100th season in program history, head coach John Tillman’s Terrapins will look to break that streak and take the No. 1 ranking from the Irish.
State of the Irish
Notre Dame regained the No. 1 ranking in week seven of the 2024 season after bouncing back from an early-season loss to Georgetown. The Irish have
not surrendered it since. Their 3-0 start to the 2025 season has included demolitions of Cleveland State and Marquette and a competitive road win over No. 10 Georgetown. Their meeting with Maryland, however, will pose their toughest test of the season thus far, and potentially of the entire regular season.
Despite the absences of Tewaaraton winner Pat Kavanagh and all-time great goalkeeper Liam Entenmann, the Irish have hit the ground running on both sides of the ball. Pat’s superstar brother Chris, a candidate to keep the Tewaaraton award in the family, has already tallied a team-high 17 points between nine goals and eight assists. Graduate attacker Jake Taylor has picked up where he left off as well, scoring a team-high 10 goals in his first three. The attack expected to have talent to reload, but the bigger question was always in goal. Junior Thomas Ricciardelli has answered that question for head coach Kevin Corrigan
through three games, allowing only six goals per game with a .600 save percentage. He made 16 stops to help the Irish outlast the Hoyas last weekend, including multiple timely ones down the stretch in the fourth. Should he continue to perform at this level, Notre Dame’s chances at a three-peat look much better.
A reloaded No. 2 Maryland
In 2024, Maryland put together an unlikely Memorial Day run in a season marked by ups and downs. Despite graduating key pieces of that core, including defensive stalwart Ajax Zappitello and star face-off man Luke Wierman, the Terrapins have rebuilt their foundation once again to remain at the top of the college lacrosse world. Senior midfielder Eric Spanos and junior attacker Braden Erksa return after leading Maryland’s offense last season. The two combined for 49 goals and 31 assists in 2024 and have the
versatility to contribute in both attack and the midfield.
With several midfield departures including Jack Koras, Ryan Siracusa and Owen Murphy, the Terrapins have leaned on Erksa and Spanos to fill the gaps. During their 4-0 start to the season, the two have already combined for 20 points on 13 goals and seven assists. Three-time All-American and Midfielder of the Year at Salisbury Jack Dowd has also been a welcome addition in the transfer portal to further bolster the new-look midfield. Maryland also added Matthew Keegan, a senior transfer from Binghamton, who has hit the ground running in red with seven goals and three assists in his first four games. Veteran attacker Daniel Kelly, who led the team in goals as a junior and featured on last season’s NCAA All-Tournament Team, has started hot with a teamhigh nine goals.
Arguably the most valuable returnee for Maryland,
however, is graduate goalkeeper Logan McNaney, one of the most talented netminders in the nation. Coming off of a bit of a down year statistically, McNaney looks back to his 2021-22 form to start 2025, allowing only 7.25 goals per game with a .623 save percentage. The Terrapins have already asserted themselves as legitimate title contenders once again with their impressive undefeated start, which has included wins over No. 14 Richmond, No. 11 Syracuse and No. 8 Princeton, all by four or more goals. They narrowly escaped Loyola in an 8-7 overtime victory as well. Overall, Maryland has already been battle-tested in its first few games and will carry lots of confidence into the Saturday matchup. Face-off is set for Saturday, March 1, at 1 p.m. with ACC Network providing the broadcast.
Contact Noah Cahill at ncahill2@nd.edu
up, give in, or let anger rise to the surface. Your best response is success. Focus on what you can do, and you’ll rise to the top and enjoy the glory and gratification of accomplishing your goals. Personal growth is yours to behold. Where there is purpose, there is meaning.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Discover the pleasure of positive change and fixate on making your surroundings comfortable. Stick to the people and pastimes that put your mind at ease and your energy into something that enriches your life by pointing you in a direction that leads to fulfillment and personal joy. Fuel the fire within.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): One step at a time. Minimize your plans to ensure you do your best and achieve your goal. Personal growth comes at a cost, but ultimately, it helps set the stage for a better tomorrow. Experience new places and meet exciting people, but refuse to let anyone take advantage of you.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): You’ll have the drive, imagination, and skills to outperform. Put your energy to good use, do your best, and market and promote who you are and what you can do. You’ll attract attention, interest, and worthwhile suggestions and connections to point you in a prosperous direction. Avoid physical and emotional risks.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Pay attention to how you look and respond to others. Be the one to make positive suggestions, lend a helping hand, and use your skills and knowledge to make situations easier. Focus on fixing, not masking, problems, and you’ll become the go-to person in your circle. Self-improvement and romance are favored.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Put your plans in motion. Build momentum, put a smile on your face, and engage in talks that change how people perceive you and what you are trying to achieve. Be imaginative with your money, and you’ll find a way to make it stretch. An open mind will lead to new beginnings.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Get out and about. Participate, engage in exciting events, and broaden your sense of what’s possible. Use your home base as a springboard, and you’ll evolve in a direction that surprises everyone. It’s time to start an adventure that sparks your imagination and invites new friendships. Romance is on the rise.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Relax, enjoy, let the chips fall where they may. Put your heart and soul into exploring what brings you joy and discover something you love doing that can also offer prosperity. Turn your likes into new possibilities, and forge ahead with stamina, ingenuity, and a smile. Social and networking events are favored.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Be aware, leave nothing to chance. Be ready and able to pick up the slack if someone lets you down. Say less, listen more, read between the lines, and be prepared to do whatever it takes to take over and surpass your expectations. Rise above conflict by doing what you do best.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You are in a better position than you realize, so don’t slow down or give anyone a chance to step in and take over. Rise above conflict and let your precision and actions be your voice and your diligence when handling money and leading the way be your calling card.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The best improvements you can make are the ones you do yourself. Put a cap on spending, use your skills and creative imagination, and you’ll surprise everyone with your desired outcome while deterring those expecting failure to ponce. Keep your eye on the goal and any competition you encounter.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Take the initiative and implement your plans. Plan every detail and enjoy turning something you desire into a reality. Make financial changes that offer peace of mind, security, and the opportunity to achieve something you long for. Be true to yourself, and you’ll find the happiness you seek.
Birthday Baby: You are intuitive, grateful, and persuasive. You are considerate and effective.
ND WOMEN’S LACROSSE
Irish look to bounce back over the weekend
By CHRIS DAILEY Sports Writer
On Friday, the 2-2 Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team will travel to Durham, North Carolina, as it squares off against No. 21 Duke (2-2). The Irish will then embark on a 30-minute trip northwest to Burlington, North Carolina, for a game against Elon on Sunday.
Looking to rebound
Notre Dame is fresh off a heartbreaking, 12-11 loss against No. 19 Clemson in its ACC opener. The one-goal loss was its second of the year, the first coming away to No. 2 Northwestern on Feb. 7.
The Irish showed immense resilience in their bout against the Tigers. Notre Dame was slow out of the gate and Clemson capitalized, resulting in an early 3-0 lead. Led by star freshman midfielder Madison Rassas’ hat trick, the Irish kept chipping away in pursuit of a lead. Sophomore Kate Timarky cut the deficit to two with 10 seconds left in the first half. Then, a goal-scoring barrage ensued as Notre Dame scored three goals to open the second half, finding itself in an 8-7 lead. However, some defensive mistakes in the fourth quarter allowed Clemson to gain momentum and restore its lead with one minute left. The Irish fired back with 10 seconds left, but their game-tying goal was called back for offsides. The Tigers stormed the field as they celebrated their biggest win in program history. As it heads to North Carolina, Notre Dame is aiming to rebound by picking up a top-25 win against Duke and an out-of-conference victory over Elon.
Duke preview Notre Dame vs. Duke always draws high expectations. The two programs both hold strong history with one another. Last year,
the Irish got the better of the Blue Devils in a 19-7 triumph on Senior Day. The game also marked head coach Christine Halfpenny’s program-record 148th career win.
This year, the tides have shifted as both teams find themselves in similar positions despite different roster makeups. The Irish have filled out their roster with 19 underclassmen after losing 17 seniors and graduates from last season. The underclassmen have stepped up to the plate. Rassas’ 13 goals place her as the leading freshman goal-scorer in the country. Sophomore Megan O’Hare has totaled 10 ground balls. The contributions from the younger players have been integral to Notre Dame’s fight in its two losses against top teams in the country. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils’ story is strikingly similar. The team competed valiantly but has lost its two ranked matchups this year: No. 10 Johns Hopkins and No. 1 Boston College. However, contrary to the Irish, the Blue Devils are led by upperclassmen.
Senior Carly Bernstein and graduate senior Callie Hem have both tallied 11 goals this year. Hem, a transfer from Harvard, has fit in seamlessly with Duke’s attack after a dominant four years in the Ivy League.
Duke seeks to secure its first win against Notre Dame since 2022, although Notre Dame won the reverse fixture in the first round of the ACC Tournament. With how similar the two teams’ seasons have gone thus far, a fairly even matchup is expected to take place. One thing is for certain, however: the game will be a hard-fought battle as both programs seek their first ranked win of the year.
Elon preview
After two big losses to start the year to Duke and Virginia Tech, Elon is on a roll. The Phoenix are entering the game off the back
of 17-6 and 12-7 wins over VCU and East Carolina, respectively. Redshirt freshman Ana Lee Vandiver is the player to watch for Elon. She started the season off strong with a hat trick against Duke and just recorded her second hat trick of the year against Eastern Carolina. Vandiver’s efficiency has been remarkable. With only 10 shots on goal all year, she
has converted seven times. Defensively, Elon is not to be taken lightly. Its defensive unit caused 11 turnovers against East Carolina. Notre Dame holds the advantage in size and speed, but Sunday should pose an interesting matchup against a team which has something to prove. In order to break down Elon, the Irish will need to control the draw circle.
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Duke’s 20-6 record in the draw circle against Elon dragged it out of the game, and Notre Dame will need to imitate that game plan. Both games will be broadcast live on the ACC Network. Face-off is set for 2 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Sunday.
Contact Chris Dailey at cdailey2@nd.edu
DECLAN LEE | The Observer
Junior attacker Emma Murphy jumps to catch a pass in Notre Dame’s 20-7 victory over Central Michigan in Loftus Sports Center on February 9th, 2025. Murphy had a big game, tallying a hat trick of goals and an assist to help the Irish bounce back after an opening game loss on the road against then-No.2-ranked Northwestern and get their first win.
ND HOCKEY
Notre Dame prepares for Jeff Jackson’s finale
By RYAN MURPHY Sports Writer
At some point early in his career at Notre Dame, Jeff Jackson heard the band play “Damsha Bua” and was not happy about it.
The Irish had just scored a goal, and the Notre Dame hockey band was continuing its tradition of playing the song — also known as the “Victory Clog” — after every Irish goal, just as it does after every football touchdown.
But Jackson wasn’t going to hear it. It didn’t matter if he was in the middle of coaching a game. It didn’t matter if he had line changes to attend to, coaching adjustments to make or any of the normal business of a college hockey head coach. Mid-game, he sent word to the band: play the Victory March instead.
“I said somebody’s got to tell them that the fight song is an identity of this university … it’s the greatest fight song in the world, so why not play it? Why not show it off?” Jackson said.
And so, off the ice, the band played the Victory March. And on the ice, under Jackson’s watchful eye, the Irish went marching onward to victory — 417 of them, to be precise.
It is that level of detail, that sort precision of vision, that kind of care and attention to the identity and potential of the University of Notre Dame that enabled Jeff Jackson to lead a once-wandering Irish hockey program to new heights: four Frozen Fours, two Big Ten Tournament championships and so much more.
Now, as Notre Dame’s winningest all-time hockey coach
takes the bench for his last home series this weekend against No. 3 Michigan State, the manner and volume of success Jackson brought to Notre Dame will receive rightful praise. But like any good hockey tale, the successes on the ice makes up just a fraction of the story. This weekend, the venue these games are played in, the faces in the stands and the teams on both benches will tell more about a full career in hockey than any win-loss record ever could … even if that record is an impressive 599-339-99.
What Jackson has done for hockey at the University of Notre Dame is best embodied by the building housing his final two games behind the bench — Compton Family Ice Arena. The arena is a far cry from where students first played hockey on campus in the 1920s, on a frozen bog just next to Badin Hall. The program that calls it home now has been through trials — forgotten for nearly 40 years, revived by former head coach Lefty Smith in the 1960s, removed from varsity status in the 1980s and revived again by Smith only to struggle to find success and legitimacy in the hockey world while playing at the Joyce Center.
The impetus brought by Jackson helped change things. While he will credit former athletic director Jack Swarbrick and the Compton family themselves (and much credit is due to each), no one can ignore the role Jackson played in the building of Compton Family Ice Arena. After leading the Irish to two Frozen Four appearances and five winning seasons in seven years, Jackson ushered in a
new era of Notre Dame hockey with the opening of the building in 2011.
The moments that have played out within its walls — including its dedication game against Boston College in 2011 and Big Ten Tournament title games against Ohio State in 2018 and Penn State in 2019 — serve as confirmation of Jackson’s vision for Notre Dame hockey and a foundation for what it can be going forward.
“When we won that game [against Penn State in 2019], just the crowd and the band, is what I anticipated when I started here, is what I thought Notre Dame could become in hockey. And we were there. I mean, we were there for a long period of time. Probably 17 of my 20 years, we were there,” Jackson said.
While the physical setting of this weekend’s games against Michigan State helps to tell the story of those 20 years Jackson has spent at Notre Dame, the faces that will be among the crowd illuminate the arc of his career in hockey. That arc began over 40 years ago and includes two national championships as head coach at Lake Superior State and gigs with the U.S. National Team Development Program, the OHL’s Guelph Storm, the NHL’s New York Islanders and Notre Dame.
“Almost every stop I’ve had, there’s great memories,” Jackson said. “But, you know, the great thing about coaching at this level, or frankly any level, is the relationships you develop and, not just with players, but with staff.”
Many of those players and staff will be on hand this weekend. Saturday night,
Notre Dame hockey will host “Alumni Night” to celebrate Jackson’s last home game. Demonstrating the enduring nature of Jackson’s relationships, it won’t only be Notre Dame alumni in attendance.
A handful of Jackson’s players from his time at Lake Superior State are coming to South Bend to see their former coach in action.
“[I’m] especially close with a lot of my goalies because I coached the goalies separately all the time, and [I’m] probably a little closer to a number of my captains because of more regular or consistent communication with them,” he said.
One of those captains is the man who will take over Jackson’s position as head coach next year. Brock Sheahan was an alternate captain his senior year, Jackson’s third at Notre Dame. Jackson kept up with Sheahan’s rise through the coaching ranks after his playing days ended, eventually adding him to his staff as associate head coach Then, in a joint pressrelease last summer, the University announced that Jackson would step down and Sheahan would take over head coaching duties at the end of this season.
“For me, it’s about moments and it’s about people,” Jackson said. “Those are the things that I’ll look at as my legacy, and Brock is one of them.”
The teams on the ice this weekend represent one last look at that legacy. It seems like serendipity that Jackson’s final home series matches Notre Dame up against his alma mater, Michigan State.
“Yeah, I’ve gone full circle
with that,” Jackson chuckled. The full circle may feel slightly twisted, though. With Jackson sitting at 599 career wins, the Spartans (22-6-4, 13-5-4 Big Ten) are the only force that stands between Jackson and reaching a milestone 600th win at home. One of the country’s best teams, Michigan State needs wins this weekend badly. The Spartans have stumbled slightly of late, and last weekend’s pair of regulation and shootout losses to No. 15 Penn State dropped Michigan State out of first place in the Big Ten. The Spartans have not swept a Big Ten series since the first weekend in January.
It’s up to a Notre Dame team (10-21-1, 4-17-1 Big Ten) that has endured Jackson’s worst season as head coach to prevent the Spartans from doing just that. Firmly in last place in the Big Ten, the Irish snapped a five-game losing streak last Saturday by besting Wisconsin 6-1. If Notre Dame can build on its best performance of the season in Madison with a win, it will deliver a 600th win for Jackson that summarizes the legacy this weekend is all about.
“For me, the legacy is about leaving the program in a better place than I found it. And even though we’ve had a little bit of a tougher year, selfishly, I wanted to be around these kids one more year and be around our staff,” he said.
Regardless of this year’s final record, there’s no doubt Jackson has indeed left the program better than he found it, marching onward to victory.
Contact Ryan Murphy at rmurph22@nd.edu
On the mound, Notre Dame can expect to face junior right-hander Will Pryor on Friday. Last year’s team leader in strikeouts fared well against Kentucky last week, punching out four and allowing one earned run in six innings of a game Belmont lost 2-1. Joe Ruzicka, a junior righthander and an All-Missouri Valley Conference Honorable Mention last year, should go on Saturday. He struggled against Kentucky, giving up five runs in four innings. Redshirt sophomore right-hander Jake Timbes, who hasn’t yet pitched into the fourth inning, has started each of Belmont’s first two Sunday games.
Notre Dame has faced Belmont just once previously, defeating the Bruins at a neutral site in Georgia in 2015. The Irish will play ball this weekend at 5 p.m. on Friday and at 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu
ND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Irish drop second straight against Florida State
By BEN HICKS Sports Writer
Following Sunday’s heartbreaking double-overtime defeat in Raleigh to NC State, No. 3 Notre Dame women’s basketball was back in South Bend for their 10th ranked showdown of the season. The stakes remained high for head coach Niele Ivey’s Irish in the regular season’s penultimate game, as a win over the visiting No. 24 Florida State Seminoles would clinch a share of the ACC regular season championship, as well as move the team one step closer to locking up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Thursday’s contest also marked Senior Night, with the program honoring its star-studded senior class prior to tip-off. Headlined by the trio of Sonia Citron, Olivia Miles and Maddy Westbeld, the class of seven helped usher in the Ivey era with a record of 113-35, coupled with March success by qualifying for three consecutive Sweet 16s.
Another key storyline heading into this key February affair would be the battle between the nation’s two leading scorers. Ta’Niya Latson, a junior guard from Miami, leads the country averaging over 26 points per game, while playing less than 30 minutes a night. The Naismith Player of the Year candidate, who returned Thursday after absences in FSU’s last three outings, has averaged over 21 points per game in each of her three seasons in Tallahassee. Her improved shooting splits of 48/39/82 have
guided the Seminoles to the nation’s second best scoring offense at over 89 points per game.
The Irish also have a do-it-all guard in the backcourt to pair with Miles, as New Jersey native Hannah Hidalgo has emerged as Notre Dame’s leader on both ends of the floor in her second season. Hidalgo, the frontrunner for the Naismith Player of the Year, has compiled averages of nearly 25 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Throughout the opening period, the Irish deployed a mix of man-toman and zone defense, throwing the high-powered Seminole attack out of sync as they missed eight of their first nine shots. Westbeld and Hidalgo teamed up to score the first nine points of the evening for Notre Dame, which combined with the stifling defense allowed the Irish to race out a 23-14 advantage after one.
Graduate forward Liatu King, who has served as ND’s spark plug all season long, ignited the sold out crowd inside Purcell Pavilion to start the second quarter. King’s energetic play on both ends assisted in the Irish opening up a 15-point lead before FSU was forced to take a timeout.
Junior guard Sydney Bowles then canned consecutive treys to kick off a rapid 10-0 Seminole surge, which caused Ivey to burn a timeout of her own with the score sitting at 29-24.
As was the story in Sunday’s loss to the Wolfpack, the Notre Dame defense couldn’t stop the bleeding, as the Florida State run eventually ballooned to 28-3 with the Garnet
and Gold opening up a seven-point edge. Despite the Irish connecting on their final three shots of the half, and limiting Latson to just four points on 1-8 shooting, Florida State entered the intermission holding a 44-40 lead.
Thanks in part to 11 offensive rebounds and seven forced turnovers, the Seminoles took nine more shots than the Irish in the first half. Senior forward Makayla Timpson led FSU with 10 first-half points, while Hidalgo led Notre Dame with 11.
It wasn’t an ideal start to the second half on the frontline for Notre Dame, as Westbeld picked up two quick fouls down low to give her four on the night, leading to an extended 13-minute stay on the bench. In her absence, King stepped up again, as she teamed up with Citron to engineer a 7-0 run to give Notre Dame the lead back.
That lead would quickly dissolve however, as Florida State once again responded with a 10-0 surge of their own. After raining down eight triples over the first 20 minutes, the Seminoles couldn’t buy one until a quick-trigger wing three from sophomore guard Carla Viegas extended the lead to 10 heading into the fourth. It was the fourth trey of the day for Viegas, the native of Spain who leads the ACC converting on over 45% of her attempts from downtown.
Notre Dame started the fourth on fire, with a 9-0 run bringing them as close as one. Despite her struggles, Latson finally made a big play, converting a tough and-one finish over
Miles to push the Seminole lead back to six at the game’s final media timeout. The nail in the Irish coffin came with three minutes to play, when Latson finished through contact for her second and-one of the quarter, before rebounding her own free throw miss and laying it back in. A Miles turnover led to another Latson layup, and the Seminoles held their largest lead of the night at 82-70.
Notre Dame would make one final push, but it proved to be too late, as the Seminoles escaped with the 86-81 victory. The triumph was only the second time Florida State has ever bested Notre Dame, and also gave the Irish their first home loss in over a year, spanning all the way back to last Feb. 15, when NC State picked up a 59-43 win.
Latson scored 18 in the second half, including 13 in the fourth to finish with 23 points, nine assists and five rebounds in her return. Timpson added an efficient 22 points, while senior guard O’Mariah Gordon tallied 15 to complement Vargas’ 12 for the Seminoles in double-figures.
Hidalgo managed 16 points, but her shooting woes continued as her inability to hit key shots plagued the Irish down the stretch, finishing just 4-18 from the field. Continuing on her weekend heroics, Citron led the team with 21, while Miles tallied 10 points, six assists and four rebounds. King, the Pittsburgh transfer, recorded her 12th doubledouble on the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Notre Dame, the ACC’s best
rebounding team, was outworked on the glass with Florida State, who ranked 16th in the ACC in rebounding margin, controlling the battle 43-40.
After completing their secondstraight top-20 road win, the surging Seminoles will close out the regular season on Sunday by welcoming No. 17 Duke to Tallahassee. Fourth-year head coach Brooke Wyckoff, who shined in the WNBA after a decorated playing career in Tallahassee, now holds 11 top-25 wins in her tenure leading her alma mater. A win over the Blue Devils could secure the coveted doublebye for Florida State in the upcoming ACC Tournament.
The Irish will close out the regular season this Sunday when they welcome ESPN’s College GameDay and the Louisville Cardinals to town for a matinee top-25 contest. After NC State’s win on Thursday, a Notre Dame win can clinch only a share of the ACC crown. In order to capture their first outright title since the 2022-23 season, the Irish will need last-placed SMU to topple NC State on Sunday afternoon.
In what has developed into a tightly contested rivalry between the ACC’s two premier programs, Notre Dame mounted a charging comeback to capture the first meeting of the year in Louisville 89-71 back on Feb. 2. Saturday’s regularseason finale is set for a noon tipoff and can be seen nationally on ESPN.
Contact Ben Hicks at bhicks2@nd.edu
Irish take on Belmont in final pre-ACC series
By TYLER REIDY Sports Editor
Four games remain until Notre Dame baseball, currently at 5-1, enters the gauntlet known as the ACC schedule. The Irish, before taking on Eastern Michigan in Wednesday’s home opener, will travel to Nashville and battle Belmont in their last non-conference weekend series until May.
Notre Dame’s 5-1 mark is its best through a season’s first six games since Shawn Stiffler arrived as head coach in 2023. After taking two out of three games on opening weekend at North Florida, the Irish swept last weekend’s Stetson Tournament, defeating Iowa in 11 innings before blowing out UMBC and Stetson.
Irish pitching, which has outputted a respectable earned run average of 3.63 thus far, starred last weekend by conceding only five
runs across 28 innings. Freshman right-hander Jack Radel delivered again on Friday against the Hawkeyes, twirling five innings of one-run baseball. His opposing batting average sits at an impressive .129 through two starts. The success of graduate righty Jackson Dennies on Saturdays has been a huge development, as the burly Louisianan turned 5.1 walk-free innings with eight strikeouts against UMBC. Junior right-hander Rory Fox was perfect behind him on Sunday, striking out four and allowing zero baserunners against Stetson.
The Irish bullpen was good, too, particularly in Friday’s close win. Senior Ricky Reeth, freshman Chase Van Ameyde and graduate student Tobey McDonough combined to toss five scoreless frames with the game tied 1-1 before McDonough sealed the win in the 11th. Van Ameyde and
McDonough returned on Sunday to deal three scoreless innings, with freshman Kellan Klosterman punching out three in a shutout frame between them.
Six games into last season, the Irish had given up 40 runs. This year, they’ve allowed only 22.
While returners have mostly anchored Notre Dame’s pitching staff, newcomers have driven its offense. Freshman infielders Bino Watters and Parker Brzustewicz are two of the team’s top three run producers with six and five runs batted in, respectively. Brzustewicz has multiple hits in all three games at Stetson, while Watters bounced back from an 0-for-5 on Friday to collect three hits on Sunday. Graduate outfielder Jared Zimbardo, who moved into the leadoff spot on Saturday, has also made an impact since coming over from Quinnipiac University. He reached base multiple times in each game over the weekend and
has a slash line of .429/.538/.476 with a team-high three stolen bases through six games.
Junior shortstop Estevan Moreno, the team’s top position player entering the season, had an 0-for-13 weekend, but he’ll be happy to see the calendar flipping to March on Saturday. Last year, he posted two games with three home runs within the first five days of March.
Belmont’s bad start
A road sweep shouldn’t be out of the question this weekend for Notre Dame. The Bruins, since winning the Ohio Valley Conference’s regular-season title, have been mediocre, and that’s continued into the first two weeks of 2025. Belmont lost each of its first seven games to start head coach Dave Jarvis’s 28th season, getting swept at home by Kentucky. However, the Bruins got on the board with Tuesday’s 14-9 victory at Lipscomb.
In Tuesday’s Battle of the Boulevard victory in Nashville, the Bruins started fast with multiple runs scored in each of the first three innings. Each of Belmont’s nine hitters reached base, with third and fourth hitters Ty Allen and Landon Godsey doing serious damage at the plate. The two each went deep, combining for seven hits, nine RBIs and four runs scored to push the Bruins over the top. Belmont’s pitching and defense, however, were spotty, as the Bisons produced nine runs on 11 hits, six walks and three Belmont errors.
Overall, Allen as a sophomore leads the Bruins in a number of categories, including batting average (.394), on-base percentage (.444), slugging percentage (.727), hits (13), home runs (three), RBIs (11) and runs scored (eight). Pete Daniel and Godsey, one of the
