Rich Hidy, Sports Editor

 

2013 featured many great moments for Irish athletics that deserve to be recognized and looked back upon as the new year begins. A fresh legacy of Notre Dame athletics will be revealed in the following 12 months as teams on campus continue to work towards their goals, but for now it is enough to remember the past. Among the triumphs and failures of Notre Dame athletics squads in 2013, there are five moments that deserve to be recognized above the rest.

5. Both tennis teams claim Big East titles

One of the sports that remains largely unnoticed at Notre Dame is tennis. Both the Men’s and Women’s team had very successful runs in 2013. The Men’s team took home its 9th Big East Championship, while the Women’s team enjoyed its 6th straight season as the winner of the Big East after defeating Marquette, DePaul and USF. The Women’s team, led by junior Big East Championship Most Outstanding Player Britney Sanders, is coached by Jay Louderback, a veteran in his 24th season. Louderback has won 19 Big East titles in total. The women ended their season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 4-0 loss to Michigan. The Men’s team finished with a 19-8 record and was undefeated in the conference. Junior Greg Andrews had an impactful season as a singles competitor with a 26-13 overall record, but the 28th-ranked Notre Dame squad fell in heartbreaking fashion in the NCAA’s to Washington 4-3 in a match that took nearly five hours to complete.

4. Notre Dame vs. Louisville

Who can forget this one? En route to a 25-10 season and a seventh seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Irish defeated the eventual National Champions and head coach Rick Pitino in five overtimes in a thriller at the Purcell Pavilion by the score of 104-101. The Irish were coming off of a rough 63-47 loss to Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, and returned home to find themselves in a dogfight with one of the most talented teams in the country. Eric Atkins, Pat Connaughton and Cam Biedschied played over 50 minutes each; Atkins led the group with 19 shots in his 60 minutes. Connaughton finished with a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds. Biedschied and Garrick Sherman were key pieces off the bench, as Sherman wowed the spectators with tricky post moves to score 17 points and grab 6 rebounds and Biedschied contributed 14 points. Jerian Grant scored 12 of his 19 points in the final 45 seconds of regular time. Although the Irish were once again bounced from the NCAA tournament early, this one regular season game brought high voltage electricity back into Notre Dame basketball.

3. Women’s Basketball advances to Final Four

Payback is a nightmare. Just when it looked like Muffet McGraw would be able to break past the tournament barrier and win a championship after the Irish made the Final Four in three of the past four seasons, the Irish ran into a strong UConn team at just the right time and lost in their Final Four matchup, 83-65. Notre Dame faced UConn three times prior and defeated the Huskies in each of those matchups, including a two point victory in the Big East Championship Game on a last-second Natalie Achonwa layup. Senior captain Skylar Diggins had 10 points and 8 assists in her final game in an Irish uniform, and the Irish finished the season 35-2.

2. Men’s soccer championship

The lights were shining once again on top of Grace Hall because the Irish brought home the hardware. Notre Dame brought home its first National Championship in the history of the Men’s soccer program with a 2-1 victory over ACC regular season champion Maryland. Senior captain Harrison Shipp was named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player, and Andrew O’Malley and Leon Brown were able to strike in both halves to give the Irish the edge. The senior-laden defensive unit along with goalkeeper Patrick Wall played a large part in allowing the Irish to take home the top prize, giving head coach Bobby Clark his first championship as a coach.

1. Irish defeat USC for second straight year

Football reigns supreme at Notre Dame, and for the second straight year and the third time in Brian Kelly’s young tenure, the football team defeated its biggest rival, USC. The 14-10 slugfest was the first home win over USC since 2001, ending the curse of the “Bush Push.” Tommy Rees was an efficient game manager with 166 yards and two touchdowns, and Cam McDaniel was the workhorse that ran the ball down the field with 5.1 yards per carry. Defensive end Stephon Tuitt was also able to collect two sacks in the win. Notre Dame has won at least nine games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

Rich Hidy is a sophomore Marketing major and journalism minor. He enjoys playing snow football during the winter months. Contact him at rhidy@nd.edu.