Women's Ultimate Frisbee
Notre Dame traveled to Granville, Ohio, last weekend for Disc Throw Inferno, hosted by Denison. The Irish divided their squad into two teams, X and Y, for the tournament, which featured six women's teams from across the Midwest. Both Notre Dame teams featured an equal mix of rookies and returners, in the hopes of maximizing playing time before the league season begins in the spring.
Notre Dame X, led by senior captains Kelsey Fink and Molly Carmona, opened the weekend against Ohio State B. The Irish came out strong, securing a lead in the first half that they did not let go, ending the game with a 13-2 victory. Notre Dame X played their second game against Western Kentucky, winning 15-3. The team carried momentum into its third game of the day against Western Michigan, securing a 13-4 win. Pool play continued for one game on Sunday against Denison as the Irish secured a spot in the championship bracket with a victory.
In the semifinal game, the team played Western Kentucky once more, moving into the finals with a 12-3 win. In the final against Western Michigan, the team worked together more than they had all weekend to earn a 6-1 victory and the title of Disc Throw Inferno champions. Fink, Carmona and sophomore Heather Fredrickson led the team with excellent throws all weekend while sophomores Mara Jurkovic and Emily Dowling and freshman cutter Julia Butterfield had beautiful in-cuts and deep looks both days. Freshmen Mary Kate Andersen and Rachel Francis played great defense, and freshman Anastacia Taylor played well on the offensive side.
The Notre Dame Y team, led by senior captain Eliza Herrero, opened the weekend against Western Michigan. Though the game ended in a loss, the team gained experience and the players created chemistry that would serve them well later in the weekend. Notre Dame Y was unable to secure a win in its next two games, losing to Deniso 10-4 and to Western Kentucky on universe point by an 8-7 score. On Sunday, the team struggled out of the gate with a loss to Ohio State B but came out strong in the second game against Western Kentucky, jumping out to a first half lead that it would not relinquish on its way to an 11-6 victory. The team suffered a 12-4 loss to an experienced Western Michigan team in its final game.
Fifth-year student Kelly Gilmour, senior Mara Stolee and sophomore Brianna Bocker led the team handling, and cutters senior Eliza Herrero, freshman Mary Hermann and fifth-year Erin Cobb ran the field with great looks, both in and deep. Sophomore Allyson Straley and freshman Kendall Burgett played great wing offense all weekend. Junior Kristen Collins showed great improvement and confidence while handing, especially against a zone defense.
Golf Club
The Irish traveled to the Barefoot Resort in Myrtle Beach, S.C., last weekend to compete in the fall national tournament of the NCCGA (National Collegiate Club Golf Association). Seniors Sean Flanagan, Dan McCarthy and Joe Cuff, junior Greg Bourdon, sophomores Phil Krebs and Brian Miller and freshmen Jordan Milo and Luke DeTrempe traveled for the Irish. The team came into the tournament ranked 18th in the country and left the tournament with an 18th-place finish out of 24 teams. Miller and DeTrempe, both of whom finished 26th overall out of over 200 golfers, led the Irish on the weekend. The trip marked Notre Dame's first NCCGA tournament appearance as this fall has been the team's first full season of competition.
Men's Ultimate Frisbee
The Notre Dame men's ultimate team joined the women's squad in traveling to Granville, Ohio, last weekend for Disc Throw Inferno. The men's tournament featured eight men's teams from around the Midwest. Notre Dame split into three teams-Notre Dame X, Y and Z-which were joined by teams from Denison, Akron, Michigan and alumni teams from Denison and Grand Valley State. Each of the teams played three games Saturday in two pools of four teams, and three games Sunday in a double elimination bracket.
Denison's alumni team narrowly defeated Notre Dame X its first game Saturday, despite strong cutting from veterans sophomore Matt Farrell and junior David Terry. The team regrouped for its second game, however, and defeated Akron decisively thanks in part to an outstanding defensive effort from senior Jordan Lange.
Notre Dame X's third game Saturday was against Denison's undergraduate team. Fatigue led to a slow start, with Denison taking a halftime lead of 8-1, but the Irish were able to rally under the leadership of junior Peter Hall and match Denison point for point in the second half, making the final score a 15-8 loss. The first game of bracket play on rainy and windy Sunday was a rematch with Denison in which the Irish fell 13-11. Notre Dame X's next two games were against Notre Dame Y and Notre Dame Z-a chance to play competitively against teammates. Sophomore handler Joe Norby was dominant in both games, sending backhands from end zone to end zone with precision. A loss to Notre Dame Y and a victory over Notre Dame Z gave Notre Dame X a sixth-place finish in the tournament.
Notre Dame Y began the weekend with a loss to Notre Dame Z, but sophomore handler Jeremy Doyle was very effective, frequently finding break throws to dismantle the opponent's defense. The team lost its second and third games of the day as well. On a weekend when all three Irish teams looked to get all players time on the field, freshmen Dan Verzuh, Andrew DeSantis, Ben Israel and Pat McMahon looked composed on the field and made significant contributions to the team. Sunday's inclement weather had no visible effect on the efficacy of twin junior cutters Erich and Danny Kerekes, who controlled the play downfield in all of their games. Notre Dame Y finished fifth in the tournament with a victory over Akron in its final game Sunday.
Notre Dame Z played much of the weekend shorthanded due to injuries and finished 0-3 Saturday but received a number of strong performances. A shortage of veteran handlers required freshman Jacob Scobey to step up to fill in, and Scobey looked comfortable and patient with the disc, a rare trait for freshmen handlers. The team started off Sunday winning big over Akron, with juniors Steven Zurawski and Jason Wassel connecting multiple times for scores as the junior pair was consistently dominant the whole weekend. Experienced play from sophomore Jonathan Cernanec and junior Billy Schell kept Notre Dame Z close in all its games, but the team ultimately finished seventh in the tournament.
Disc Throw Inferno was the Notre Dame Men's second and final fall tournament before splitting into A and B teams before winter break.
Squash Club
Notre Dame traveled to Minneapolis for its final tournament of the semester and played twice each against Minnesota and Southern California due to last-minute withdrawals from Northwestern and Purdue. The Irish lost 7-2 twice to the Gophers and 6-3 and 9-0 to the Trojans. Notre Dame was without four of its top nine players forcing the Irish to play a freshmen-heavy lineup in a competitive ladder.
Field Hockey
The Irish traveled to Dayton, Ohio, for a matchup with the Flyers and emerged with a 1-0 victory. The game was scoreless until freshman Emmet Farnan found the net for the Irish, giving them the victory.
