PDF for Wednesday, April 24, 2013

reading for l ife donates books

By CATHERINE OWERS

news writer

reading for l ife, the largest diversion program for juvenile offenders in st. Joseph c ounty, will celebrate world book day on Tuesday by donating books to youth at the Juvenile Justice c enter (JJc ). a diversion program is a form of sentencing designed to enable offenders of law to avoid criminal charges by completing various requirements, such as education, restitution or completion of community service hours.

d

r. a lesha s eroczynski, the program’s director, said program leaders chose to distribute John green’s “l ooking for a laska” because they felt it was

see reading paGe 5

SMC excels in math competition

By TABITHA RICKETTS

n

ews w riter

m ath students from s aint

m ary’s c ollege competed in the 2013 international competition known as the m athematical c ontest in modeling ( mcm ) hosted by the c onsortium for m athematics and its a pplications ( comap ).

i n a competition of nearly seven thousand teams, seniors s amantha b rady and o livia m c i ntee placed in the top 15th percentile and earned a position among the m eritorious w inners.

The two students were one of three teams sent by s aint

m ary’s, marking the first time in the c ollege’s history where more than two teams competed.

s teven b road, assistant professor of mathematics, coached the teams at s aint

m ary’s. he said the comap competition challenges

B.o.B. headlines SUB concert

By CAROLYN HUTYRA news writer

Grammy-nominated rapper

B.o.B. will take the stage at the Compton Family Ice Arena to perform as part of SUB’s 2013 AnTostal week-long event Tostalpalooza on Friday.

Senior Danny Kinasz, a member of SUB’s concert committee, helped plan the event. He said the concert tickets cost $20. The concert is open to all Notre Dame undergraduate and graduate students as well as Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross students, he said.

Unlike previous years, this SUB concert will take place in Compton rather than at the Stepan Center. Kinasz said the decision to move the concert was a group effort of the SUB executive board, concert programmers and SAO supervisor Josh Wilson.

“We saw the opportunity to upgrade the concert to a newer and larger venue to respond to the requests of the students,” he said.

Kinasz said frequent complaints from students about the concert in the past stemmed from the distant venue location.

“People complained that Stepan was a buzzkill to the fun vibe the concert created,” he said. “We wanted to enhance the student experience and bring the show into a new venue that would create a dramatically better concert going experience.”

In the past, Kinasz said the committee was experienced at coordinating all the necessary elements to the show, but this move to Compton required meetings with different University groups in order to organize and work out any issues.

“This year was a whole new

students over the course of a weekend with problems involving mathematical models of real-world phenomenon.

“ e very year [the teams are given] two problems, the sort of problems experts might work on for years,” b road said. “The goal of the weekend is to try to make some significant step toward solving the problem at a very high level.”

The teams choose one problem and spend four days compiling a report of over 20 pages on the mathematical model they devised, b road said. a t the end of the competition, the teams submit their work to be judged.

“The thing that’s really great about it is [that] it’s all their [own] work, “ b road said, “o nce the competition starts, i ’m completely out of the picture. i can get them prepped and ready to go, but once the competition starts, i ’m not involved at all.”

The other two s aint m ary’s teams involved in the competition received recognition as s uccessful p articipants, a highly gratifying accomplishment for work at this

level, b road said. “ b eing successful at something as extraordinarily difficult as this shows that they

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Question of the Day:

Cooper Cohen freshman morrissey manor

“morrissey

Jeff Chapa freshman morrissey manor

“no

Nathan Troscinski freshman morrissey manor

“The

Shadmn Minir

freshman morrissey manor

“The bros.”

Stephen Schaffer freshman morrissey manor

“absolutely nothing.”

Tommy Schneeman freshman morrissey manor

“The 5th floor pool.”

Today’s Staff

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experience which required lots of additional planning.”

SUB first had to set a date suitable to the schedules of the Compton staff, Kinasz said. They also had to meet with production officials and consider additional requirements, like light and sound equipment, needed for a larger venue, he said.

“it is a larger overall production to match the larger venue,” he said. “[it] requires university-wide effort to make the show a success.”

The committee also met with ndsp, the fire department, ushers and medical staff in order to ensure the location change would be a success, he said. The committee also considered hiring additional support staff including more ushers, first aid workers and security, he said.

“compton does not have all the resources that we were used to having in stepan so we needed to ensure that we were able to obtain all those in order to make the show and its set up possible,” k inasz said.

a larger venue also meant the need for increased publicity. k inasz said there was an emphasis on getting the word out to more students since more tickets were available.

“To make this show a success we want the support of the student body which has been generating greater interest than in years past,” he said.

a s for picking the performing artist for the concert, that decision reached back to midway

through the fall semester, he said. k inasz said sub released a survey to the student body with about six artists as potential headliners for the show, and b.o.b. came out as the winner.

“we made it one of [our] mains goals from the start of the year to listen to the student body and bring in an artists that they wanted to see perform,” he said.

k inasz said the negotiation

“Those who go will remember it forever and those who miss it will regret it for even longer.”

Danny Kinasz

S.U.B. concert committee member

process involved speaking with b.o.b.’s agent at the creative a rtists agency (caa) in order to finalize a contract for the show.

besides verifying his availability for the scheduled date of the performance, negotiations on contractual issues and logistical questions were also considered.

“it took a couple of weeks of negotiation and lots of communication to successfully work out the contract,” he said.

a s of now, k inasz said about 2,000 tickets have been sold and they are hoping to have at least 3,500 attendees. he also said two sets of tickets are available, one which provides floor access and a second for

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seats surrounding the floor. since tickets do not provide an assigned seat, students may choose to move about their sections, he said.

Tickets are available for purchase up until the show in the l aFortune box office between 9:30 a.m. and midnight. k inasz said students may also obtain their tickets at a ntostal events during the week or from ticket sales in the dorms by sub representatives.

compton’s doors open at 7:30 p.m, and the concert begins at 8:30 p.m. with the opener dzeko & Torres, a canadian dJ duo.

“This concert is going to be a fun, high energy, exciting concert,” k inasz said. “i f you›re the type of person who likes to have a good time and likes music, you can›t find a better show than this.”

These two performers know how to put on a great show and keep the crowd entertained, he said. k inasz said sub believes this show in compton will start an “exciting new tradition of a bigger, better and more memorable show for the student body.”

“i can guarantee that this show will be unlike any that any current notre dame student has witnessed on campus while they have been here,” k inasz said. “Those who go will remember it forever and those who miss it will regret for even longer.”

Contact Carolyn Hutyra at chutyra@nd.edu

students prepare for the mcaT

By HENRY GENS news writer

notre dame pre-med students face a notoriously difficult schedule with academic and extracurricular activities, a stressful balancing act which reaches new heights when it comes time to take the medical college admissions Test (mcaT).

Junior biology and theology major a ntoinette p usateri said she will be one of the pre-med students taking the test this upcoming saturday. a lthough she has faced a busy schedule because of the additional task of studying for the mcaT this semester, p usateri said there are some positive results stemming from the experience of studying for the mcaT.

“if anything, what i would take away from the whole premed, studying-for-the-mcaT experience would be the art of prioritizing, of time management,” p usateri said. “it’s definitely been a learning curve, but that’s kind of the college experience for everybody.”

p usateri said she set up a study schedule specifically for the mcaT, and made sure she stuck to it.

“i really started hardcore studying after finals fall semester and then really every day since then, with a few days off,” p usateri said. “[i’ve been studying] at least a couple hours a day,” p usateri said.

despite stress associated with studying for the mcaT, p usateri said she feels prepared for the exam on saturday.

“First and foremost, i don’t think anywhere else prepares us better than notre dame,” p usateri said. “i went through the notecards and notes that our professor had us make for organic chemistry and basically, out of all the cards and notes i had, i only needed a fourth of that for studying.”

Junior biology and peace studies major gwyneth sullivan is electing to take the mcaT in late may, outside of the confines of the semester, but within the upcoming admissions cycle. Though her test date is further away, she said she still has tried to continue her preparation, which started is January.

“ideally, i’m doing two hours of study a night, but realistically if i have a huge exam, like my

physics test this week, i’ll push it off a little bit” sullivan said. “it’s a lot of time management.” a prominent factor in her decision to take the mcaT in may rather than this saturday is the annual benefit her fam-

“I really started hardcore studying after finals fall semester and then really every day since then, with a few days off.”

Antoinette Pusateri junior

ily hosts in chicago in remembrance of her brother, declan sullivan, she said.

“The benefit is actually this weekend so there’s no way i could have physically taken the mcaT,” sullivan said. “e specially in the last three weeks, i’ve been doing so much logistical work for it that it’s been hard to study.” other pre-med students have decided to forego sitting the mcaT during the school year in favor of taking it during the summer. c hantal berry, a junior anthropology and preprofessional major, is one student who chose this less traditional path, instead opting to take the mcaT in august.

“w hat i found with my friends that were either taking the mcaT this weekend or in may was that it’s been a very stressful semester,” berry said. “i didn’t really want to have that stress, i wanted to get the most out of my college experience in terms of the academics and i wanted the sole focus to be the academics.”

Taking the test later means berry will not receive her scores in time for the upcoming admissions cycle, but she said she already decided on taking a gap year after finishing her studies at notre dame.

“i think the decision to take a gap year was partially the mcaT reason but also just because i wanted that time off before once again getting right back into academics and medical school,” berry said.

Contact Henry Gens at hgens@nd.edu

smc hosts hannah and Friends carnival

By REBECCA O’NEIL

n ews w riter

The Saint Mary’s College Alumnae Association has paired up with Hannah and Friends to put on a Community Carnival for the people of Michiana this Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. Saint Mary’s alumnae, Holy Cross Hall, students from Notre Dame and local businesses have worked together to foster support for the special needs community and its allies.

According to an Alumnae Association flier, the Community Carnival will feature games, mini clinics and free food, with all proceeds going to Hannah’s House and Special Olympics.

Sophomores Emily Hazen and Christen Kloski, who interned at Hannah and Friends last summer, continue to visit the site regularly.

“It helps collaborate local colleges with the community. We recognize those with difference needs in the community,” Kloski said.

The two students will intern at Hannah and Friends again this upcoming summer and intend to attend the Community Carnival this weekend.

“Hannah and Friends is a neighborhood for adults with different abilities,” Kloski said. “This Saturday is for the entire community.”

Kloski, who has also worked at Family Fest, a similar event hosted by the nonprofit organization during the summer, said the Community Carnival is an event that began this year.

“it’s good that smc is getting involved, but especially the alums. i guess they were the ones that contacted h annah and Friends,” k loski said. “it’s a com -

munity outreach program, which is good for us to see.” a shley h all, hall director of holy c ross h all, said the dorm supported the organization throughout the year by offering transportation to its resident-volunteers.

“This partnership is near and dear to the holy c ross h all community and we strive to find any way possible to connect our residents with the residents and families who are associated with h annah and Friends,” she said. holy c ross h all typically hosts one on campus event and participates in another off-campus event each year, h all said. l ast semester, “ w inter wonderlan.” was the event they chose to host..This year, h all said the c arnival seemed like a good

opportunity to bring h oly c ross residents to their site and volunteer.

“o verall, this program is a safe and fun event for special needs children and their families in the m ichiana c ommunity,” h all said. “ it also allows our residents to give back to such a special organization.”

Contact Rebecca O’Neil at roneil01@saintmarys.edu

a relatable story that would easily generate discussion.

“it’s a really serious comingof-age story, something we knew would really resonate with these youth,” s eroczynski said.

s eroczynski said many of the youth at the center do not have their own personal libraries, so she likes that each participant will receive his or her own copy of the book.

“it’s a really deeply moving

experience to give a young person a book and have them look at you with these wide, almost tear-filled eyes, and tell you this the first time someone has ever given them a book to keep, ” she said. “it’s a powerful moment.”

p articipants in the program are often first-time offenders and learn virtue theory while reading, s eroczynski said.

“ we operate from a perspective of virtue ethics,” she said.

“ we use the stories to get students to talk about personal life applications of virtue

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theory.”

l eaders place participants in groups of no more than five people and assign two mentors to each group, s eroczynski said. The group meets in the community twice a week for 10 weeks.

“Together, they choose from several different genre options consistent with their reading ability,” s eroczynski said. “They choose one or more books to read together and they spend the week learning, discussing and journaling on virtue theory and personal-life

applications of being virtuous, which, of course, involves emotions, ethical decisionmaking, being courageous, and having self-control.”

c aroline kelleher, a program student mentor, said she has volunteered with the program for two years and is in her third mentoring group this semester.

“o ne of the reasons i love reading for l ife is the involvement with the s outh b end commutity,” kelleher said. “it’s a rewarding experience to work with high-schoolers and watch them change over the course of our nine-week session.”

The books are vehicles for discussions about life and issues the kids face, kelleher said.

“The students i have worked with have started the program guarded and unwilling to share their thoughts, but by the end bond with each other and develop aspirations for their futures,” she said e ach group must also perform community service together. The service typically relates to one of the books the group has read, s eroczynski said.

“a group that might read ‘The b oy in the striped jajamass or ‘The b ook Thief,’ they would probably go to the Jewish Federation of st. Joseps valley and do community service there,” she said. s eroczynski said, “l ast summer the program expanded from only serving people in the diversion program to also servino boys in the detention facility. she said a lack of funding prevented the program from extending to girls in the detention facility

“The effect is actually stronger for boys than for girls in the diversion program,” s eroczynski said. “b ased on that, when i was approached by the director for the JJc to take it into detention, we chose to work with boys.”

s eroczynski said the groups in the detention program have been very successful in the past year.

“ we’ve had excellent attendance and no behavior problems,” she said. “They actively read and participate in groups, and we’ve had some wonderful experiences with those boys.” many participants in the de -

“One of the reasons I love Reading for Life is the involvement with the South Bend community.”

Caroline Kelleher student mentor

tention program enjoy realistic stories, s eroczynski said.

“ we find that our boys in detention pick true stories or novels that could be true, like holocaust novels, biographies, and biographical fiction.”

s eroczynski said 99 percent of participants in the program have not been prosecuted for re-offense.

“ we want to dissolve the label they have been given by becoming a juvenile delinquent,” she said. “ we don’t want them to believe that just because they have walked through those doors at the JJc at one time that that’s where they’re going to spend the rest of their life.”

s eroczynski said the reading For l ife program aims to maintain participants’ hope for the future

“ we want them to imagine a different kind of possible self,” she said. “Just because they committed one crime doesn’t mean that’s who they are or that’s they’re going to be doing for the rest of their life.”

Contact Catherine Owers at cowers@nd.edu

Math

spent that weekend doing good work, and walked away from it without anything to complain about,” he said. “They did well.”

p reparation for the competition involves participating in a one credit “boot camp” class that meets in the spring semester before the competition in February, b road said. The class focuses on different types of mathematical modeling and various mathematical strategies for approaching these models.

This year, for the first time, the class was open to students who did not compete in comap b road said he hopes to expand the class to satisfy requirements within the math major and attract more students to take the class as well as to participate in the competition.

“There isn’t any reason why it has to be [just math majors],” he said. “ i n fact there are a lot of cases where it might be valuable to have people who major in the sciences.”

m c i ntee is a dual-degree

“Sometimes having ideas about things that aren’t just math can be really helpful.”

Olivia McIntee participant

engineering student, studying math at s aint m ary’s and mechanical engineering at n otre d ame. b road said he thinks her engineering major at n otre d ame helped considerably in the competition.

“ s ometimes having ideas about things that aren’t just math can be really helpful,” he said. “ h aving a range of different kinds of students could be very beneficial, but they need to have a very strong background in math.”

o ne of the problems from this year demonstrates the varied nature of the models, he said. i t involved determining the optimal shape of a brownie pan for even heat distribution, which is not a math-specific model.

b road said he was nervous going into this year’s competition because the teams had so little time to prepare, with the competition falling barely three weeks into the spring semester.

“ i t’s really cool to watch students take their own knowledge and do something they didn’t think they could do with it,” b road said.

Contact Tabitha Ricketts at tricke01@saintmarys.edu

GAIN index finds new home at ND

By CAROLINA WILSON news writer

The gain index, a project of the global adaptation institute (gain), annually ranks countries on their vulnerability to climate change and ability to adapt to natural disasters that climate change may cause. The gain index will make its new home at notre dame becoming nd-gain

Juan Jose daboub, gain’s founding ceo and current chair of the world economic Forum’s council on climate change, said nd-gain will become an international necessity.

“The nd-gain index will become the preferred tool for decision makers in the private, public, and civil society sectors,” he said. “The index helps decision makers prioritize investments in water, food, energy, infrastructure and coastal protection, especially in

developing countries.”

Daboub said he believes the mission of the ND-GAIN endeavor will be to help vulnerable people globally.

“In a fast changing world, where urbanization, economic growth, population shifts and the effects of climate change are creating additional challenges for people, Notre Dame is positioning itself in the global state as a major playing in saving lives and improving livelihoods,” he said.

according to a recent press release, the gain index was formerly under the direction of the washington, d c.-based nonprofit global adaptation institute. The program’s primary founding sponsor was ngp energy capital management.

ken hersch, chairman of the global adaptation institute and ngp’s ceo and founder, stressed gain’s importance in a press release.

“gain highlights those countries that urgently need help

adapting to a warmer world,” hersch said. “we are thrilled about our new partnership with notre dame and it’s ability to

“The ND-GAIN index will become the preferred tool for decision makers in the private, public, and civil society sectors.”

Juan Jose Daboub GAIN’s founding CEO

help us take gain to the next level.”

Notre Dame Professor Jessica Hellmann, leading climate expert and director of the Climate Adaption Program, believes GAIN and the

University will help each other to grow.

“I will be responsible for bringing student and faculty research to bear on the ND-GAIN Index—to help build and improve it—and for bringing the Index to bear on activities at Notre Dame,” she said. “I hope to use NDGAIN to increase the profile and social relevance of our University’s worldclass research on climate change.”

The University will also use NDGAIN to advance and apply knowledge for the better of humanity and nature, she said.

“Notre Dame, and the Environmental Change Initiative (ECI,) are committed to pursuing teaching and research that makes the world a better place for diverse people and places,” Hellmann said. “NDGAIN gives us a new platform for translation and outreach that makes our research relevant to countries around the world.”

Contact Carolina Wilson at cwilso16@nd.edu

abortion doctor faces death penalty

Associated Press

philadelphia— a judge tossed three of eight murder charges Tuesday in the highprofile trial of an abortion doctor accused of killing babies prosecutors say were born alive at a clinic they dubbed “a house of horrors.”

dr. kermit gosnell, 72, still faces the death penalty if convicted on four remaining counts of first-degree murder involving babies he’s accused of killing with scissors after they were born alive.

Judge Jeffrey minehart did not explain why he dismissed the three murder counts but apparently felt he had not heard sufficient evidence from

prosecutors that those three babies were viable, born alive and then killed. much of the evidence during the five-week prosecution case has come from the recollections of former staff members, though their testimony was bolstered by graphic photographs of some of the aborted babies.

prosecutors argued that the babies were viable and that gosnell and his staff cut the backs of their necks to kill them.

“w hy would you cut a baby in the back of the neck unless you were killing it?” a ssistant district attorney ed cameron asked.

The defense questioned testimony from staffers who said they had seen babies move, cry

or breathe. defense lawyer Jack mcmahon argued that each testified to seeing only one movement or breath.

“These are not the movements of a live child,” mcmahon said. “There is not one piece — not one — of objective, scientific evidence that anyone was born alive.”

The judge also upheld murder charges in a patient’s overdose death. gosnell is charged with third-degree murder in the 2009 death of 41-year-old karnamaya mongar, a recent refugee to the u s. who died after an abortion at his women’s medical society.

mcmahon argued that thirddegree requires malice, or “conscious disregard” for her life.

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“she wasn’t treated any differently than any of the other thousands of other people who went through there,” mcmahon argued Tuesday, in a preview of his likely closing arguments. prosecutors might concede that point themselves at closings, and argue that patients were routinely exposed to unsanitary, intentionally reckless conditions at the clinic. Former staffers have testified that patients received heavy sedatives and painkillers from untrained workers while gosnell was offsite, and were then left in waiting rooms for hours, often unattended, before gosnell arrived for the late-night surgeries.

inside ColuMn

strange ways

Lily Kang photographer

“americans are kinda strange…” This phrase entered my mind on my first day of school in the united states, and echoed throughout the following years.

americans are such strict rule followers. i witnessed this once sitting on the sidelines of a high school dodgeball game. To me, it was goofy, a little violent and very american. it struck me that my classmates followed the rules of the game so strictly. even when no one noticed that a person had been hit and he could have kept playing, he voluntarily gave himself up and left the game. i was deeply impressed by how much people honored the rules even when they were not seen. it was a little strange to me because i was raised in an environment where rules are, unfortunately, usually taken for granted.

american honesty is another “strange” thing that truly humbles me. some rules seem to go without saying. in high school, we were assigned a take-home exam from our chemistry teacher. i assumed it was just like homework assignment and asked my friends if they would like to work together. however, they hesitated. at first i thought it was kind of strange, but when i realized the reasons for their reluctance i was left ashamed. even though our teacher never mentioned that collaboration with others was not allowed, my fellow classmates seem to be very vigilant about not violating the honor code. it was another important lesson i learned about the unwritten rules in america. another incident occurred at a department store. There were pillows of prices ranging from $9.99 to $40. i was debating which one to buy and the sales clerk informed me that the $40 pillow would go on sale in two days. i thanked her for letting me know and explained to her that it would not be convenient for me to come back to the store again. To my great surprise, she winked and said, “i will give you the discount now, just don’t tell anyone.” i was dumbfounded by what she offered to do. since when did americans start overlooking the rules? a rule that might increase the revenues of a store is one that other people do not need to be reminded to follow. This woman’s actions were strange, but truly nice and deeply appreciated. rules are admittedly respected in the united states, but they are also situational and flexible — when the violation of rules is harmless and intended well. americans still kind of strange. They sometimes seem dogmatic with obeying the rules, yet they contradict themselves in a proper manner. This is why i have fallen in love with this country. in chinese, the translation of a merica literally means “beautiful country.” it’s indubitably a beautiful country. Thank you for all the things you’ve taught me, ‘merica.

Contact Lily Kang at jkang5@nd.edu

The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Carter Boyd g od, c ountry, notre dame

A summer blessing

“ w hat good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness,” was well put by John steinbeck in “Travels with c harley: i n s earch of a merica.” The winter has definitely made known its presence to all inhabitants of notre d ame. walking past the lakes, we all saw the half-frozen waters with the geese and ducks, as our winged friends tried to figure out the lay of the land. They moved about, making do with the changes in nature. They seemed to have some since of peace and tranquility, with trust that this will all pass and the waters will be full and fresh again.

we have all made adjustments for the harsh, cold winter we have experienced. i, as a freshman d omer from the south, had a winter unlike any other. d ifferent, yes; good, yes; tiring, yes; frustrating, yes; and fun, of course, yes.

yet, it has been really cold, so why does steinbeck insist that the cold of winter gives summer its sweetness? well, maybe he was referring more to the no-pain, no-gain attitude. o r maybe if you do not know the dark you cannot appreciate the light. s o, if the trees were green all the time, how would we be able to recognize their

beauty in the warmth of summer? s eeing the barren trees, the snow covered limbs, lets us realize that we are all a work in progress. we all need cultivating, we need time to grow and we need time to heal. The winter does just that, as it gives us time to take a different look at our lives and maybe see ourselves in a way we have not seen before. The sweetness of the winter helps give us that burst of energy we need to put a spring into our steps and embrace the warmth of summer.

o h yes, the summertime has definitely always been a welcomed time of the year for me. i, though, think i will approach it much more differently this year. reflecting on steinbeck’s quote has given me a fresh outlook on my upcoming summer adventures. i will try not to take the time for granted and really try to feel the true warmth of the summer, the summer of g od’s warmth and love.

i know that many of us have many opportunities this summer to spend the summer of g od’s warmth. The students of notre d ame, s aint m ary’s and holy c ross have amazing opportunities to travel, volunteer, conduct research, participate in camps, internships and the list goes on and on. The options are endless and sometimes it is hard to choose what to do. i guess these are good problems to have, though. Just like my freshman

year, with all the varied and challenging experiences, i am thankful to have the amazing opportunity to be at notre d ame.

a s i look back over my incredible freshman year, i can understand what steinbeck meant. i think he is really asking how can we appreciate the warmth and love of life if we do not respect how blessed we are to have it? a s we all travel in life, it is important to not take our situations for granted. Just maybe we need to check out the ducks on the lake, see how the flowers are blooming near the dome or notice if the trees are greening. a nd while you are at it, look at your neighbor, see how he or she is doing and encourage them to share the sweetness of winter and the warmth of the summer.

a s the semester ends, i pray that all of us will experience the warmth of the summer and the blessings of g od. i look forward to experiencing the next few cold winters and warming summers with the notre d ame family in the years to come. o ur g od loves us all.

Carter Boyd is a freshman studying science-business. He can be reached at cboyd1@nd.edu

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

40 years and counting

g reat things occurred during the week of a pril 8. There is nothing like tapping into something potentially great; the event, 40 years and c ounting, did just that. however, it was just a tap.

l ast week the student organization shades of e bony invited students, faculty, staff and residents of s outh b end to celebrate 40 years of coeducation at the university of notre d ame. shades members and other students enjoyed spending the first day reflecting on the women’s call to service with a trip to st. m argaret’s house, an organization that seeks to improve the lives of women and children in s outh b end. o n Tuesday, with the help of many sponsors, around 70 students, faculty, directors and other guests met to discuss the experiences of notre d ame women over the past 40 years and what that experience means for notre d ame women today and in the future. we heard from panelists l indsay brown ’13, m rs. i ris o utlaw and k athleen c esanskiFerrand and discussed topics such as the intersectionality of identity, girl’s

education, work-life balance and women in leadership. we ended the week with a small yet deeply moving prayer service in r yan c hapel to honor and remember the women in our lives. The speakers taught us how we can all grow through the example of strong women of faith, and find the strength that g od instills within us. we could not have been more proud of this event and the amounts of support we, shades of e bony, received in executing this idea. The amount of support could also be due to the fact that, throughout this year, not much had been done to acknowledge this milestone. o verall not many students, including us, knew what life was like for the first class of women. we didn’t know that rectors like k athleen c ekanski-Farrand fought hard to gain women access to the pools in the rockne b uilding. we didn’t know that many did not feel that sense of dorm-life community. we did not know that often many did not feel comfortable in their classes, in which they were the minority. c reating this event, members of our club did not know what kind of impact this week would have on those around us and on ourselves. This was a unique opportunity to

recall the experiences of notre d ame women first hand. Forty years has not been a very long time. o ften we do not get the opportunity to discuss what it means to be a woman, or even a notre d ame woman (or a notre d ame male). The discussions that occurred over the three days during the 40 years and c ounting allowed many to express their opinions as well as share their struggles and triumphs. i n just 40 years, notre d ame women are racially, ethnically, religiously and regionally diverse. Their surroundings have definitely influenced them and there is no doubt they have greatly influenced the notre d ame community. however, we now see that we are not quite where we should be.

The event 40 years and c ounting was a time to celebrate, to reflect, and to look toward the future. i f you are interested in being involved, please contact shades@nd.edu. please look forward to this event next year!

The officers of the Shades of Ebony Club can be contacted at Shades@nd.edu

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Shaaya Ellis

“ w ho is k ermit g osnell?” is the question all a mericans should be asking themselves. k ermit g osnell is an abortion doctor with practices in w ilmington, d el.; philadelphia; and b aton rogue, l a. k ermit g osnell is currently on trial for first-degree murder, third-degree murder, illegal abortions and medical malpractice and a litany of other charges related to his disgraceful clinic.

a ptly named the “house of horror,” k ermit g osnell’s abortion clinic is now closed. i n the span of 20 years, g osnell performed gruesome and ghastly abortions inside his clinic with no regard for the unborn. h is abortion clinic in p hiladelphia is accused of murdering babies after induced labor. a ccording to philadelphia d istrict a ttorney s eth w illiams, “the baby had been born on a cold steel table and abruptly murdered by taking scissors to the neck, severing the spinal cord.” s imply put, k ermit g osnell performed infanticide with no remorse.

i n his clinic k ermit g osnell and several of his staff not only performed

letter to the editor

Who is Kermit Gosnell?

abortions but also had extreme means of ensuring “fetal demise.” a ccording to the grand jury report, g osnell would perform snippings, which is cutting the spinal cord, to ensure that the baby was fully aborted. d ue to the dilapidated conditions of the clinic, accurate records were never kept but it is estimated that g osnell and his staff killed hundred of babies. w hile he murdered hundreds of babies with the “snipping” technique, he is only on trial for eight murder charges. o n a pril 23, 2012, according to the new york Times, a philadelphia judge granted motions of acquittal for three of the charges of murder. no reason was given.

k ermit g osnell is used to being charged for his heinous acts. s everal reports have shown that state officials in pennsylvania, new york and d elaware have failed to visit or inspect g osnell’s practices as far back as 1993. The states of pennsylvania and new york disciplined g osnell’s practice of medicine. The grand jury report noted that the medical examiner of d elaware c ounty alerted the pennsylvania d epartment of health that g osnell had performed an illegal abortion on 14-year-old k arnamaya mongar who was 30

weeks pregnant; it also claimed the pennsylvania d epartment of health did not act when they became aware of g osnell’s involvement in the death of k arnamaya mongar. a fter the death of their daughter due to the botched abortion, the family brought a wrongful death suit against g osnell. The civil suit is unfortunately still pending.

The harsh truth about what transpired in g osnell’s “house of horror” over the past 20 years is that it all could have been avoided. we have to ask ourselves at what point personal responsibility becomes a factor in this equation. state officials and health inspectors should not feel like they are infringing on a woman’s right to choose by simple checking if the facilities in which abortions are conducted meet proper public health standards. i nterestingly enough, g osnell’s clinic was not exposed because of poorly-performed abortions and the murder of babies, but by the members the dea and F bi about illegally prescribing Xanax and o xytocin. The politics of abortion create atrocities like this where babies are murdered and women die as a result. under no circumstance should g osnell’s house of horror have

remained open for more than 20 years with all these deplorable acts going on.

l ikewise, those who support abortion would have us believe that it is a woman’s right to choose and they chose to get abortions at this clinic. w hilst this argument has some merit and is somewhat credible, one has to consider what that choice results in. That choice led to the murder of innocent babies.

k ermit g osnell made a living off preying on the weak and vulnerable. m r. g osnell adamantly believes his conduct was correct and that his practice was providing a viable service to p hiladelphia. m r. g osnell takes pride in his heinous acts and justifies his actions by saying that none of the aborted fetuses were viable. h is blatant disregard for human life should see him imprisoned with no parole. a ll life is sacred in nature and all life is precious to g od.

Shaaya Ellis is a sophomore political science major with a classics minor. He can be contacted at sellis2@nd.edu

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Shame on the Leprechaun Legion

h ow dare they. That was the first thing i thought when i saw the new ticket policy instituted by this slimy student organization that is just a figurehead to one of the athletic department’s cronies. c hanging the ticket student ticket policy is an affront to the institution that is n otre d ame football. The slippery slope of an identity crisis continues, and it leads all students to question what’s next. p erhaps a night game? e ncouraging fans to stand? s upposedly they are even giving time to the idea to a video board that is bigger than the average T v in dorm rooms? p laying music by the “ p rince of d arkness,” instead of letting the band play their usual four songs (my personal favorite, “ r olling in the d eep,” has to get the fellas pumped on third down). a ctually winning instead of just talking about returning to glory? p reposterous, the athletic department needs to reign in everything about the football program right now but the l egion remains the problem. n ext thing we know a huge i rish flag could be on top of the student section, obscuring 20 seconds of the band’s halftime performance. m ost relevant to the average student is the terrible direction that the l eprechaun l egion is under. The leaders who walk across campus need to realize that the l eprechaun l egion is a plague on this campus and that striving to emulate the decibel level that originates from other student sections is offensive to the n otre d ame tradition.

The proletariat needs to mobilize if we are to

neutralize this threat to our g od-given right to a six-inch piece of wood that allows us to see the backs of golden helmets — forget the game, i want to be so close to the field to really feel a part of the game at the expense of actually being able to see it. i f we are going to have to deal with this new student section, lets do it in a n otre d ame way — uniquely and more pretentiously. The solution to all of our problems is so simple — if opec can do it, we can too. w hy doesn’t everyone collude and walk to g ate e at exactly 2:46.54 before every game day. n ot only will this create such a dangerous atmosphere for everyone in the vicinity of g ate e , but it will also bring everyone together in the spirit of community — chaos and community derived from a need for tradition and over-thinking; sounds like the n otre d ame spirit if you ask me. m aybe we as students should take it a step even further. l ets all show up wearing Temple r ed at the first home game — this will show that l eprechaun l egion they can’t change the spirit of n otre d ame without our approval ( i still can’t believe their logo is on this year’s s hirt, such a pure student organization has striven to separate itself from the evil empire of the athletic department by making money for student organizations by selling shirts for said a thletic a ssociation’s events, genius, although i ’m surprised the l egion didn’t push for it to be purple). o r how about even a step further — lets boycott football. n othing tells this overreaching “student group” that they can’t

control us like the student body not showing up. That makes a lot of sense, right? a gain we need to collude on this — classic prisoner’s dilemma — we all need to abstain from buying football tickets to really tell these people that if we can’t have an assigned seat that three other people are standing in when we get to the s tadium, then we simply won’t come to the games. i can’t even tell my inebriated peers who are standing in my seat to move anymore. h ow dare they take away that quintessential game day experience from me; i know i am not the only one who savors this experience.

w hat have they ever done for us other than mess everything up? Free T-shirts for the k entucky game? l ast time i checked, our school colors were blue and gold; this group doesn’t even know what our school colors are! h anding out food before games of less attended sports? we are true fans and don’t need any motivation to show up to women’s volleyball against teams like e astern k entucky.

The l eprechaun l egion has stepped too far on this one. h ow dare they try to make n otre d ame s tadium a better place to watch a game with an intimidating atmosphere. s hame on them.

Jack Trunzo junior c onway h all, l ondon a pril 23

By MADDIE DALY scene e ditor

in my spare time, after checking Facebook and Twitter, my go-to time-wasting website is pinterest, the virtual board full of fashion, humor and food. however, whenever i am browsing pins on an empty stomach i immediately regret it because of all the delicious recipes the site has to offer. my favorite foods to re-pin are the various types of gourmet grilled cheese, made with all different types of bread, cheese, meats and vegetables. These sandwiches are actually works of art, and i am constantly trying (and usually failing) to replicate them. despite the failures, i am still determined to master the gourmet grilled cheese, and i’m going to share my favorite combinations to show everyone what they are missing out on.

Caprese Grilled Cheese

being a vegetarian, caprese is my absolute favorite kind of sandwich (if you haven’t tried au bon pain’s version, walk to the library now, it’s worth the six flex points). it is even better as a steaming, melty grilled panini; here’s how to make it: brush olive oil on both sides of two medium-thick slices of ciabatta bread. use fresh mozzarella and add two slices to your bread, place two slices of tomato on top and slather the other slice of bread with pesto. use a panini grill or just a stovetop grill and cook until the cheese melts and the bread is golden brown. if you’re feeling fancy, add a cup of tomato soup to dip it in.

*note: a modified version of the caprese

can be made in the dining hall — use shredded mozzarella cheese instead of fresh and downgrade to regular sliced bread and you still have a pretty good imitation of the real thing!

avocado spinach Grilled Cheese

a close second, this sandwich is almost as delicious as the caprese. i enjoy it best on a pretzel roll, but any kind of bread works. once again, brush the bread with olive oil. place two slices of provolone cheese on the bread, followed by a sliced-up half avocado and a handful of fresh spinach. grill your sandwich until the cheese melts and the spinach starts to wilt and serve with a side of guacamole using the other half of your avocado.

Fried Chicken and waffle Grilled Cheese

alright, as a vegetarian i am not advertising this one myself, but i’ve heard from a friend that it is heavenly, although it is a bit more complicated to make. First of all you’re going to need to whip up some waffle batter and prepare two square waffles to use as “bread.” next you’ll need about a cup of fried chicken, it’s up to you whether you are brave and/or southern enough to make that yourself. on the waffle, stack the fried chicken, a couple of slices of american cheese and a drizzle of melted butter and honey. grill time is a bit longer for this sandwich, so leave it on there for about eight minutes, four on each side. The cheese should melt but make sure to not burn the waffles.

Blueberry Brie Grilled Cheese

This sandwich will transport you to “un petit café” in paris with its brie cheese and deliciously gourmet look. For this recipe, you’ll need two slices of italian bread, a handful of fresh blueberries, two slices of brie cheese and a snippet of fresh basil. arrange the ingredients on your bread, add a dash of cinnamon sugar and grill until the cheese is melted. although delicious any time of the day, this would be perfect for a fancy sunday brunch.

Blt Grilled Cheese

This is a great combination of two classic favorites. it works best with a heartier, thick bread and is best with both cheddar cheese slices and swiss. cook three to four slices of bacon, arrange them on top of the bread and cheese and top it off with two slices of fresh tomato (even better if they’re heirloom tomatoes straight out of the garden). lather your bread with butter and grill until the cheese melts. add some sides of grilled zucchini and corn on the cob and you have the perfect summer picnic.

Cobb Grilled Cheese

This one is for the more advanced grilled cheese connoisseur because of the amount of ingredients and prep involved. Just like a cobb salad, this sandwich is stuffed with bleu cheese, tomato, hard-boiled egg, bacon, avocado and grilled chicken. how does this all fit on a sandwich, you might be wondering? well it’s going to be a bit messy to eat, so if you’re planning this for a first date you might want to choose something a bit

less unattractive to eat. use whole wheat bread and spread olive oil on the outside of each slice. start with the tomato — make sure they’re thinly sliced — then stack the avocado, sprinkle the bleu cheese, add some slices of hard-boiled egg, stack the bacon and top it with the grilled chicken. carefully transport your sandwich to a grill and cook about four minutes per side to make sure it gets heated all the way through. make sure you have a large stack of napkins because this is sure to be messy.

strawberry Grilled Cheese maybe it’s a stretch to call this one a grilled cheese, but there’s technically cheese on it and you grill it, so i think it fits the definition. sourdough works best for this sandwich, so spread butter on the outside of each slice. next, spread a thin layer of strawberry preserves on one slice. now you spread a cream cheese mixture on top — mix roomtemperature cream cheese in a bowl with orange zest and honey, it should be spreadable. spread a good amount of your mixture on top of the strawberry preserves. next comes the fresh strawberries — prepare them by cutting them up into thin slices. if you’re feeling up to it, it will taste even better if you soak the strawberries in balsamic vinaigrette first, but it will still taste delicious with plain old strawberries. stack as many on top of the cream cheese as you can and grill until warm. sprinkle powdered sugar on top and voila! you have a breakfast masterpiece.

Contact Maddie Daly at mdaly6@nd.edu

By NICOLE MICHELS

c ereal. Fried eggs. Food from a box, with directions. u ntil i interned in w ashington, d c . last summer, my cooking repertoire consisted entirely of dishes i did not need to actually cook. m y family always ate fabulously cooked meals created by my mom, which made learning to cook for myself seem quite daunting. s o, i didn’t.

m atters were complicated by my preference for relatively healthy meals, which were notoriously more difficult to make and more costly. a fter eating depressing, pre-made microwave meals, fried eggs and cereal during my first week in d c ., i decided to spend my s aturday morning scouring the internet for recipes that would meet three criteria: healthy, relatively easy to make, with common ingredients between them.

i may have set off the fire alarm four times, dumped six burned creations into the trash and ordered food several times, but at the end of my summer i was able to walk away with a list of delicious recipes i could confidently craft.

Two weeks after i returned home to c hicago, i made my two favorite meals for my dinner with my family. Though cooking for five is much more arduous than cooking for one, i laid a well-executed dinner out on the table. a nd even though our familiarity with my mom’s cooking means collectively we can be culinary snobs, my family heaped praises upon me.

a nd i don’t think they were kidding. m aybe. r egardless, take heart, wannabe-chefs. e ven the most inept among you will be able to struggle through these recipes.

Green Beans with Mustard, s hallots, Bacon

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed … or one 16-ounce package frozen

2 slices lean bacon

¼ shallots, sliced or ¼ cup sliced green onions

2 teaspoons brown or grainy mustard

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. i n a large saucepan, boil 1/2 cup of water and add green beans. c over and cook for 10-15 minutes or until beans are crisp-tender. d rain into a colander, rinse beans under cold water and set aside (if using frozen beans, cook according to package directions.)

2. i n a medium skillet, cook bacon until crisp. d rain bacon on paper towels, then crumble pieces and set aside.

3. a dd shallots to bacon drippings then raise heat to medium-high and cook until tender. Turn heat to low then stir in the mustard, salt and pepper. a dd green beans and toss until evenly coated.

4. s erve in a platter sprinkled with crumbled bacon.

Garlic s hrimp with n oodles – four servings

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined 2/3 cup shredded carrot

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. i n a wok or medium sized skillet, heat oil to medium-high heat.

2. a dd garlic and stir-fry for one minute then add shrimp and stir-fry for another minute.

3. a dd shredded carrot and stir-fry for two to three minutes or until shrimp is pink and cooked through.

4. s tir in cilantro, add salt and pepper to taste and then serve over cooked noodles (optional).

Contact Nicole Michels at nmichels@nd.edu

nothing beats a ‘mock’ draft

Cleveland gives Brown the green light for second time

d raft week is my favorite week of the year. it is like c hristmas morning for me when roger g oodell stands up on that podium and announces the draft picks. The best part of draft week is the uncertainty of it. no one will know if a pick is good until three, five, maybe even 10 years down the road, and the enormous hype created about this uncertainty is just so exciting. w hen millions of dollars are on the line, i’m saying to myself, “give him a 100-plus million dollar contract based on one year of his college career.” i n my mind, marquee college players deserve that. it is their payment for not being paid in college. They played hard, proved themselves and put their bodies on the line for four (sometimes three, but usually one or two) years. a nd what did they get out of it? a college education. w ho uses that anyway? Then if they want, they can retire nicely on the guaranteed money from their contract without ever taking a snap.

do i feel bad for the superstar junior who returns for his senior year and has a lessthan-stellar year and his draft stock drops? no. h is junior year must have been a fluke. he should have entered the draft when his stock was the highest and collected his money. c learly his college education didn’t help him. i just love predicting what is going to happen and seeing who goes where. l ike the “experts” mel k iper, k irk herbstreit, Todd mc shay and adam s chefter, i have spent the past three months looking over every factor, and i mean every factor, which could make or break a pick in the n F l i do this because in five years, i want to look back and be able to tell everyone i was right. i want to be able to say to someone, “remember when i picked him and you didn’t?” a nd with his head held extremely low, like e eyore wearing one of Flavor Flav’s necklaces, he will say, “o f course i remember the draft. everyone remembers the drafts. you were right, i admit it.”

s o like every other year, i have looked at every minute factor, crunched the numbers, consulted my ouija board, fortune teller and therapist, and have come up with my top-five picks.

1. Kansas City Chiefs

w ith the first pick of the 2013 n F l draft, the k ansas c ity c hiefs reselect v ince young from the university of Texas and then the Tennessee Titans and philadelphia e agles. young was so good he had two p ro days at Texas: one in 2006 and one in 2013.

2. Jacksonville Jaguars

This is a tricky one. i think the Jaguars will actually trade this pick to the Jets for Tim Tebow and 5,000 Jets fans. it is a win-win for everyone. The Jets can draft one of the many n F l -ready quarterbacks in the draft and disgruntled Jets fans can go to a place where they don’t have to share a stadium. The Jaguars will get the Qb of their dreams and have a fan base of at least 5,000 people.

3. oakland r aiders

i am 90 percent sure the oakland r aiders will take usain bolt with the third pick of the draft. The r aiders love speed and finding talent where no one else sees it. he may not be able to catch, but we will see. no one else has this projection, but don’t be surprised when bolt’s name is called.

4. philadelphia e agles

The no. 4 pick will be m ichael Jordan. w hen the e agles predicted themselves to be the “d ream Team” of the n F l , they were a couple of years early. They had to wait for Jordan to announce his retirement from owning the bobcats and his wish to play in the n F l he has already played baseball and basketball, he is a proven winner and he was part of the original “d ream Team.” There is only an upside in drafting Jordan.

5. detroit l ions

The fifth pick of the draft will be herschel walker. walker is a freak athlete. even at 51, he is still more beastly than most people in the n F l a fter his 13-year career in the n F l , he decided he would become an mma fighter. a fter beating up everyone he possibly could, he made a statement saying he could still compete in the n F l detroit liked what they heard and thought walker would be a great addition to the l ions’ already scary, arguably-abusive defense. now you know. you’re welcome.

Contact Isaac Lorton at ilorton@nd.edu

The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Observer

Associated Press

cleveland — mike brown and the cavaliers are getting back together.

brown, who led the cavs to the playoffs in all five seasons he coached them from 2005-10, has agreed in principle to a contract to return as their coach for a second time, a person with knowledge of the situation told The associated press on Tuesday. brown hasn’t yet signed his new deal, but has agreed to take the job, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because negotiations were ongoing. brown’s hiring could be announced as early as wednesday.

The sides are working through the length of the deal and other matters, but brown’s back with the team he guided to its greatest successes.

“i’m happy for him,” said miami’s lebron James, who played in cleveland under brown. “very happy for him. i think he’s a really good coach, very defensive-minded coach. it’ll be good for those young guys that they have.”

brown went 272-138 and went to the playoffs every season with the cavs, teaming with James on a run to the nba Finals in 2007. he was fired by owner dan gilbert after the cavs lost to boston in the 2010 eastern conference semifinals, shortly before James decided he was leaving cleveland as a free agent.

brown spent one full season with the lakers, but was fired by los angeles five games into this season.

The cavs have been without a coach since firing byron scott last week following his third straight losing season.

one of the main factors in brown’s decision to come back to cleveland was that he had already planned to move his family back to the area, long before scott was fired. brown is also close friends with cavaliers general manager chris grant.

brown met with gilbert and grant on sunday in detroit and negotiations intensified. gilbert

reached out to a few other highprofile coaches, including phil Jackson. but Jackson had no interest and the search quickly zeroed in on brown, who was the only candidate to be interviewed.

The cavs knew they had to act quickly to snare brown before they were in competition with other teams to sign him. phoenix reportedly reached out to brown about their vacancy in recent days, and other teams were expected to contact the 43-year-old. and now that brown is back in cleveland, it remains to be seen what impact that could have on James one day returning to the cavs. he can opt out of his contract with miami next summer, and there has long been speculation about him coming back home to play in northeast ohio. last week, James positively touted brown’s possible return to cleveland.

beyond his stellar record and postseason triumphs, brown also helped build a winning foundation with the cavs. it certainly helped that James was around, but brown instilled a winning attitude and defense-wins belief in his players.

scott was fired last week after three seasons following a 24-win season and with one year left on his contract. scott was strapped with a young, inexperienced squad but owner dan gilbert didn’t think the cavs made adequate progress - especially on

defense - with him so he’s handed his team back to the same coach he fired three years ago. brown’s return to cleveland isn’t really all that surprising.

The cavs wanted a successful, defensive-minded coach and they had their greatest success in five seasons under brown, who was certainly helped by having James on his teams. but he has made the playoffs in all six seasons as an nba head coach, and shown the ability to develop younger players during his first stint with cleveland.

The cavs won at least 45 games each season during brown’s tenure and went 66-16 in 2008-09 when he was named nba coach of the year. his teams in cleveland always played solid defense, ranking among the top in most categories. James has credited brown with making him a better defensive player and getting him to understand the importance of defending the basket. brown, though, was criticized for a stagnant offense that too often relied simply on James’ marvelous athletic skills, especially late in games.

brown was fired by gilbert after the cavs were beaten in the 2010 playoffs by boston. James was accused of quitting on the team during that series and there was tension in the final weeks between the league mvp and his coach.

UNPLANNED PREGNANCY? Don’t go it alone. Notre Dame has many resources in place to assist you. If you or someone you love needs confidential support or assistance, please call Ann Whitall at 1-0084 or Karen Kennedy at 1-5550. For more information, visit ND’s website at: http:// pregnancysupport@nd.edu

Irish sweep Huskies in doubleheader

By MEGAN FINNERAN sports writer

n otre d ame (35-10, 15-1 b ig e ast) returned home Tuesday for a doubleheader sweep over c onnecticut (2222, 6-10) in m elissa c ook s tadium. The squad earned two wins — 6-0 in game one and 11-1 in five innings in game two — extending its winning streak to nine games. The second win marked d eanna g umpf’s 500th career win as i rish head coach.

Junior pitcher l aura w inter led the squad on the mound in game one, only allowing two hits against the h uskies in six innings. w inter was named the usa s oftball

n ational c ollegiate p layer of the w eek on Tuesday.

The afternoon took a slow start until a double by junior infielder c hloe s aganowich in the bottom of the fourth gave the i rish a 3-0 lead by sending home junior outfielder l auren s tuhr, sophomore catcher c assidy w hidden and freshman pinch runner c arly p iccinich.

w inter rode the momentum of the runs, quickly ending the top of the fifth with two strikeouts and an easy groundout.

s enior catcher a my b untin then rose to the occasion for the i rish, hitting a double to send sophomore infielder Jenna s imon home from

third and advancing to third herself on the throw. w inter followed with an rbi of her own on a sacrifice fly to

score b untin, stretching the lead to 5-0. The i rish added another run in the inning for the final margin.

“ o ur hitters one through nine executed at the plate when we needed it and our pitchers found a way to get outs and keep us in the ball game,” b untin said. w inter closed out the top of the sixth in less than three minutes with three straight outs.

Freshman pitcher a llie r hodes ended the game on the mound for the i rish with one strikeout in a perfect seventh inning.

i n game two, the h uskies took an early 1-0 lead when freshman third baseman l exi g ifford was singled home after two walks. n otre d ame went scoreless in the bottom of the first and second before taking off in the third.

a b untin single sent sophomore center fielder e milee k oerner home to tie the game at one. w inter stepped up to the plate next with another single, advancing to second on the throw and sending b untin and s imon home to end the inning with a 3-1 lead. The i rish scored eight more runs in the bottom of the fourth, overcoming a 20-minute rain delay to widen the gap. b untin finished the game with three rbi , two runs scored and a home run.

“The two games against uc onn gave us a lot of confidence in our game going into this weekend for d e p aul,” b untin said.

The i rish next face d e p aul in a three-game series on s aturday and s unday in c hicago.

Contact Megan Finneran at mfinnera@nd.edu

Irish secure conference title after strong rally

By GREG HADLEY

s ports w riter

d own seven shots to l ouisville after s unday’s first round of the b ig e ast championship at r eunion r esort and g olf c lub in o rlando, Fla., the i rish faced the possibility of a disappointing tournament finish after a strong regular season.

h owever, the team methodically rallied back to take the conference title and set a b ig e ast championship record for total team score at a six-under-par 861.

w ith the win, the i rish claim their fifth conference championship in program history and third under coach s usan h olt. n otre d ame finished 14 strokes ahead of the second place c ardinals and more than 40 shots better than third place s t. John’s, which shot a total of 904.

h olt said she was especially proud of how her team did not let the championship competition disrupt its focus.

“ i ’m proud of how well the team responded to the first round,” h olt said. “They played great, stayed focused and didn’t get wrapped up in trying to beat the competition.”

The i rish got stronger as the tournament progressed, posting their best score of the year, 282, in Tuesday’s final round.

h olt credited her golfers’ determination and poise for n otre d ame’s performance.

l eading the charge for the i rish were freshmen l indsey weaver and Talia c ampbell, who each ended the tournament at six-under-par and were declared individual co-champions. Their final scores of 210 strokes also broke the b ig e ast championship individual record by three shots.

n ot far behind was sophomore a shley a rmstrong, who bounced back from a fiveover-par first round to shoot two-under in her final round, vaulting her from 13th to fifth. Junior k ristina n him and sophomore k elli o ride also had strong tournaments, as they finished tied for eight and 14th, respectively.

“ l indsey and Talia played great, but it was a team effort,” h olt said. “ e veryone did a great job of playing the golf course, which was giving up low scores. i didn’t have to talk to them about their play going into final round. we only talked after the first round to regroup a bit and stay focused.”

a lthough h olt said she enjoyed the victory, she said she is already focusing on

the road ahead, which starts with m ay’s ncaa regionals.

“ we had a list of goals coming into the season,” h olt said. “ w inning the conference was one of our main goals. The next big one is advancing to the ncaa finals. we definitely should be in the regionals, based on our ranking, so we’re excited to see where we go and [want to] try to get in the top eight.”

The i rish will next compete at the ncaa regionals, which will take place from m ay 9-11. i f the squad advances, it will compete in the ncaa finals, which will be held in a thens, g a., beginning m ay 22.

Contact Greg Hadley at ghadley@nd.edu

Rockets frustrate Irish pitchers in loss

By VICKY JACOBSEN sports writer

Toledo senior center fielder ben hammer responded to the i rish pitching staff as if he were in batting practice Tuesday, as he knocked in two home runs and five rbi on four hits to lead the rockets to a 15-3 win over the i rish at scott park in Toledo, ohio.

“obviously, hammer was hitting the ball pretty darn good off us today,” i rish coach m ik aoki said. “w hen you’re not pitching that well, i think anyone can do some damage against you.”

The i rish pitching battery struggled all afternoon, as sophomore right-hander matt Ternowchek started the game and lasted just one inning. Ternowchek gave up three runs on two hits, one of which was hammer’s first home run of the game. a fter allowing two more runs in the third inning, freshman right-hander nick mccarty had the i rish (22-16, 4-8 big east) back on track for a bit, but he allowed hammer’s second home run in the bottom

of the fifth inning. The rockets (15-24, 6-9 mac ) put the i rish away for good with six runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh.

“we just weren’t very good,” aoki said of his team’s performance. “i think our pitching just put us too far behind the eight-ball, and it’s difficult to play offense that way.”

one of the bright spots in the notre dame box score was sophomore left fielder connor biggio, who had three hits but never crossed the plate. Junior first baseman Trey mancini had two rbi on two hits and scored notre dame’s other run himself.

The game was originally scheduled to be played at notre dame, but an unpromising forecast for Tuesday afternoon in south bend convinced the teams to move the contest to Toledo.

The loss is a disappointing development for the i rish, who were hoping to build on the three-game win streak that began with a sweep of Quinnipiac over the weekend. i nstead, notre dame slipped back into

the type of play that lead to its six-game losing streak earlier this month.

“i don’t think overall we’ve played particularly well since maybe the kent state game almost a month ago,” aoki said.

“we’ve had some bright spots and some good moments here and there, but we haven’t consistently played as well as we

did for the first 20 games of the season.”

The i rish will return to Frank eck stadium tomorrow, and freshman right-hander Zac kutsulis will take the mound against no. 23 m ichigan state (22-11, 5-4 big Ten).

“certainly, [ m ichigan state] handled us pretty easily in the last two seasons,” aoki

said, adding that the i rish lost their 2011 home finale to the spartans by a score of 20-3.

“we’ll have to play well to come out with a good result.”

notre dame and m ichigan state will meet tonight at 5:35 p.m. at Frank eck stadium.

Contact Vicky Jacobsen at vjacobse@nd.edu

saint mary’s sets sights on conference tournament

By SAMANTHA ZUBA sports writer

Two more conference matches means two more chances for the belles to make a statement and secure a place in the miaa’s top four. if saint mary’s (10-6, 4-2 miaa) ends the season in the top four, it is headed to the miaa

conference tournament.

coming off a 6-3 victory over non-conference north central, the belles will try to keep rolling with the same focused mindset in a conference match against calvin.

“no changes right now,” belles coach dale campbell said.

“Just to improve every day and

continue to play better doubles and figure out how to win the close singles matches.”

saint mary’s has just two regular season matches left, one at calvin (5-12, 3-4) on wednesday and one at kalamazoo (10-7, 5-1) on saturday. For the eighth season in a row, the belles have won at least 10 matches.

paid a dverT isemen T

calvin has struggled this season, but took a positive turn on march 8, edging no. 25 davenport, 5-4. The k nights’ no. 3 through 6 singles secured victories, as did no. 3 doubles. campbell said he was cautiously confident heading into the match against a struggling team.

“confident, but taking

absolutely nothing for granted,” campbell said.

last season, calvin finished fourth in the miaa with a 5-3 conference record to snag the final spot in the miaa tournament. The k nights have not performed as well in conference this season, but calvin has won three straight conference matches. The most recent win came monday against Trine, when the k nights triumphed 6-3. campbell insisted the belles could not take the matches against calvin lightly.

“we have lost to calvin a lot over the years, but have won recently,” campbell said. “They are a very formidable opponent.”

The k nights defeated olivet, 8-1, on Friday. The belles also secured one of their largest margins of victory against olivet, which ended its season winless. saint mary’s defeated the comets, 9-0, on april 4. regardless of what happened throughout the rest of the season, campbell said the only focus should be on the upcoming match and trying to win.

“bottom line, we want to get the victory, but we have to focus on the ball and one shot at a time,” campbell said.

saint mary’s will travel to calvin on wednesday for matches beginning at 4 p.m.

Contact Samantha Zuba at szuba@nd.edu

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who took over the paint in the second half. s coring most of their points inside, s tewart and s wanagan seemed to be difficult matchups at times.

i n fact, s wanagan told two-sport star and #Team43 coach sophomore p at c onnaughton, ‘ i ’m about to go to work, take notes,’ before backing his man down for a bucket.

#Team43, however, put up a tough fight, only trailing by three at the end of the first half. d espite their efforts, d g p proved to be too much to handle, as its second half surge gave the team the lead.

l ate in the game, #Team43 tried to battle back, making shots and preventing inside passes. b ut the shooting of second year law student b ryan p asciak, a former basketball player at d ivision ii Ferris s tate, sealed the victory for g d p

Contact Cole Schietinger at cschieti@nd.edu

By MARY GREEN

s

ports w riter

n o. 11 u ncle d rew def. n o. 6 Burn d ogs w ith strong gusts of wind and rain that gradually picked up as the game progressed, the matchup between n o. 11 u ncle d rew and n o. 6 b urn d ogs was determined by the quality of both teams’ defense, and u ncle d rew ultimately made enough stops to take the 2119 victory.

The game was close throughout its duration, as neither squad led by more than three points. The night’s main matchup came in the paint between u ncle d rew third year law student k evin b rooks and b urn d ogs freshman p atrick m azza, who led his team with eight points. The pair clashed on each possession, fighting for every rebound and trying to stop the other from getting an easy shot.

u ncle d rew senior r yan m urphy said those exchanges echoed his team’s strong defensive performance throughout the rainy game. “ d efense is key anytime, especially when you struggle on offense to get buckets because your hands are wet and it’s hard to shoot,” he said.

Football assistant strength and conditioning coach d avid g rimes scored a game-high nine points for u ncle d rew, utilizing a combination of long-range jumpers and circus-shot layups. m urphy, b rooks, sophomore Tyrell a tkins and senior e ric r oth contributed to u ncle d rew’s winning effort as well.

For the b urn d ogs, which

consisted of m azza, freshman b rian s pahn, graduate student r yan r ichter, senior c onner w right and second year law student h enry c iocca, just getting to the s weet 16 this year was not enough.

“ i ’m not impressed [with our run],” m azza said. “ w e should’ve gone further.”

w ith this victory, u ncle d rew moves into the e lite e ight, where it will play Team 3 tonight at 6 p.m.

n o. 3 t eam 3 def. n o. 14 Glory d ays

p laying through a steady rain that never let up, n o. 3 Team 3, formerly known as the c oncrete m ixers, never relented in its s weet 16 matchup, as it defeated resilient n o. 14 g lory d ays, 21-18.

b ehind a strong ninepoint performance from former i rish basketball player, senior m ike b roghammer, Team 3 held the lead for the majority of the game, quickly recovering from a brief deficit at the start of the second half. The squad consisted of k eough residents b roghammer, seniors Joe w illiams, m att k ilgannon, e rik van e peren and James m c c lay and junior m ark c oyne.

w ith a pair of tall players

in the frontcourt, w illiams said feeding the ball down low was his team’s goal for the game.

“[ w e focused on] emphasizing the post game,” he said. “ w e are lucky to have two very talented forwards in m ike b roghammer and e rik van e peren.”

Though Team 3 maintained a consistent lead, g lory d ays, made up of mba students d rew b edward, Tony n iemeier, c hris c averly, b rian m artin and John b aranowski, played hard until the 21st point, tallying three late scores and putting up a strong defensive front to cut their final margin of defeat to only three points.

“[ i was impressed with] our defense,” b edward said. “They had really big guys, and we had to collapse and double team them, so we fought hard though we were overmatched.”

l ed by its formidable frontcourt, Team 3 will meet u ncle d rew today at 6 p.m. in the e lite e ight.

Contact Mary Green at mgreen8@nd.edu.

By A.J. GODEAUX

s ports w riter

n

def. n o. 10 t he s how

The rain was pouring down, and so were n o.7

Former Team 13’s interior shots, as former i rish basketball player senior Jack c ooley helped the team scrape out a 21-18 victory over n o. 10 The s how in a very physical game.

Former Team 13, which consisted of c ooley, juniors c hris vanderschans, a ndrew s auerwein and p aul Frierott and senior Tim w helan, attempted to feed c ooley the ball from the get-go and use the bruising center to exploit The s how’s relative lack of size.

The s how, an all-sophomore team comprised of n ate b urggraf, m att h egarty, k urt w emhoener, r yan p rom, and b rett d olan, held its own defensively against c ooley in the first half, as c ooley made only one of his first four shots.

p layers on both teams agreed the rainy conditions had a negative effect on the play, as there were several occasions when the ball slipped out of players’ hands as they went up for shots.

“ w e’re an outside shooting team, which makes it tough,” p rom said. “ s ince it’s wet, you can’t get up off the ground like if it were dry, which hurts against

someone like c ooley.”

Though c ooley got off to a slow start on the offensive end, he affected the game on the defensive end with eight blocked shots, which forced The s how to hesitate before driving into the lane.

“ n o one even attempted to shoot inside against [ c ooley],” vanderschans said. “ i f we keep playing zone with him in the middle like that, we’ll be in good shape.”

i n addition to his interior defense, c ooley also scored eight points in the second half, finishing eight-of-11 from the field and adding two free throws to end with a total of 10 points. i t wasn’t all a one-man show, though, as Frierott also pitched in seven points of his own.

“ i t helps when you have a first team all- b ig e ast player,” p rom said. “[Former Team 13] has a lot of other good players, but he’s definitely the reason it won.”

Former Team 13 will play r omeo m edical c linic tonight at 5 p.m.

n o. 1 s ophomores at h oly Cross def. n o. 16 t he Big Mirks

The n o. 1 vs. n o. 16 matchup was an all- h oly c ross

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consists of four sophomore members of the h oly c ross basketball team –d arrell m c i ntyre, a lajowon e dwards, Zoe b auer, g eorge s tainko – and n otre d ame s ports p roperties employee b eau b auer.

a nother member of the h oly c ross basketball team, senior m ike v ander p loeg, led The b ig m irks, scoring the bulk of his team’s points.

s ophomores at h oly c ross raced out to an 11-4 halftime lead, taking advantage of The b ig m irks turnovers to score easy transition baskets. a fter v ander p loeg scored the first three buckets of the second half and narrowed the gap to four points, s ophomores at h oly c ross stepped back on the gas pedal, outscoring The b ig m irks 10-2 to close out the game.

b auer and e dwards carried the scoring load for the s ophomores of h oly c ross.

b auer was seemingly unaffected by the torrential rain, using his midrange jumper to finish with six points. e dwards led his team with seven points, as he attacked the basket at will.

v ander p loeg said his opponent’s ability to handle the elements made the difference in the game.

“ w e just had trouble handling the ball,” v ander p loeg said. “ i t’s slick out there, and there are puddles everywhere, too, which made it really tough.”

s ophomores at h oly c ross will play o nions!!! tonight at 7 p.m.

Contact A.J. Godeaux at agodeaux@nd.edu

By CASEY KARNES s ports w riter

n o. 2 r omeo Medical Clinic def. n o. 15 t he d rones

n o. 15 The d rones came up just short in their upset bid against n o. 2 r omeo m edical c linic, falling 21-17 after it led for much of the game.

r omeo m edical c linic came into the game looking to use their height advantage and tenacious defense. The team of juniors Tom h ickey, d om r omeo, Jack g ardner, Tyler s onsalla, and k evin Timperman said its take pride in the fundamentals. “ w hen we can, we like to run and push the ball, but also play hard half-court defense,” g ardner said. “Teams try to play zone on us … so we just try to move the ball quickly and get it inside.”

The d rones had other plans, however, coming out in an aggressive man defense to take advantage of the slippery conditions and heavy rain. h oly c ross sophomore m att m ackowiak led the team with 11 points, draining several deep shots in the first half to give The d rones a 11-10 lead at the break. The d rones’ other team members, n otre d ame juniors m ichael b radley and k evin Fink and h oly c ross

seniors a dam a rsenault and l avarr b arnett fought with their taller opponents for every loose ball. i n the end, however, the height mismatch was too much to overcome for The d rones, as it fell by four.

“They hit the boards hard,” m ackowiak said. “They had size on us, and just were able to make more plays. [ s till] it was a blast, and i had a lot of fun.”

w ith the game tied at 16, r omeo m edical c linic went on a 5-1 run behind r omeo and s onsalla, who had seven and six points, respectively. That run provided the winning margin for r omeo m edical c linic, but the victors said they weren’t satisfied with just moving onto the e lite e ight.

“[This isn’t] a team, it’s a family,” r omeo said. “ w e’re going to keep playing together and keep winning.”

r omeo m edical c linic will face Former Team 13 tonight at 5 p.m.

n o. 5 rd . n C.J r .KG. tp. def. n o.12 Charlie Keller

n o. 5 rd nc .J r kg .T p used a fast-paced offense and balanced scoring to run n o. 12 c harlie k eller off the court in a 21-5 victory.

c harlie k eller, made up of c ampus m inistry p rogram c oordinator John p aul l ichon, c enter for r esearch c omputing a ssociate d irector p aul b renner, n otre d ame v ision d irector l enny d elorenzo, and ace program teacher a ndrew h oyt and senior b en Turk

was not able to keep up with its younger counterpart.

c harlie k eller’s captain, Fr. p ete m c c ormick, c s c ., was unable to attend the game, leaving the team with only five players. rd nc .J r kg T p., composed of senior r yan d unbar, junior n ate c arr, junior Jeremy r iche, freshman Travis p ate and sophomore k evin g ates, credited its success to its team chemistry.

“ w e have a lot of chemistry together,” d unbar said.

“ w e all lived in k eenan at some point, and have played interhall [basketball] together. i think that helps us move the ball well and create some open looks.”

That familiarity helped rd nc .J r kg .T p. jump out to a quick 4-0 lead against c harlie k eller, and the team never looked back. i t took a halftime lead of 11-2 behind

c arr’s stellar shooting and strong team defense, which allowed them to score transition baskets. c arr led the way with seven points in the game, while b renner and l ichon each scored two for c harlie k eller. e ach member of rd nc .J r kg .T p scored at least two points in the winning effort.

“ i ’ve been playing for 14 years, and these guys were just amazing,” d elorenzo said of rd nc .J r kg .T p “They shot lights out from outside, and were really big inside. They have a shot at the championship.”

d unbar said his team has its eyes on the ultimate prize.

“ w e missed it last year, so it’s championship or bust [this year],” d unbar said.

Contact Casey Karnes at wkarnes@nd.edu

belles travel to Trine for doubleheader

By MEREDITH KELLY sports writer

despite the potential for rainy weather, the belles will travel to a ngola, ind., to face Trine today in a doubleheader at 3:30 p.m. coming off a split against hope and six total games saturday through monday, the belles (17-13, 7-3 miaa) feel prepared to take on the Thunder (29-3, 12-0), the no. 1 team in the miaa, belles coach erin sullivan said.

“we are excited to keep playing,” sullivan said. “we are doing well right now and besides a little fatigue … we will be ready for four more games in the next two days.”

a s well as being undefeated in the miaa, Trine is the defending conference champion. regardless, sullivan said she believes the belles could win if they perform how they did in their first game against hope.

“Trine is playing well so

they have a lot of confidence,” sullivan said. “we need to go into the games prepared to win and knowing all of the pressure is on Trine to continue to perform well and keep their streak alive.”

sullivan also said the belles need to prepare for Trine’s fast pitching. sullivan said the belles mostly took Tuesday off but also took some cuts off the pitch machine at a higher speed to prepare for the pitchers at Trine.

The belles’ pitching has been top notch, as well. Junior pitcher callie selner won her 10th game of the season against hope, while belles freshman sarah burke has won seven games this season. sullivan said both are expected to play in the doubleheader against Trine.

There is a chance of showers in a ngola tomorrow, yet sullivan said she believes they will play despite light rain.

sullivan also said with the miaa tournament a few weeks away, a win against the topranked team in the miaa would greatly boost the belles’ morale.

“we have struggled to get a win against Trine lately, so it would be a great boost of confidence for us and another step toward the conference tournament, certainly,” sullivan said.

sullivan said this game not only puts the belles up against great competition, but also provides a great learning experience for the duration of the season.

“i think this will be a good test to see what we are doing well and what we may need to improve when we get to the tournament,” she said.

The belles will attempt to topple Trine in a doubleheader at 3:30 p.m. today in a ngola, ind.

“The field at Trine is dry and tarped, so i think unless the rain is brutal or there is lightning, we will play,” sullivan said.

Contact Meredith Kelly at mkelly29@nd.edu

loss [northwestern] just suffered at the hands of an incredible Florida team, it’s always an interesting thing with 18-22 year olds. we certainly saw that Florida played [its] best game of the year because we’ve had an opportunity to scout that film and it was a very off day for northwestern. every team seems to have one of those days every once in a while.”

northwestern holds a 13-2 lead in the regional rivalry and will be looking for its 14th straight victory over the irish. notre dame last beat the wildcats in 2003, and most recently fell to northwestern in the first round of last season’s ncaa tournament.

a lthough “Fall ball” games do not affect regular season records, the irish did defeat the wildcats twice in exhibitions last september. senior goalkeeper ellie hilling said the two exhibition victories, in addition to northwestern’s most recent loss, give notre dame confidence heading into today’s matchup.

“we played them twice and beat them in fall ball and even though that doesn’t really count, it gave us some confidence in our team knowing that [the wildcats] are beatable,” she said. “They also did just get crushed by Florida. so knowing they are beatable, it’s our stadium, we’re playing under the lights—i think everyone’s going to be pretty excited, and it would just be awesome [to win].”

w hen the two teams met in september, both were missing key contributors and neither

played complicated defensive or offensive schemes. despite the unstructured format, halfpenny said the irish emerged from their matchups with northwestern in september with the knowledge that they matched up well with the wildcats.

“w hile [the exhibitions] might seem a little bit like street ball, roll the ball out and see what happens, i think that our team definitely walked away [from them] with some major confidence,”

halfpenny said. “we know that athletically we stacked up really nicely against them, that

mentally we felt like we could handle their pressure and their game. even though a lot has changed since september, i definitely think that gives our team the belief that we’re on common ground with them.”

in its last two games, notre dame trailed by multiple goals early in the first half. according to hilling, the irish want to begin each game well, but they don’t worry about early deficits.

“The whole year we’ve kind of been a second-half team, and i think in a majority of our games we’ve been down in the first half

or the first couple minutes or first part of the half, so it is important for us to start out strong,” hilling said. “it’s also kind of nice to know we do well in the second half, just knowing if we’re down a couple goals no one’s panicking because we’re used to coming back.”

halfpenny said the irish have been trying to start games well for several weeks but noted that she felt their intensity was lacking in the losses to the orange (12-3, 6-0) and the huskies (13-2, 5-1) last weekend. she said notre dame would be more motivated

to play a complete game against northwestern.

“we’ve been focused on [beginning the game well] for the second half of the season,” halfpenny said. “That will to win and that extra fire in the belly was definitely missing over the course of last weekend. we are going to put a great emphasis on getting out to a fast start.”

The irish and wildcats face off at 7 p.m. tonight at a rlotta stadium.

Contact Cory Bernard at cbernard@nd.edu

soviet union of women’s lacrosse, winning national championships seven of the last eight years. in the year the wildcats didn’t win the championship, 2010, they nonetheless made the national championship game, losing to maryland by two. To the wildcats, anything less than another national title is a failure, and they have their sights set on a three-peat.

all the more reason why a notre dame upset tonight would be even sweeter.

brooks said to his team, “if we played them ten times, they might win nine. but not this game. not tonight.”

The u s. team proved their coach’s words true 23 years ago, and wednesday seems to be the perfect set-up for a similar upset. in the past, northwestern has owned notre dame. last year, the wildcats beat the irish twice, including a victory in the opening round of the ncaa tournament to send notre dame home early and end coach christine halfpenny’s fantastic inaugural season.

This season seems to have set the irish up for a stronger postseason showing. while last season’s 8-0 start was impressive, the irish exceeded that mark when they came flying out of the gate this season, notching 10 straight wins. during this winning streak, notre dame

showed it can play any type of game. The irish proved they could come back from halftime deficits, rallying back to win early season games against then-no. 18 ohio state and stanford. They demonstrated they could flat out dominate games from the opening draw, which they did in a 22-1 thrashing of detroit and a 14-2 beat down of villanova. perhaps most importantly, they showed they could steal games from the jaws of defeat: they survived a 12-11 scare against vanderbilt, a 16-15 double overtime shootout against louisville, and a 13-12 thriller with then-no. 8 georgetown.

lately, the squad has struggled, losing three of its last four after starting the season so well. as counterintuitive as it may seem, this rough patch the irish have hit is exactly what will help them to

focus before attempting to knock off a team like northwestern. it’s an age-old saying that teams do best when their backs are back against the wall, and, with just two games remaining and still no conference tournament berth locked up, notre dame certainly has been backed into a corner.

The irish need to win. and they will.

how confident am i? confident enough that i would ask famed announcer al michaels to broadcast the game so he could deliver his famous “do you believe in miracles?” line after notre dame knocks off the mighty wildcats.

why am i so confident? it’s simple. northwestern is beatable, as it is coming off a 22-4 loss to then-no. 3 Florida, and the irish need a spark.

The opportunity is there, and as brooks said, “This is your time! now

go out there and take it.”

Contact Alex Wilcox at awilcox1@nd.edu

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: dev patel, 23; Jaime k ing, 34; Jonathan ruckman, 44; g eorge lopez, 52

Happy Birthday: research and prepare before you make a decision that will alter your life professionally, financially or physically. a power struggle can be expected, requiring you to take measures that are well thought-out and unique. make your mind up to put everything you’ve got into accomplishing your goals, and you will come out on top. your numbers are 4, 10, 16, 21, 33, 35, 46.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): avoid emotional encounters with peers. if someone is pressuring you, back away. concentrate on your work and taking care of your responsibilities. an unexpected opportunity must be considered, but refrain from making an impulsive move without getting all the facts first.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taking action will make a difference. pressure will be put on you if you keep changing your mind. mull over what you want to achieve before you begin. past experience will help you make a better choice now. put love first.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): plan every move you make. giving out too much information will lead to interference. negotiate shrewdly and invest conservatively. Find an alternative if someone blocks you. Think fast and adapt to change and you will reach your goal.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Take on responsibilities if it will position you to make the reforms you feel are necessary. Target your goal and be persistent. your dedication and passion to achieve will impress someone with something to offer.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): do whatever it takes to get the job done. complaints will be made if you don’t honor a promise. your ability to think fast and operate like a leader will not go unnoticed. someone is likely to be jealous of you.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): knowledge, sharing and visiting people who offer insight into something you want to do or pursue should be the focal point of your day. networking, socializing or concentrating on a love interest will enhance your life.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): make a decision. Take care of an investment and put money into your living space or a service you want to offer. don’t let your emotions stand in the way. make a decision and follow through. avoid unpredictable people who may be offering empty promises.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): offer something different, unique and challenging to the people you believe in or care about the most. your ability to diversify and create will enable you to make changes that will allow you to have more fun and expand your interests.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): make the domestic alterations that will give you the freedom to enjoy life and be surrounded by people who share your interests. networking or participating in a worthy cause will lead to stellar connections. partnership opportunities are present.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): make changes to your lifestyle that fit your current situation and you will flourish. a new job or changing the way you do things will result in stability, less stress and opportunities that bring you greater freedom. love is in the stars.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): money, health and legal concerns should be your prime concern. expand your personal goals and you will satisfy your needs. do your own thinking and make decisions that work for you. avoid anyone trying to control you.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): how you earn and handle your money must be looked at carefully. a conservative outlook will help you build a solid plan for the future that will enable you to achieve some of the dreams you have yet to achieve.

Birthday Baby: you are determined, outspoken and willful. you embrace challenges.

By COLE SCHIETINGER

s ports w riter

n o. 9 o nions!!! def. n o. 8 a mish Guard

i n the battle between n o. 8 a mish g uard and n o. 9 o nions!!!, o nions!!! managed to fend off the g uard’s inside attack and pull off the s weet s ixteen victory by a score of 21-13.

e arly on, the a mish g uard, composed of i rish g uard members, seemed to have the advantage, as it dominated the boards to start the first half. h owever, o nions!!! kept it close with strong mid-range shooting. a fter falling into a 10-7 halftime deficit, o nions!!! opened up a second half lead with a 6-0 run.

Field narrows to the elite

s tewart and s wanagan seemed to be BooKstore BasKetBall

o nions!!! senior captain c hris h erlihy led the way for his team, shooting three-for-eight from the field to score a total of six points. d espite his individual efforts, h erlihy cited his

Bookstore Basketball tournament continues with eight teams remaining to vie for championship see booksTore

team’s second half defensive and rebounding efforts as the main reasons for its big win.

“The way we played defense in the second half was a big difference,” h erlihy said. “a lso, our rebounding in the second half was a big reason why we won.”

d espite ending the game with 24 rebounds compared to a mish g uard’s 32 boards, o nions!!! actually out-rebounded its opponent in the second half after suffering a -13 rebounding differential in the first half.

o nions!! will take on n o.

1 s ophomores at h oly c ross tonight at 7 p.m. in the e lite e ight.

n o. 4 d .G. p def. n o. 13 # t eam43 o ut on the rain-soaked b ookstore b asketball courts, n o. 4 d g p and n o. 13 #Team43 faced off for nearly an hour before d g p pulled out the 21-15 win.

The rain was not enough to hold back the frontcourt tandem of first year law student and former i rish offensive lineman c hris s tewart and

men’s basketball assistant coach h arold s wanagan, who took over the paint in the second half. s coring most of their points inside,

Irish to take on powerhouse Northwestern squad

By CORY BERNARD sports writer

no. 10 notre dame hosts no. 4 northwestern tonight at a rlotta stadium in a matchup of two top-10 teams looking to rebound from recent losses.

notre dame (11-3, 5-3 big east) fell 11-8 to no. 5 syracuse on Friday and lost 10-7 against then-no. 19 connecticut on sunday. The wildcats (13-2, 4-1 a merican lacrosse conference) dropped a 22-4 decision to thenno. 3 Florida on saturday in gainesville, Fla.

irish coach christine halfpenny said the lopsided loss is not indicative of the northwestern team notre dame will face today.

“i look at their entire body of work over the course of the season when i’m scouting an opponent,” she said. “you look at that

Team has ability to best Wildcat dynasty

Alex Wilcox sports writer

“great moments are born from great opportunity.” legendary hockey coach herb brooks said this to his underdog united states team before taking on the soviet union squad in the 1980 winter olympics. as everyone knows, the u s defeated the vaunted soviets in the “miracle on ice” and went on to win the gold medal. with the back-to-back national champion northwestern wildcats coming to town on wednesday, the time is now for the no. 10 irish to create their own “miracle on ice” moment.

no. 4 northwestern boasts the preeminent women’s lacrosse program in the country. They are the soviet union of women’s lacrosse, winning national championships