Print Edition for The Observer for Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Construction begins on Main Circle
The new design will be a tribute to the contributions of women at Notre Dame
By ZACK POHLMAN Associate News Editor
The iconic view of the Main Building’s golden dome from Notre Dame Avenue has been disrupted in recent weeks for Main Circle’s anticipated refresh. Construction began over spring break on the second phase of the Notre Dame Avenue construction project, which is expected to be completed by September 2025.
The project was announced in 2022 as part of the University’s celebration of 50 years of undergraduate women at Notre Dame and is currently in its second phase.
“Last summer, the first phase of construction was completed, which involved replacing the perimeter sidewalks, enhancing the perimeter landscape and replacing the driveway and curbs,” University architect
Doug Marsh wrote in a statement to The Observer.
Phase two of the redesign focuses on the interior of the circle, which has been completely gutted with the exception of a lone sycamore tree. As part of the project, landscaping will return to the space in the form of flowers, shrubs and trees.
“The current work involves the installation of a new storm water sewer connection that will enhance the storm water management system serving this region of campus,” Marsh wrote.
Marsh estimated the utility work would be completed next week, after which focus will shift to the new look of Main Circle.
The new design is intended to honor the impact that women have had on the University “The
see CIRCLE PAGE 4
SMC speaker receives backlash
By SAMANTHA GEBERT and SOLEDAD CASTELLANOS Staff Writers
The selection of former president of Ireland Mary McAleese as the commencement speaker for the Saint Mary’s College class of 2025 was announced to students via email March 6. Since then, both Belles for
Life and The Loretto Trust have made statements calling for McAleese’s offer to be rescinded, with the former calling her invitation “a grave scandal to the Catholic faith.”
In the email, Saint Mary’s College President Katie Conboy explained that McAleese, who served as president from
Student pair launches ticket resale startup
By MEGAN CORNELL Staff Writer
Sophomore Rafael Labuto’s vision for a better way to buy resale tickets came to life after he took his ideas to Notre Dame’s Idea Center. His startup, myTickets, created in partnership with Kenan Wursthorn, will launch next week and offer fans a way to purchase resale tickets at lower prices for a wide range of events.
Wursthorn, a member of Notre Dame’s ESTEEM graduate program, is both Labuto’s co-founder and the startup’s CEO, while Labuto will serve as the COO. Labuto explained that they met through the Idea Center, whose mission is “bringing Notre Dame’s best ideas to market” by providing commercialization and entrepreneurial resources.
Ban and Kaio Lucas, who works in development.
Labuto and Wursthorn shared that they have additionally worked with “wellknown venture capitalist in the Notre Dame ecosystem” Tim Connors.
Wursthorn and Labuto identified the ticket resale industry as a space with lots of potential for improvement, noting that fans looking to buy resale tickets to concerts or sports games often pay hefty fees and have difficulty finding cheap tickets. To alleviate this issue, they developed myTickets, which will allow users to purchase tickets with minimal fees.
“Our mission is to create a better product that people actually enjoy using with features that help them secure better deals,” Wursthorn said.
entered the McCloskey NewVenture competition, where startups pitch their ideas to potential investors and compete for funding. They also entered the Idea Center’s Race to Revenue program, a summer startup accelerator where founders work on their businesses full time.
Afterwards, the group focused on raising funding.
“We started with our family and friends, and we raised about $17k that way. We had a couple angels come on … and we’ve also worked with Platform Venture Studios and Elevate Ventures, which is what gets us to the $282k mark,” Wursthorn said.
After finalizing the website’s development, the team made their service available for the College Football Playoff to test the see SPEAKER PAGE 4
Their team also includes Notre Dame alum Jerrick
After coming up with the idea, the myTickets team
see STARTUP PAGE 3
ZACK POHLMAN | The Observer
The changes to Main Circle’s interior include the installation of a new storm water sewer connection, incorporating flowers, trees and shrubs, as well as the addition of a seating area with a view of the dome.
MONICA VILLAGOMEZ MENDEZ | The Observer
Mary McAleese is the former president of Ireland. McAleese will be the commencement speaker for Saint Mary’s College 2025 May ceremony.
Jillian Skurski sophomore McCandless Hall “Debart.”
Today’s Staff
News
Sophie Hanawalt
Megan Cornell
Maria Clara Corona
Graphics
Isabelle Rutland
Photo Mary Taddonio
Corrections
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Ben Hicks
Henry Lyle
Scene
Ayden Kowalski
Viewpoint
Abby Hernan
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.
With the warmer, although short-lived, spring temperatures in South Bend, ND students have engaged in several outdoor activities, including reading outdoors, lounging on the grass, basking in the sun and playing games, such as pickle ball, on South Quad. Want your event
Wednesday
The Future of
Democracy in Europe
1030 Jenkins Nanovic
12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Lecture and dialogue with Mark Gitenstein.
SMAC Chat
310 O’ Shag
5 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Lecture with Eugene Lee on the NFL and its opportunities.
Thursday
Talk Justice, Eat Tacos
Coleman-Morse
6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Podcast-style chats on foreign aid.
Sweet Sixteen Game
Watch
Midfield Commons
7 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Join the GRC in watching basketball.
Friday
Global Health Day Symposium
Jordan Hall of Science
1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Presentations on health advocacy.
Hamlet
DPAC
7:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Actors from the London Stage present Shakespeare’s play.
Saturday
Overcoming Spiritual Discouragement
Coleman-Morse
9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Long day reatreat led by Fr. Gallagher.
Screen Free Shared
Wak
St. Liam Hall
10:30 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.
Discussion questions and bagels provided.
Sunday
The Video Game
Olympics
2025
Dahnke Ballroom
2 p.m. - 8 p.m. Teams compete in several video games.
Sunday Mass Basilica of the Sacred Heart
10 a.m
Join the Notre Dame community in prayer.
MARY TADDONIO |
Connected Care Club serves local hospital
By SAMANTHA GEBERT
Staff Writer
Connected Care Club, a new club at Saint Mary’s College, held its first event Sunday in The Science Hall. The event focused on making blankets while providing food and music to students. The blankets will be donated to children in the pediatrics unit at Beacon Memorial Hospital.
The blankets were classic fleece tie blankets, where students can cut around the border of two pieces of fabric and tie them together, without any sewing necessary. The blankets were made from several different colors and designs, ranging from flowers to dinosaurs.
Junior Makenna Schroeder, one of the board members of the club, said she hopes the organization can incorporate a variety of fields at Saint Mary’s to help patients in nearby hospitals. She explained how the club aims to focus on the concept of interdisciplinary healthcare, which aims to provide better quality of care and support
Startup
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
idea and learn how to improve their product.
“It was very exciting for us as a business and also for us as Notre Dame. We learned a lot through the experience about the industry and the different players, as well as our customers and what they want,” Wursthorn said.
After their initial launch, the team worked to improve their product by
to patients.
“Our goal is to bring together different healthcare disciplines, especially the healthcare majors at Saint Mary’s College, to talk about benefiting patient well-being through the interdisciplinary approach to healthcare,”
Schroeder said.
The club’s board members have several different majors, including nursing, biology, psychology, neurobiology and speech-language pathology.
Attendees at the event had varying majors apart from health sciences, including business and sociology.
In total, 15 people attended the event.
Several students said that they came to support the new club on campus. They also said that the event was enjoyable.
“They had free food and just a great environment.
The blanket making for the kids has been a lot of fun,”
junior Theresa Farnum said.
Junior Jenny Helmer said she connected with the club’s purpose.
“I wanted to show up to give my support for a club that is advocating for such a vital cause. I wanted to support this new club
incorporating an auto-buy feature. Wursthorn explained that this feature utilizes bots that scrape ticket websites for cheap seats and automatically purchase them to resell on the myTickets website.
“The way it works is you select a couple sections on a seat map that you’d be interested in attending, then you pick a price that you’re comfortable paying. As prices fluctuate, if a good deal becomes available on our site, we automatically purchase it
that really prioritizes an interdisciplinary team for patients and advocates for relationships between all care providers and the family and friends of a patient, making it a very holistic approach to care,” junior Jenny Helmer said.
Sophomore Samantha McGrath, a speechlanguage pathology
for that person,” he said.
The team is also working on a price comparison feature.
“The idea here is, if you go to our site, you click a drop down on a ticket that you’re interested in and what it would cost you from StubHub and Seat Geek. What we’re doing here is showing fans two things. One, if they’re getting a good deal with our lower fees.
We think we’ll be able to give fans a better deal. But even if we’re not, even if for some reason StubHub has
representative for the club, said that she chose to be part of the club because of its mission. She hopes the club can bring more interconnectedness across the campus and further patient representation.
“I chose to be a part of the Connected Care Club to just spread awarenes of interdisciplinary
better pricing, we’ll show them where the prices are best, consistent with our mission,” Wursthorn said.
The co-founders shared that the updated myTickets platform should launch next week, where users will be able to purchase tickets to thousands of events including Notre Dame and other colleges’ athletics as well as concerts across the country.
Contact Megan Cornell at mcornell@nd.edu
healthcare, to not only unite us while we’re on campus, but to take these connections post-grad as well… remembering to care for the whole patient and not just piece by piece,” McGrath said.
Contact Samantha Gebert at sgebert01@saintmarys.edu
SAMANTHA GEBERT| The Observer
The Connected Care Club at Saint Mary’s College held its first event this past Sunday in the Science Hall. Participants cut and tied fleece blankets for children in the pediatrics unit at Beacon Memorial Hospital.
Speaker
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
1997 to 2011, is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an international network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers. Conboy added that McAleese is a recipient of numerous honors, including the American Ireland Humanitarian Award and the Tipperary Peace Prize.
“She has continued to build bridges as an advocate for justice, particularly around issues important to women,” Conboy wrote.
McAleese previously spoke at the College for an event sponsored by the Center for Women’s Intercultural Leadership in 2015.
In an interview with The Observer, Belles for Life president Jocelyn Porter and vice president Lydia Poe acknowledged McAleese’s accomplishments, but shared they don’t believe she is the ideal person for a commencement address.
“When we first received that email announcing the speakers and the honorary degrees, I didn’t recognize many names mentioned. A friend of mine actually sent me some information after doing a quick Google search of Dr. Mary McAleese, and I was like ‘Oh that’s a little concerning’ and again didn’t think much of it,” Porter said. “Later I was like let me actually look into this, so over spring break me and vice president Lydia did some deep diving on all of her stances on everything, realizing that this was deeply concerning.”
She shared that after this research, the executive board, which consists of Porter and Poe, felt called to respond.
The club sent a two-page letter to Conboy March 14 calling for the rescinding of McAleese’s offer to speak. Porter shared that both her and Poe drafted and published the letter, which was made available to club members shortly after being sent to Conboy.
The letter, which makes references to the decision to have M. Shawn Copeland speak at the 2022 commencement ceremony, reads, “The College has invited these speakers under the guise of academic freedom, female empowerment, exploration of thought and diversity. However the reality is far more concerning; these speakers [Copeland and McAleese] have only continued to perpetuate the ‘Anti-Catholic’ Church systemic bias growing increasingly prevalent on our campus.”
[Editor’s note: this letter was also published as a letter to the editor in The Observer.]
The letter cites McAleese’s support of expanding abortion access, samesex marriage and women’s
ordination to the priesthood as reasoning towards her being unfit to speak at commencement, highlighting her voting to repeal Ireland’s eighth amendment, which legalized abortion across the country.
Both Porter and Poe shared that they feel the traditional Catholic voice is heard on campus. However, Porter said that “It just seems to be a little one sided, at least from our perspective. We talk about getting diversity of thought and getting all the perspectives as a liberal arts college, but it’s just concerning that it feels like the traditional, Catholic approach is not typically introduced in the form of speakers invited to campus.”
“The fact of the matter is I think with a lot of the professors on campus and administration, they like to push an agenda, more so of inclusivity and diversity, opposed to Catholicism. And of course, Catholicism encompasses that, but we can’t exchange diversity and inclusion for Catholic teaching,” Poe shared.
“I think that’s fantastic to have diverse ideas out there, but our biggest problem is us the college giving her an honorary degree and promoting her as an honorary role model. As Katie Conboy said in her email, we should look to her as a role model, and that’s just something I can’t get behind,” Poe said.
The Loretto Trust, a nonprofit organization which aims to preserve Saint Mary’s Catholic identity by acting as a source of information for the College’s alumnae, sent a similar letter to Conboy on March 15.
The Loretto Trust’s leadership, headed by president Linda Van Eck Shepard, maintained in the letter that inviting her to speak at commencement, “sends a scandalous message to students that one can actively oppose Church teachings while still being celebrated by a Catholic institution.”
The letter highlighted instances where McAleese has voiced opposition to Catholic Church teachings, such as her stance on infant baptism as disregarding “their personal autonomy and fundamental human rights.”
The Loretto Trust’s leadership noted that since receiving her doctorate in canon law, she declared her mission has been to “spend her retirement challenging the Catholic Church.”
The Trust’s statement, made available on their website, was reported on by The National Catholic Register.
Contact Samantha Gebert at sgebert01@saintmarys.edu and Soledad Castellanos at scastellanos01@saintmarys.edu
re-imaging of the Main Circle will be a tribute at the heart of our campus to the ways in which these women have inspired, led and enriched us,” former University President Fr. John Jenkins said in reference to women who have contributed to the Notre Dame community in the 2022 press release.
Improvements to Main Circle will include a circular seat wall from which to sit and view campus. According to Marsh, the Our Lady of the University statue will return to the circle, but in a slightly different location.
“[The statue] will be moved to the north side of the Circle, so visitors will be able to view the front of the statue from within the Circle,” wrote
Marsh.
The statue was sculpted by Fr. Anthony Lauck, C.S.C., an art professor at Notre Dame from 1950 to 1973.
The renovations align with the University’s campus plan, which was most recently updated in 2024. The plan includes seven tenets for campus planning, which are to be considered before any construction plans at the University take effect.
The sixth tenet states that “Notre Dame Avenue will always be the ceremonial approach to the campus with an unequivocal sense of arrival marked by a traditional campus entrance.”
The idea of Notre Dame Avenue as a grand entrance stems from the wishes of the University’s founder, Fr. Edward Sorin, C.S.C. From
this corridor, which, according to the plan, extends from the steps of the Main Building to Angela Boulevard on the south side of campus, pedestrians have a straight-shot view of the golden dome.
While the view from Main Circle may be temporarily obstructed by excavators, the construction is not expected to have any material effects on life on campus. Notre Dame Avenue will remain open to traffic throughout the process.
“When the work is completed, campus will experience a more welcoming, beautified Main Circle,” Marsh wrote. “We hope that the reconstructed Main Circle will draw more pedestrians to this reinvigorated space.”
Contact Zack Pohlman at zpohlma2@nd.edu
Wednesday, March
LIAM KELLY | The Observer
Former University President Fr. John Jenkins announced the circle’s resdesign was a tribute to women’s impact on the Notre Dame community in a 2022 press release about 50 years of women at the school.
Bumps, no’s and the road ahead
Bumps in my road, after which I not only survived but thrived:
In February, the senior class hosted the 100 Days Dance to celebrate (lament) the milestone of 100 days until graduation. Then, a couple of minutes passed, and yesterday my friend texted me an invitation to a 50-day party taking place this Friday.
I’m now putting my foot down and asking that nobody alert me of any other function named after the number of days we have left — I’d love to stay oblivious to this countdown.
Hovering around what I can now begrudgingly identify as the 50-day mark, I’ve been spending a lot of time on the 10th floor of Hes while eating a lot of ABP sandwiches, and I’ve been recasting my mind upon what’s most been occupying it recently. There’s been a pretty clear front-runner, and it’s something I normally don’t even choose to acknowledge — rejection.
There is a predictability in our conversations lately, similar to the predictability they had during our first weeks of freshman year. Back then, it was tirelessly reciting the “ND intro” consisting of dorm, major and hometown, the conversation most likely taking place in a packed dorm room characterized by the distinctive overstimulation of obnoxiously red LED lights, twenty simultaneous conversations over Mo Bamba playing from a JBL Flip placed atop a mini fridge and trying to remember that one classmate’s name from Moreau.
Now, it’s predictable in a much less exhilarating way — post-grad plans.
Through conversations with my peers, the variety in their paths is clear: grad school, full-time jobs, fellowships, service, uncertainty. Common themes seem to span contentment, indifference, confusion, excitement, doubts.
Rejection seems to stand out among these themes in that we all seem to be terrified of discussing it, despite the fact that everyone’s probably faced it at some point, and many of us are braving it now.
Last week, Notre Dame shared that it completed admissions for its newest class with an acceptance rate of 9%. Annually, these numbers come back around and remind us to appreciate being here — LED-lit dorm parties, ABP sandwiches and all. To recognize not only the yes that brought us to where we are now, but the no’s too — all those bumps in the road we may have thought were so very daunting.
1. The 1975’s synth angst, as it so often soundtracked my high school years, is blaring, but it’s not enough to drown out the nauseating doom I’m feeling. I’m trying to justify this doom, searching for some deeper rationale other than the simple email rejecting me from what I always thought was my dream school. Frankly, I’m not shocked, but I am devastated. I’ve poured four years into the IB diploma, buried my head in past papers and endured the learner profile being etched into my brain (inquirer, knowledgeable, thinker, communicator, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-taker, balanced). Most of the time, I identify with none of those things, maybe one or two on a good day. Maybe that’s why I’m staring at a rejection letter. I don’t leave my room for two days. At some point later, though, I’ll be writing love letters to a corner of northern Indiana.
2. Two months into my semester at college, I sit in a stuffy, fluorescently-lit DeBart classroom and try not to sob. In front of me is a returned midterm exam, and I’ve gotten a grade that’s by far the worst I’ve ever received in my life. I sprint back to McGlinn and immediately start spiraling. I’m going to fail out of Notre Dame. I’m going to fail out of my dream school 2.0. Forever, everyone, everywhere, was always going to know that I was well below the class median in my fundamentals of accounting abilities. I can’t stop obsessing over the number. In the single-stall bathroom at the end of the hallway on the fourth floor, I make it bigger and bigger. Spoiler: there will be worse exams.
This list is condensed to two for point-making and relatability purposes, but they span far longer — and while I would have guessed I would have obsessed over each item on the list forever, I haven’t thought about most of these things in ages.
I’m a born catastrophizer. Sometimes, when I come across a bump in the road, my instinctive response is to slam on the brakes and convince myself that the bump is actually a mountain, after which it is a cliff, after which there is simply no more road.
This tendency translates into several things. The first is that it can be difficult for me to detach from certain verdicts we encounter in life, the ones that involve facing a prognosis, a dichotomy, a yes or a no — rejection versus whatever its counterpart may be in a given situation
— acceptance, a job, a grade, a seat at the table. In the spirit of complete candor, ultimately, in said situation, the latter is often some form of validation.
The second is that while this candor might be jolting, I feel it gives me the credentials to offer my two cents on the matter. I’ve experienced several of these verdicts that landed on a no — rejections which, through my innate gift for catastrophizing, I dramatized, mourned, flipped out over, then ultimately accepted and came to peace with. In fact, I not only came to peace with them, but I also sometimes think that each rejection may have acted as a redirection of my life to alternative things that have actually been working out pretty great.
And yes, maybe it’s just me buying into a cliche, a coping mechanism.
But what if I told you that whatever you may be confronting right now doesn’t have anything to do with your intelligence, your kindness, your grit, your value? That it’s really just one extra step you’ve taken towards your next yes? What if I told you that a rejection does not define you?
I think that my friends are some of the smartest, coolest, most charming people in the entire world. And when they’re down about rejection, I’d happily be the first to tell them these things, and I’d do it so easily because I believe them to be true with my entire heart.
But for some reason, they can be so much harder to believe when I’m trying to tell them to myself. When I’m struggling with this, I like to think of the days I thought a no was the end of my road, when the bumps felt like mountains, and remind myself that I not only survived but thrived.
Maybe at this 50-day party, I will take an obnoxious amount of film photos of my friends and get emotional over how beautiful they are. Then, after that, it’s the great unknown filled with the whimsy of yes’s and no’s — arbitrary, meritocratic or whatever else.
What I’ll try to do is I’ll try to start cutting myself some slack. And you should, too, because for each no we’ll be up against, we have plenty of yeses under our belts already, and I know you’ve got people who’d vouch for you. Because, as it turns out, the bumps are just bumps.
Reyna Lim is a senior studying business analytics. Occasionally coherent and sometimes insightful, she enjoys sharing her unsolicited opinions. You can contact her at slim6@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Underqualified and overwhelmed
I have loved all of my experiences, something about the impermanence of internships just doesn’t sit right with me; I feel like no matter how many experiences I have, my resume never feels full enough.
progressed, I’ve begun to yearn for the days that I spent an entire Saturday thinking about football. Now, I spend them writing cover letters, corporate wardrobe shopping and anxiously spiraling about the future.
I have always thought that the spring semester feels much harder than the fall. My friends and I have come up with a lot of theories — we like to overload in the spring, we’re preparing to move out, we plan spring break vacations and we finalize summer plans. While the fall feels like living a new beginning, the spring is a time for planning for the future. The highlight of this planning, of course, is the summer internship (or job or class or study abroad or grad school prep or all of the above).
The summer experience question, of course, is difficult in more ways than one. For lots of students, a summer internship has the potential to ultimately become a job offer; this obviously puts a lot of pressure on finding that perfect opportunity with the ideal location, best prospects, good office culture, etc. For others, a summer position is an experience to help narrow down our career paths in the future or to work on an issue we’re passionate about; there can be stress to find funding, get another job on the side and discern whether we like and want to pursue what we’re doing.
I have, unfortunately, been living and breathing the internship search for the last several weeks. I’m completing an internship this semester, hoping to find one for over the summer and will be doing another one in the fall. Although
I, like many students I know, feel chronically underqualified. While I know rationally that my grades are good, I have lots of transferable and useful skills and I have almost infinite career resources at my disposal, I still feel a pit in my stomach with every application I submit.
I guess that part of the college student culture, and maybe even the Notre Dame culture, is that sense of “imposter syndrome;” it’s probably partially what drives us to constantly do better and makes us so successful. But sometimes, I feel that when I’m at my third LSAT prep event when everyone around me has been to 10 or when I’m at the dining hall when my friends are at their seventh club meeting of the week, that maybe it’s too much. Is the pressure we put on ourselves reasonable? Do we really need a new internship every semester, every summer, until we begin our permanent careers?
Maybe we do. The job market is getting worse and worse every year, after all, and the cost of tuition isn’t getting any lower. I wrote an article a few months ago, when I was still pretty new to Notre Dame, about our culture of “doing too much.” I was preoccupied last fall with studying while attending football games and maintaining a social life while finding time to rest. Now, I view our “doing too much” culture in a slightly different way. As the year has
In the world we live in, career stress is unavoidable. I can’t tell you to give yourself a break from the stress and remember to relax; this stuff is important and honestly could be life-changing. My solace is this: once upon a time, we were high schoolers stressing about college. College decisions felt life-altering, too, and they were; none of us would be the same person or have the same opportunities if we hadn’t gotten into Notre Dame. But we didn’t all get here at the same time, in the same way. The first time I applied to Notre Dame, I was waitlisted. I spent a year at another college and a year at home waiting tables before I found myself here. My path to college hasn’t been linear, and my career likely won’t be either.
Two years ago, I would have laughed if you told me I would one day attend Notre Dame. So, as a reminder to myself and to anyone else restlessly dwelling on their future right now, I will say this: don’t be discouraged. We will all get where we’re meant to be.
Sophia Anderson is a sophomore transfer at Notre Dame studying political science and planning to go to law school. You can contact her at sander38@nd.edu. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Sophia Anderson Transfer Tales
Reyna Lim
The Overshare
A letter regarding President Mary McAleese
We are writing to express our grave concern regarding the selection of former Irish President Mary McAleese as this year’s Commencement address speaker. As the Catholic, pro-life club at Saint Mary’s, it is our moral duty and responsibility to voice our objections to McAleese’s presence as a highlight of the 2025 graduation ceremony. Her public stances on critical moral and doctrinal issues, particularly those related to the sanctity of life, stand in stark opposition to Catholic doctrine.
While we acknowledge McAleese’s distinguished service as former president of Ireland and her contributions to peace-building, we are deeply troubled by her public position on critical issues that contradict Catholic teachings, particularly on abortion. Despite holding a doctorate in Canon Law, McAleese supports expanding abortion access, same-sex marriage and women’s ordination to the priesthood. Since retiring, she has pledged “to use whatever time is left to me” to push back against Church teachings on homosexuality and the role of women. She told The View, “What else am I going to do in retirement except make myself useful in that regard?”
We cannot, in good conscience, remain silent about a speaker who openly admitted she had “no hesitation” in voting to repeal Ireland’s eighth amendment, effectively legalizing abortion and denying the pre-born the right to life. During the
Synod on Synodality in Rome, McAleese spoke prominently at a counter-synod advocating for changes in Catholic doctrine on women’s ordination, same-sex marriage, gender ideology and abortion. Inviting someone whose views contradict core Church teachings on abortion and other issues risks compromising the College’s Catholic identity.
In light of Saint Mary’s national spotlight after the divisive 2023 admissions policy change, we have recognized a concerning pattern in speakers invited to campus since the beginning of your presidency. Many of these invited speakers, particularly M. Shawn Copeland, the 2022 Commencement speaker, have expressed views that are undoubtedly incompatible with the foundational doctrines of the Catholic faith. In her book “Enfleshing Freedom,” for instance, Copeland controversially suggests that Jesus “came out of the closet” on Easter Sunday to become the “queer” Christ. Although McAleese has visited campus before and is not the first prominent pro-abortion speaker invited, this does not excuse the fact that she and these other pro-abortion speakers are in opposition to Church teachings.
The College has invited these speakers under the guise of academic freedom, female empowerment, exploration of thought and diversity. However, the reality is far more concerning: these speakers have only continued to perpetuate the anti-Catholic
Church systemic bias growing increasingly prevalent on our campus. It is deeply disappointing that the College continues to host individuals like Copeland and McAleese, who openly contradict and deny core biblical teachings, fostering division rather than dialogue.
The Commencement speaker plays a crucial role in launching graduates into the world, inspiring them to live out the values of our beloved Catholic women’s college, with a strong focus on living out the Faith. McAleese’s invitation to speak and receive an honorary degree undermines this opportunity. It disregards the importance of selecting a speaker who reflects Catholic teachings and empowers graduates to face contemporary challenges through the lens of Catholic liberal arts education. Instead, the College has chosen someone whose views contradict those teachings, sending a dangerous message that departing from Church doctrine and denying others the right to life is empowering. Commencement speakers should be role models, not advocates for abandoning Catholic principles.
We sincerely urge President Conboy to reconsider her choice to invite Dr. Mary McAleese to Saint Mary’s to deliver the Commencement Address.
Belles For Life Mar. 14
Becoming a bookworm
I learned how to read very early on in life and became obsessed with it rather quickly. Always with a book in hand, little ol’ me knew from the get-go that literature would become a lifelong friend. Whether it was breakfast, lunch or dinner, I was constantly immersed in some mystical world, living vicariously through fictional characters.
This love affair continued until the very moment I got my hands on an iPhone. My obsession with reading dwindled significantly, and I only turned to books if necessary. It wasn’t until BookTok started to receive a lot of traction online that I realized just how long it had been since I picked up a book for no reason other than pure enjoyment.
Faced with this dilemma, I have made it a top priority to start reading for fun again this year — not only for the obvious benefits such as promoting
brain function and boosting creativity but because it is simply fun. The thrill of sitting down with a good book is one of life’s simple joys, and I have no interest in my phone addiction taking that away from me any longer than it already has. Thus, here are a few things I have made sure to keep in mind as I have been trekking on this journey to reading for fun again.
First and foremost, I think a lot of people forget that reading is supposed to be fun. If self-help books are your thing, more power to you, but I’m all about fiction. The places you go and the people you meet are all-consuming, much like the magic of the movies.
Another thing to remember is that books should be shared. There is such a massive reading community out there, and I would be lying if I said I haven’t always wanted to join a book club. The closest I’ve gotten to a real-life book club is Goodreads; however, I just recently made the switch over to StoryGraph. If you are an avid Strava user or Letterboxd guru, I can bet money that downloading a virtual reading
log will be right up your alley.
Here’s a random thought: reading is so much more than what book you’re enjoying — it’s also about where you’re enjoying it. Wrap me in a blanket or put me in a hammock, and I’ll be happily lost in a story, forever unbothered. Even treating yourself to a fun trinket like a reading light or a Kindle makes the experience that much better.
This might not be the best time to praise reading for fun, as we’re all probably reading a ton for other reasons, but if you can, I encourage you to pick up a new book in the foreseeable future. And then follow me on StoryGraph, I promise it’s so fun.
Moira Quinn is a senior at Saint Mary’s College studying communication. When she isn’t writing for The Observer, she can be found with friends, watching a good romantic comedy or missing her basset hound. You can contact Moira at mquinn02@saintmarys.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Moira Quinn Working Title
By SHEILA-MARIE MANYARA Scene Writer
Very rarely does a film manage to discuss complex and nuanced racial issues without being too preachy and still being clever, hilarious and witty. “American Fiction,“ winner of the 2024 Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, is one of those cases, catching my attention from its first trailer.
For some background, I enjoy critiquing and analyzing film and TV and linking screenwriting to larger societal issues. I have spent some time trying to write an essay on black stereotypes in film with a focus on the excessiveness of “black trauma” in media and the idea of creating a singular, generalized story of blackness.
“American Fiction“ focuses a lot on these themes as well. Its first trailer reveals the main plot of the film: Thelonious (Monk) Ellison, an African American writer, is struggling to write books that actually sell. His editor tells him that what many publishers want from him is a “black” book. He sees that bestselling black writers usually write books about uneducated black characters suffering and living in poverty. The book he finds most egregious is “We Lives in Da Ghetto” written by the fictional Sintara Golden, a book that Monk believes to contain typical black stereotypes — even though, as the movie points out, he never actually reads the whole book. As a joke, he creates a novel under the pseudonym “Stagg R. Leigh” called “My Pafology” (later changed to “F*ck”), an amalgamation of all the stereotypes of black stories: absentee fathers, lack of education, rappers, drugs and crime. To his surprise, this book ends up becoming a bestseller.
Many interpretations of the film are what’s on the surface: black creatives keep writing about trauma, and these are the stories that become expected from other black writers. But the film says a lot more than this. For one thing, Monk is not innocent. He criticizes the repetitive black stories he sees but
also puts down many lived experiences of black people in a somewhat snobbish manner. Also essential is that Monk is from the upper middle class. He is college educated with a PhD, and both his siblings are doctors. There are many times it seems that he feels a need to separate himself from the negative portrayals of black people — despite how real they sometimes are — because he is wealthier and more educated than those shown and doesn’t believe he should be lumped in with them. It’s a slippery slope that anyone, including black people, can fall into when critiquing African American stereotypes in art. To me, it felt like a cautionary tale as I write my own essay on black trauma: is my distaste for these kinds of stories based on the reduction of an entire race to these types, or does it highlight my own biases against people from a different group? Especially as I am black but not African American, do my artistic preferences reveal unintentional biases against African Americans I have so far failed to recognize?
When Monk meets Sintara Golden, they have a very interesting conversation about “F*ck” and “We Lives in Da Ghetto,” as well as the dilemma that black creatives face when writing stories. Sintara points out that “F*ck” is the kind of book that white audiences call important or powerful, but never wellwritten. She distances her book from “F*ck” saying that she actually did her research and interviewed the people she was writing about, so Monk should come off his “ivory tower” and remember some black people still have struggles. But Monk is quick to point out that Golden herself comes from a higher class, educated background and somewhat played up the suffering of low-income, less-educated black people in a manner that felt almost like ridicule and perpetuated racial stereotypes so she could “give the people what they want” and advance her career. However, even though it was done with different intentions, does Monk not do the same thing and receive financial benefits as well?
The film doesn’t place solving all these fundamental questions of representation on black creatives because it’s not all up to them. A large part of the film is spent criticising white audiences and executives who produce and consume these kinds of stories. It pokes fun at white critics and audiences who call black trauma films “important” and publishers who want to “uplift black stories” while only accepting those that fit into a specific box. Sintara doesn’t make an effort to change the perceptions of black people through her stories, but that shouldn’t have to be her job. And even if she were to write a non-racialized story, her books would probably suffer the same fate as Monk’s since that’s not the kind of “black story” that gains recognition. It might not be the kind of story that either Monk or Sintara wanted to write, but it’s the story that could sell. There are black stories that don’t have systemic oppression as their central themes, but how popular do they become — especially with white consumers and producers? I believe that even though times are changing and we’re starting to see more diverse stories, we tend to expect them to justify their existence. When a movie is released with a predominantly or all-black cast, many might question why the cast needed to be black. This creates a pressure to create a story centered on race to justify its existence. It’s important to note that despite it having a fresh take and being satirical, “American Fiction“ is still, in part, a story about African Americans centered on systemic oppression. Monk’s heartfelt family drama is the other major part of the film and was not necessarily advertised in the trailer. If it had been the focal point instead, would the film still have found its success? Or did we (myself included) only watch it for its racial critique? Did I perpetuate the pigeonholing of black storytelling potentials that I have been criticizing?
Contact Sheila-Marie Manyara at smanyara01@saintmarys.edu
By PETER MIKULSKI Scene Editor
More tri-campus students ought to give visiting the Lyric Opera of Chicago a try. In the era of the dreaded “Double Track” construction project on the South Shore Line, it used to take three hours by train and bus combined — and technically four hours if you were heading east because of the changing time zones — to get there, but now it’s just a simple trip of two hours.
And the institutions of classical music are so desperate to find young audiences as their aging patrons literally wither away that they tend to offer insane student discounts. If you sign up for NEXT, the Lyric’s student discount program, you can pretty easily pay $20 for what would otherwise be a $200 or even $300 seat. It makes for a convenient day trip, one a lot more opulent than it actually costs, and the music isn’t half bad either.
Four productions at the Lyric’s home in Chicago’s Civic
Opera House remain before the company breaks for the summer, although the works they’ll be performing next season have recently been announced. Here’s a quick look at what’s left this semester:
Giacomo Puccini’s “La Bohème” (March 15–April 12)
This production of Puccini’s iconic romantic (with a lowercase “r”) and Romantic (with a capital “r”) opera has been getting great reviews. If you’ve never seen an opera before, one of the six remaining performances of “La Bohème” at the Lyric could be a great starting point.
Missy Mazzoli’s “The Listeners” (March 30–April 11)
If you’re planning a date to the Lyric with your girlfriend, stick to “La Bohéme.” Composed by Missy Mazzoli — a contemporary composer whose opera “Proving Up” was performed at Notre Dame in 2022 and who has recently completed an operatic adaptation of the novel “Lincoln in the Bardo” — this show’s content advisory speaks for itself: “‘The Listeners’ includes explicit language and sexual content along with brief mentions of self-harm and suicide that
may be triggering to some audience members.”
“Lyric in Concert: A Wondrous Sound” (April 16–April 19) While not an opera, this concert will showcase the Lyric’s stellar orchestra and chorus in a program of “masterworks by Puccini, Rossini, Bizet and more.” While I’m sure it’ll be great, it’s only set to last 65 minutes. I don’t think that’s worth the trip into the city. If you’re in town for Easter, though, it might be a nice detour.
“Rising Stars in Concert” (April 25)
While primarily a concert meant to highlight the young artists at the Lyric’s Ryan Opera Center, a prestigious training program, this show will feature selections from the comic opera “Orpheus in the Underworld” by Jacques Offenbach — famous for originating the tune of the “can-can song.” Like many composers of funny music, Offenbach’s genius was never taken as seriously as it deserved to be. Go for him, if not for the “rising stars.”
Contact Peter
My first NCAA March Madness game
By CLAIRE WATSON Associate Sports Editor
I looked around at a sold-out arena with flashing lights and loud music. I saw thousands of people from all over screaming and yelling. Audible “Let’s Go Irish” chants hung in the air around me. I was surrounded by people from all over wearing green in support of the Notre Dame women’s basketball team. This was my incredible experience of going to my first ever NCAA Women’s March Madness game between Notre Dame and Michigan.
Basketball has always been one of my favorite sports. I have played basketball before, and I love the game’s speed, pace and unique on-edge feeling of not knowing what is going to happen next. This NCAA matchup encapsulated all of these feelings in just one game. Even more importantly, it was Notre Dame who emerged victorious.
I was not quite sure what to expect at first. I had been to multiple basketball games last year so I knew the tradition of turning off the lights, but this specific atmosphere was completely different in a sold-out Purcell Pavilion. The crowd’s enthusiastic support was so loud that it was almost deafening. I couldn’t help but feel the love for Notre Dame women’s basketball. Seeing just how many people of all different ages and backgrounds came out to watch, showed how much the crowd genuinely cared about the team.
The student section was certainly a large part of the loud environment. Every student in attendance was on their feet throughout each quarter, only sitting during timeouts or the breaks between quarters.
ND MEN’S GOLF
This commitment showed the love and support that the students felt obligated to give their team and fellow classmates. The consistent yelling, dancing and singing of the Notre Dame Victory March or cheers, especially the “Let’s go Irish” chant, certainly maintained the high energy throughout the entire game.
Despite Notre Dame’s early lead, I was still on the edge of my seat throughout the contest. The Irish pulled ahead early 3212 after the first quarter, which made a sports enthusiast such as myself feel very comfortable and excited. However, in the second quarter, Michigan quickly struck back and nearly made it a 10 point game. This comeback caused a bit of discomfort, and I had no idea what was going to happen next. The ball moved up and down the court at such a rapid pace that I struggled to follow the play at times. Even though I was concerned, Notre Dame led 46-28 and halftime and controlled the second half to win 76-55.
Watching the Irish pull away in dominant fashion to go back to the Sweet 16 was truly one of the best experiences I have ever had. The electric atmosphere, consistent yelling, unwavering support and genuine love and admiration for the women’s basketball team were incredible to be a part of. I cannot wait to watch another game to experience the same on-edge feelings not knowing what was going to happen next.
Contact Claire Watson at cwatson01@stmarys.edu
The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Men’s golf takes fourth at Schenkel Invitational
By CHRIS DAILEY Sports Writer
This past week, the Notre Dame men’s golf team tied for fourth place at the Schenkel Invitational. The tournament took place March 2123 in Statesboro, Georgia. Notre Dame’s collective 859 (-5) shots through the threeround event placed them on level terms with Kentucky and just ahead of West Virginia, Campbell and Middle Tennessee State.
The Irish were led by the stellar play of sophomore Jacob Modleski. Modleski, a Ben Hogan Award Watch List recipient, shot 210 (-6), placing him tied for third place overall. His tournament was highlighted by a low score of 67 (-5)
in the third round. The score is deja vu for the Noblesville, Indiana native as he shot 210 (-6) in the same tournament last season, the only difference being his individual finish shot up from T-11 to T-3. Not far behind were Rocco Salvitti and Nate Stevens. Salvitti shot a 214 (-2), while Stevens shot a 216 (E). These scores placed them T-13 and T-23, respectively. After shooting 73 (+1) in round one, Salvitti stormed back for a low round of 68 (-4) in round two. Stevens shot 72 (E) across the board, displaying immense consistency. Both scores are an improvement from their 219 (+3) at the Lamkin Invitational in San Diego a week and a half ago.
The remaining members of
the Irish’s five, Christopher Bagnall and Mike Qiu, placed deeper toward the middle of the pack. Bagnall shot 221 (+5) en route to a T-44 finish. Although shooting even in the final two rounds, Bagnall wasn’t able to drop any lower after shooting 77 (+5) in round one. Qiu shot 230 (+14) and finished in 71st place. Qiu found success on the seventh hole, carding birdies in the first two rounds on that hole.
Utah won the invitational with an 842 (-22). Defending champion Florida fell just a place back, shooting 843 (-21).
The Utes and Gators were followed by the host Georgia Southern. The home team shot
a comfortable 848 (-16).
Notre Dame’s greatest success came on par 4s, finishing fourth with an average score of 4.09. However, Notre Dame’s 3.13 average score on par 3s resulted in a ninth-place finish in that respective field. In total, Notre Dame shot 172 pars, 45 birdies and two eagles.
Led by head coach John Handrigan, the team is hitting its stride as they approach the back nine of the season. Following a 10th-place finish at both the Watersound Invitational, hosted by Florida State, and the Lamkin Invitational, hosted by the University of California - San Diego, the
Irish’s result at the Schenkel Invitational shows improvement throughout the whole team. The program is now looking ahead to April where they will start the month back in Georgia for the Haskins Award Invitational. They will wrap the month up down the road in West Lafayette, Indiana, at the Boilermaker Spring Invitational. From there, the Irish will compete at the ACC Championships April 2528 before potential trips to the NCAA Regionals and NCAA Championships in May.
Contact Chris Dailey at cdailey2@nd.edu
KEIRA JONES | The Observer
Graduate guard Olivia Miles crosses over at the point in Notre Dame’s 76-55 Second Round victory over Michigan at Purcell Pavilion on Mar. 23, 2025. The win advanced the Irish to their 4th straight Sweet 16.
Happy Birthday: Be discreet about your beliefs, concerns, and what you plan to do to improve your life. You’ll feel so much better if you are true to yourself and do your best to positively impact what’s happening around you. Dedication, loyalty, good faith, and doing what’s right will lead to unexpected opportunities and greater prosperity. Use your skills, experience, and intelligence to get things done. Your numbers are 5, 12, 21, 26, 32, 41, 48.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Take a direct route and maximize your time. You’ll accomplish the most if you are organized and ready to take on anyone who gets in your way. Be the one to push for change and to convince others to join your team. Lead the way, and you will make a difference.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Look at your to-do list and map out how you plan to eliminate the backlog. Do your best to stay on track and to keep busy. Letting outside influences distract you will lower your esteem and cause undue stress. Say no to anyone who tries to redirect or take advantage of you.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Size up situations, and you’ll quickly see who is on your side and who isn’t. Use finesse, high energy, and innovative solutions to win favors and get others to see and do things your way. Take control and be the one to bring about positive change, and you’ll gain respect and support.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Be discreet regarding yourself and your agenda. Not everyone will agree with what you want to do, and some will mislead or take advantage of you if you are too accommodating with information that someone may use against you. Protect your reputation, be secretive, listen, observe, and position yourself for success.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Learn, observe, gain experience, and talk to experts. How you use your time and energy will determine how far you get. Connect with those capable of caring for obligations you can’t do yourself. Make your priority marketing, promoting, and doing your best to have a positive impact. Self-improvement and love are favored.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Embrace change and learn from the experience. Your growth spurt will change how you feel and who you choose to connect with. The choice to simplify your life and let go of the past will positively influence how others respond and the opportunities you receive. Strive for security, stability, and personal satisfaction.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Manifest opportunities instead of waiting for a miracle. Trust and believe in your ability to do what’s best for you and eliminate letting anyone speak on your behalf. You have more influence than you realize. It’s time to expand your interests and vocalize your plans. Love, romance, and equality are on the rise.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Set your sights on something unique and let your creative imagination lead the way. Refuse to let your emotions dictate your reaction to domestic situations you have no control over. Look at the big picture, the emotional, financial, or physical risk, and choose the path that offers the least fallout.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Look for exciting opportunities, but don’t be foolish and trust everything you hear. Verify information and adjust whatever you discover to suit your needs. Put a budget in place that doesn’t inflict financial pain, and use discretion when sharing information with those who like to exaggerate or twist your words.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Trust your instincts over what others tell you. Listening to too many versions of a situation will convolute communication. Consider options, how to make the most of your situation, and what’s available. Don’t expect to please everyone; Take action once you establish what’s best for you.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Keep the momentum and the money flowing. You have plenty you can establish and complete if you stay focused and refuse to let what others do or say get in your way. Consider joint ventures or shared expenses to ease stress and simplify life. Strive to improve your comfort and convenience.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Set a guideline, budget, and timeline to ensure you don’t take on too much or fall short of your goals and expectations. Your focus and energy are best placed directly on your intentions. Refuse to let anyone intervene or throw you off track.
Uncertainty is the enemy. Leave nothing to chance.
Birthday Baby: You are entertaining, intelligent, and competent. You are engaging and thoughtful.
Women’s tennis sweeps Louisville 4-0 at home
By NOAH CAHILL Sports Editor
The Notre Dame women’s tennis team improved to 14-3 and 4-2 in ACC play after shutting out Louisville at home on Sunday. The 4-0 win was their second straight conference victory, and improved their record on home courts to 10-2.
Doubles got out to a fast start as junior Bojana Pozder and freshman Bianca Molnar
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took a resounding 6-1 win at No. 3. The No. 1 pairing of junior Akari Matsuno and senior Carrie Beckman claimed a point with their 6-3 win, leaving the No. 2 match unfinished at 3-4.
Junior Rylie Hanford led the way in the singles competition, winning in straight sets on court five without dropping a single game. Beckman followed with a 6-2, 6-3 victory at No. 6 singles, putting the Irish within a
point of team victory. Pozder would clinch the win for Notre Dame on court three, winning her match 7-5, 6-3. As the match finished, Matsuno was a game away from victory at No. 1, while senior Nibi Ghosh was knotted at 5-5 in the second after taking her first set 6-3. Molnar was also in a 4-4 second-set battle at No. 2, looking to battle back after falling 7-5 in set one.
Their dominant display on
the singles courts against the Cardinals continued the trend in 2025, especially on courts 4-6 where they now hold a combined 34-11 record. With their fourth win of the season as the No. 1 pairing, Beckman and Matsuno seem to have established themselves as the best pairing Notre Dame has to offer on the doubles courts. The win marked their first in
ACC play as a partnership, improving their overall record to 4-1 for the year.
The 30th-ranked Irish now set their sights on next weekend’s trip to Virginia for a pair of ACC contests against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Friday, March 28 at 3 p.m. and Virginia in Charlottesville on Sunday, March 30 at noon.
Contact Noah Cahill at ncahill2@nd.edu
Irish go 1-2 in busy weekend of matches
By NOAH CAHILL Sports Editor
The Irish men’s tennis team had a busy weekend with ACC matchups against No. 1 Wake Forest on Friday and No. 5 NC State on Sunday morning. After hard-fought losses in both contests, they wrapped up with a 7-0 sweep of St. Bonaventure later on Sunday in their third match. Despite remaining winless in conference play at 0-8, the victory over the Bonnies kept the Irish above .500 for the season at 11-10 overall.
Wake Forest
The 24-0 Demon Deacons entered Friday having yet to lose a doubles point in the 2025 season. That would change at the Eck Tennis Pavilion in South Bend, however, as the No. 1 pairing of junior Sebastian Dominko and sophomore Chase Thompson defeated the No. 40-ranked team in the country 6-3, setting up freshman combo of Peter Nad and Luis Llorens to secure the point with their 6-4 victory on Court No. 3. Dominko continued his dominance on the top singles court with his highest-profile win of the season. After grinding out a win in the first-set tiebreaker where he saved a pair of set points, the Slovenian lefty ran away with a 6-2 victory in set two en route to a 2-0 Irish lead. This would be the last Irish point, however, as the Demon Deacons rattled off four singles wins in a row to improve their unblemished record. They first got on the board with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 4 over Nad. No. 67 singles player Ioannis Xilas defeated senior Yu Zhang in straights in the No. 2 competition. Thompson, senior Jameson Corsillo and sophomore Kyran Magimay all battled back after first-set losses, but Magimay and Thompson surrendered set three, leaving Corsillo unfinished trailing
2-5 in his deciding set. The match lasted over three hours before Wake Forest emerged with the 4-2 victory.
NC State
Sunday began with another tightly contested ACC battle that eclipsed the three-hour mark. The Wolfpack made the trip to South Bend in top form, having won eight matches in a row including four straight sweeps of ACC opponents. Their 4-3 win over the Irish was anything but straightforward, though. In the doubles competition, Dominko and Thompson fell 6-2 at No. 1 before Nad and Llorens won 7-6 (2) on Court No. 3 in a tiebreak to keep the point alive. All eyes turned to the No. 2 matchup of Corsillo and Zhang and the No. 23-ranked pairing of Luca Staeheli and Jules Leroux, where the Notre Dame duo ultimately fell just short in a 7-6 (3) loss that also required a tiebreaker. Singles went back and forth, as Fons Van Sambeek took a comfortable straight-sets victory over Nad at No. 4 to extend the Wolfpack lead. Dominko delivered yet again at No. 1 to get the Irish on the board, besting another ranked opponent in No. 26 Braden Shick. His opening-game break, which would prove to be the only by either player all match, powered a 6-4 firstset victory before he swept the second-set tiebreak without dropping a single point. No. 23 Martin Borisiouk outlasted Thompson on Court No. 2 to put the Wolfpack within one of team victory, but Zhang extended the match with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 3. After surrendering the first set 1-6, Magimay battled back with 6-3, 7-5 wins in sets two and three at No. 6, tying the team score at 3-3. That left the match on the racket of Llorens on court five. However, after trading two 6-4 sets, he ultimately fell short in the third against his opponent Leroux, who
had entered the day having lost only one match on the season.
St. Bonaventure
The Irish would return to the courts later that Sunday to take on the Bonnies, looking to end the weekend on a positive note. Facing an undermanned St. Bonaventure squad, who had to default No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles with only five healthy players, Notre Dame did just that, earning a comfortable 7-0 sweep. Head coach Ryan Sachire tinkered with some different lineup combinations, as senior Brian Bilsey
and sophomore Jayanth Devaiah got an opportunity at No. 2 doubles, one they capitalized on with a resounding 6-1 win. Dominko reunited with former partner junior Noah Becker to win 6-1 only moments later. The Irish continued their momentum heading into singles play, taking quick straight-set victories on every court. Becker led the way at No. 5, winning 6-0, 6-0 without dropping a game. Zhang gave Dominko a rest at No. 1, winning his second singles match of the day by a score of 6-0, 6-2, and Bilsey picked up the 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 4. Magimay would
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get his second win of the day with a 6-3, 6-1 victory at No. 3 before Nad rounded out the sweep win a 6-2, 6-0 win on Court No. 2.
The Irish will stay in South Bend as they prepare for another packed weekend. It begins with a tough ACC test against No. 6 Virginia on Friday at 5 p.m. before their Sunday doubleheader with conference foe Virginia Tech at noon and Southern Indiana later in the day at 4 p.m.
Contact Noah Cahill at ncahill2@nd.edu
Irish women swim at NCAAs, Nguyen for men
By NOAH CAHILL Sports Editor
The Notre Dame women’s swim and dive team competed in the NCAA
Championships March 19 through 22 outside of Seattle to close out their 2024-25 campaign. Back in 2023-24, the squad sent four athletes
including three firsttimers, finishing 32nd in the team competition. While they failed to place as high this time around, they sent a total of seven athletes, including six swimmers and a diver.
The veteran relay team of senior Jessica Geriane, graduate Imogen Meers, graduate Katie Drumm and senior Madelyn Christman led off for the Irish in the 200-medley relay, posting a 1:37.57 en route to a 26th-place finish. They took the same place on the leaderboard in the 200-free relay with a time of 1:29.17. After placing top-40 in the 100 and 200 backstroke in 2024, Christman was the lone member of the
relay team returning to the Championships as the other three made their debut.
Freshman Carli Cronk impressed in her rookie season in blue and gold. She qualified for three individual events — 400 IM (4:13.04), 500 free (4:44.64) and 200 fly (1:55.40), and finished 37th, 51st and 28th, respectively. Ranking second in school history in both the 1650 free (16:09.03) and 1000 free (9:45.27), senior Maggie Graves made her second NCAA Championships appearance in as many years. Her 16:17.49 performance, which placed her 34th in the field, earned her the 2024 Women’s Performance of the Year Award to cap off a storied
career for the Irish.
The lone diver, junior Grace Courtney, made her return to the Championships for the 3-meter springboard event, an event she took 21st in last season with a score of 279.20. This time around, her 254.05 placed her 42nd in the field.
The final event of the season for the Notre Dame swim and dive team will take place Wednesday as Benedict Nguyen will enter the diving well at the NCAA Championships for the men’s 3-meter. The junior is making his second appearance in the competition after finishing 37th on the platform in 2024.
Contact Noah Cahill at ncahill2@nd.edu
ARIANNA DENNING | The Observer
Notre Dame graduate Ellie Jew competes in the breststroke during the Tim Welsh Classic at the Rolfs Aquatic Center on Jan. 27, 2023. At last week’s NCAA Championships outside of Seattle, 6 Irish swimmers competed, including the 200-meter medley relay team of Jess Girene, Imogen Meers, Katie Drumm and Madelyn Christman which finished in 26th-place.
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Irish sneak past UIC 2-1 in midweek victory
By CHARLIE MORRIS Sports Writer
Notre Dame softball picked up their second win in a nine game homestand on Tuesday afternoon, defeating the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) Flames 2-1 at Melissa Cook Stadium. Irish pitching limited UIC to one unearned run across seven sparkling frames, while Emily Tran smacked a 2-run single in the second inning to account for the only offense of the day.
Junior right hander Micaela Kastor drew the start in the circle and pitched two scoreless innings,
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working out of a first-inning jam thanks to a 6-6-3 double play courtesy of Addie Amaral. Senior Shannon Becker surrendered the only run of the game, but allowed zero earned runs in 4 solid innings to claim the win and bring her season ERA down to 3.35. Freshman lefty Brianne Weiss struck out all three Flames she faced in the top of the 7th inning to preserve the 2-1 lead and earn her first career save. Four of Notre Dame’s 14 wins have now ended with a save, with Becker closing out the other three.
Junior Sydny Poeck extended her on-base streak to 13 games
with a first inning single. She also drew a walk to help set up Tran’s big hit. Poeck now holds the longest on-base streak of the season for the Irish, passing Amaral’s 12-game mark from earlier in the campaign. Beyond her two RBIs, senior Emily Tran made two fine plays in center field and stole a base, her teamleading ninth of the year.
For UIC, catcher Larissa Ortiz went 1/3 with the only run scored. Emma Gumont drove her in, although she did not technically pick up the RBI due to an Irish error in the outfield. Redshirt senior Alyssa McIntosh took the hard-luck loss. She surrendered two unearned
runs in four strong innings, retiring 12 of 19 batters faced. Jasmine Whorley threw the final two innings in the circle, allowing zero hits. Neither pitcher struck out anyone, as the Irish did not go down on strikes all evening. Grace Fleming recorded an outfield assist at home plate and made two putouts in center field in an impressive day on defense.
The Flames loaded the bases in the top of the sixth inning, but Becker got Brianna Motto to ground out to end the threat. The Irish failed to score in the bottom half of the inning as
well after loading the bases due to a Sydny Poeck fly out. The teams combined to leave 15 runners on base.
Notre Dame improves to 14-19 on the season and 2-4 on their current nine game homestand, which extends to a streak of 14 home games out of the next 15. They welcome the No. 22 Virginia Cavaliers to Melissa Cook Stadium this weekend for an ACC weekend series which kicks off at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 28.
Contact Charlie Morris at cmorri27@nd.edu
Irish continue homestand with Michigan State
By TYLER REIDY Associate Sports Editor
It was a first home weekend to forget for Notre Dame baseball. Coming off an 18-4 demolition of Butler in last Tuesday’s home opener, the Irish went 0-3 against the newly-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, finishing with a run differential of -23 for the series.
Notre Dame (12-9, 1-8 ACC) has an even more difficult ACC series coming up with former Irish skipper and No. 4 Florida State in town to end March, but the Irish will first play a midweek game Wednesday night against Michigan State. The Spartans (16-7, 3-3 Big Ten) have opposed the Irish 143 times, appearing on Notre Dame’s schedule in each of the past three seasons. This year’s meeting will serve as game five on Notre Dame’s 14-game homestand that runs through April 8.
The Irish haven’t lost a midweek game this year, going 3-0 with two road wins against Winthrop and the aforementioned blowout of
Butler. Notre Dame pitching was good in all three games — which can be a massive difference-maker with top arms being saved for the weekend — allowing only four earned runs in total. Graduate right-hander Dylan Heine started two of those games, pitching five strong innings at Winthrop and 3.1 more with only one earned run given up against Butler. At the plate, Notre Dame’s two freshman infielders from Rochester Hills, Michigan, remain the story. Despite being hardly a month into their college careers, Parker Brzustewicz and Bino Watters are locks in the top three of head coach Shawn Stiffler’s lineup, and for good reason. Brzustewicz, after extending his hit streak to 10-games with a five-hit weekend against Georgia Tech, remains the team leader with a .380 batting average. And although Watters had a rough go with five strikeouts on Sunday, he’s still 6-for-18 with three long balls and seven runs batted in on the homestand, pacing the Irish in both of those categories with
five and 22, respectively.
Sophomore catcher Davis Johnson continues to emerge as well, now leading Notre Dame with a 1.073 OPS. He showed off his raw power from the left side on Sunday, crushing a game-tying home run off the top of the batter’s eye in left-center field. Junior shortstop Estevan Moreno keeps climbing as well after a brutal start to the season. He’s driven in multiple runs in four of the last five games and had seven hits in the first three games of the homestand before going 0 for 4 on Sunday.
Spartans aiming to build on road series win
It’s been a while since Michigan State baseball was relevant. The Spartans last made the NCAA Tournament in 2012 and did not appear in the big dance for 33 years before that. However, they’re having more success at 16-7 in head coach Jake Boss Jr.’s 17th season and come off a noteworthy series win at Penn State.
Sophomore infielder Ryan
McKay, who made 46 starts at second base as a freshman, was the top story of Michigan State’s successful trip to State College. He was named a Big Ten Co-Player of the Week, going 13 for 18 in four games with a 4-for-4 midweek showing against Oakland before going 5 for 5 in Friday’s series opener. He added three more hits on Sunday for good measure and leads Michigan State in batting average (.386), onbase percentage (.523) and hits (32) while walking 24 times with only 14 strikeouts.
McKay was one of two partan position players named to the Big Ten’s Preseason Players to Watch list, joining junior infielder Randy Seymour. Though he hasn’t set the world on fire with a .253/.322/.468 slash line, Seymour ranks second on the team with 21 RBI. Only redshirt senior infielder Sam Busch has driven in more runs, as the East Lansing native leads the Spartans with seven home runs, 23 RBI and a .643 slugging percentage. Graduate catcher Caleb Berry, the team’s leader in OPS (1.099), is
an NAIA transfer from Milligan. He started all three games at Penn State and enters Tuesday on a 10game hit streak.
Michigan State has put together a quality year thus far on the mound (4.41 ERA), led by weekend ace Joseph Dzierwa and his five earned runs, nine walks and 51 strikeouts in 36.2 innings pitched. Redshirt sophomore right-hander Tate Farquhar made the midweek start on the mound a week ago, posting two scoreless frames en route to an 8-5 Spartan victory. The Spartans will host Illinois this weekend after facing the Irish and begin April with a game against the Lansing Lugnuts, the High-A affiliate of the Athletics, next Tuesday. The Lugnuts compete in the Midwest League along with the South Bend Cubs.
In the college baseball world, Notre Dame will host Michigan State at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Frank Eck Stadium.
Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu
Holy Cross Women’s Tennis falls 4-2 to Marian
By CLAIRE WATSON Associate Sports Editor
On Saturday, the Holy Cross women’s tennis team hosted Marian and took a hard-fought 4-2 loss.
Doubles
The doubles competition was a bright spot for the Saints as they managed two wins to secure the point. Starting at No. 1, junior Victoria Savvidou and her fellow junior partner Leah Gonzales-Edwards took
a 7-6 win over their opponents Yasmin Imamniyazova and Ana Barbosa Fernandez. On the second court, sophomore Nicole Martinez and freshman Sophia Rocha took a 6-3 win over their opponents Michelle Irigoyen and Ana Lopez Torres from Marian.
Singles
The singles competition proved to be more difficult for the Saints, as they allowed Marian to pull ahead and take the final win. In the No. 1 singles
competition, Imamniyazova faced off against Savvidou and took the win. The Marian No. 1 took the first set 6-4 and the second 6-3. On the second court, sophomore Jamison Geofferys took a win after going into the third set. Geofferys won the first set 6-2 and lost the second set 6-4, but was able to bounce back and win the decider in resounding6-1fashionagainsther opponent Lopez Torres. In the No. 3 singles matchup, Rocha fell to Irigoyen. The freshman dropped the first set 6-4 and the
second 7-5. Heading into the No. 4 matchup, Gonzales-Edwards faced Barbosa Fernandez and took the third loss of the singles competition. She lost the first set 6-4 and the second set 6-1. In the No. 5 singles competition, Martinez faced Liliane Alinquant and took the loss after going into a third set. After dropping the first set 6-2, Martinez clawed back to win the second 7-5. Her comeback would ultimately fall short as she lost the third
set 6-3. Marian secured the match with the win, cutting the No. 6 matchup short after one set. Before play was stopped, sophomore Anna Vanderhyde trailed her opponent Paloma Caceres Villalba by a set, dropping the first 6-2. The Saints now fall to 3-4 on the season so far. They will host St. Francis (IL) on March 29 with the match starting at 3 p.m.
