Leonardo DiCaprio has starred in over 30 movies — but that still is not enough for junior attack Maggie Tamasitis.
"I love Leonardo DiCaprio," Tamasitis said. "I have a huge celebrity crush on him. If he's in [a movie], I usually like it."
Much like DiCaprio in "The Aviator," Tamasitis acts as the team's pilot, directing the Notre Dame offense. The junior from Boyertown, Penn., has tallied a team-high 39 assists and scored 21 goals. She has guided the Irish (9-8, 6-2 Big East) to a fourth place finish in the Big East and she ranks fourth in the country in assists.
"I've gotten comfortable being a feeder and playing behind the net," Tamasitis said. "I never played from behind in high school so it took some time to get comfortable with my role."
Tamasitis also carries with her a 35-game point streak, dating back to the beginning of the 2010 season. She does not, however, let the streak impact her play.
"I guess it's not really that big of a deal to me," Tamasitis said. "When I'm playing, it's never a goal of mine to keep it going."
The streak stands as the fourth longest in Notre Dame history, 16 games away from Caitlin McKinney's 51-game stretch that ended in 2008. Tamasitis has already passed Irish great Jillian Byers' streak and is closing in on recently graduated Gina Scioscia's streak.
"I played with Jill [Byers] and Gina [Scioscia]. When I was a freshman, Jill was my mentor — she kept me sane," Tamasitis said. "To see my name with hers is very bizarre, and I will never put my name in her category."
Tamasitis credits her teammates, who have converted on many scoring opportunities, for her lofty stats.
"I owe everything to my teammates. All of the credit goes to them," Tamasitis said. "There's not a single thing I could do without them."
On the team, Tamasitis says her fellow juniors are her best friends — and the goofiest.
"We're known as the loudest people on the team, by far. Just hanging out with them is a good time," Tamasitis said. "We love doing silly things. We can have fun doing anything."
The Film, Television and Theater major also lists Disney movies among her favorites. With the Big East tournament this weekend, the question remains whether or not Notre Dame will have a storybook ending.
"I don't see [our three-game win streak] stopping. I don't see us going back to losing at all," Tamasitis said. "If we win six in a row, we're national champions. That's my mindset."
The Irish open the tournament Thursday against Georgetown in Washington D.C.
