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Without further ado, we bring you the results of the last week's Irish match-ups.
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Hockey: Happily, the no. 9 Irish (23-12-3, 19-8-3-2) swept Bowling Green in two quarterfinal games of CCHA tournament play last weekend. Friday, Notre Dame claimed an overtime win, 1-0, behind a goal from Bryan Rust. The Irish, 5-0-2 since February 17th and in their new gold helmets, outshot the Falcons, 36-22, and benefitted from strong play by goaltender Steven Summerhays (Bowling Green's Andrew Hammond put in an extremely impressive performance, himself).
Saturday night, Rust claimed the first Irish goal in an outstanding and very fun 4-3 victory over the Falcons. Notre Dame outshot Bowling Green, 34-32, in the physical game and had another goal from Rust on a penalty shot (a BG defenseman covered the puck in the crease), plus two others from Nick Larson and Anders Lee. The Irish dominated the first period, pulling ahead 2-0, but Bowling Green came back strong in the second, tying the game at 2-2 on a pair of power plays (on the first, two Irish defenders wound up playing without sticks). Lee scored after Rust's penalty shot goal in the third, pushing the score to 4-2, but the Falcons answered quickly and made it 4-3 off a turnover by Summerhays behind the Irish net. Notre Dame played the last minute and a half of the game shorthanded, 6-on-4, but they killed the penalty and claimed the win - this, despite some spotty officiating that provoked a good deal of booing from the CFIA crowd (especially for a fairly ridiculous "embellishment" penalty on ND and a non-goal that was ruled to have gone into the net after a whistle blew).
The Irish advance in playoff competition to a semifinals match against Ohio State this Saturday (1:05 p.m. EST, Fox Sports Detroit). If they win, they'll play in the (really final) CCHA finals on Sunday.
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Lacrosse: The no. 3 men's team (5-1) beat out no. 5 Denver, 13-12, in yet another overtime victory - their third of the season. SBN's College Crosse puts it this way: "Notre Dame's playbook is just a piece of paper with 'Exciting things will happen!' scribbled on it." They've got highlights and notes on the thrilling overtime match here.
Notre Dame played no. 8 Ohio State yesterday evening (Wednesday) and claimed a strong 9-4 win. In regulation. That makes 5 wins over top-10 teams so far this year.
They face Rutgers this Sunday in New Jersey.
The no. 6/8 women's team (6-0) claimed a close win over Vanderbilt, 12-11, last week in Nashville behind a 4-0 run after falling behind in the second half.
The undefeated Irish face Rutgers this Friday at 7:00 p.m. EST (UND.com) and Villanova on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST (UND.com).
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Baseball: The no. 15 Irish (12-5), continued their exceptional start to the season this weekend with a series of games on the central coast of California, going 2-1 against the no. 17 Cal Poly Mustangs. They dropped their Friday match against Cal Poly, 6-3, but conquered on Saturday, 1-0, and Sunday, 6-5.
The Irish face Seton Hall this Friday at Covelski Stadium ("The Cove" to you locals) in downtown South Bend (home of the Silver Hawks and of a nice piece of artificial turf) at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, and 11:00 a.m. on Sunday. Monday and Tuesday, they face Kent State at Eck Stadium.
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Softball: The Irish (14-6) went 4-1 this past week at the Judi Garman and Highlander Classics. They claimed a 3-0 win over Cal State Fullerton on Thursday, then fell in a close match to no. 14 Arizona, 2-0, and shut out Iona, 12-0, on Friday. Notre Dame dominated Iona, 12-4, again on Saturday and then claimed the late victory over Northern Illinois, 2-0.
The Irish face Seton Hall in three matches this weekend in New Jersey, then visit Western Michigan next Wednesday.
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Tennis: Last week, the no. 19 women's team (11-4) conquered both UAB, 7-0 (the third Irish shutout this season), and no. 25 Georgia Tech, 5-2.
Notre Dame faces Michigan next Wednesday at home.
The no. 22 men's team (9-7) went 2-1 at the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic this past week in Montgomery, AL. Notre Dame swept Troy, 4-0, then fell to Boise State, 4-3, before beating no. 29 Cornell, 4-1, in the final. Yesterday afternoon (Wednesday), the Irish faced the visiting no. 3 USC Trojans, and expectedly lost out, 6-1.
The Irish will face William & Mary on Saturday in Williamsburg.
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Golf: The no. 26 women's team finished third in an 18-team field (featuring 5 top-50 teams) and sophomore Ashley Armstrong claimed the individual title at the Insperity Lady Jaguar Intercollegiate Tournament in Augusta, GA, last weekend. Armstrong came in one under par (215) on 54 holes. Irish golfers Lindsey Weaver and Talia Campbell tied for sixth and ninth overall.
The Irish head to the Briar's Creek Invitational this Monday and Tuesday in Charleston, SC.
The men's team returned to competition in the Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational this past weekend in Statesboro, GA, and claimed 15th place as a team. Paul McNamara III and Niall Platt tied for 22nd place, coming in one under par on 38 holes. Who won the team title? Alabama. Darn it, Tide.
The Irish play in the C&F Bank Intercollegiate on Monday and Tuesday in Williamsburg, VA.
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Swimming and diving: Last weekend, the men's diving squad had a pair of 20th-place finishes at the NCAA Zone C Diving Meet, both from Michael Kreft, in both the 1- and 3-meter. For the women's squad, Jenny Chiang placed 3rd on the 1-meter board (she was 1st in prelims) and 5th on the 3-meter. The Irish women had 11 top-25 finishes in prelims and finals.
The Irish head to the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships this Thursday and will compete through the weekend. A school record 9 swimmers from both men's and women's teams qualified for the event.
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Rowing: The no. 14 Irish kicked off the spring this weekend at the Oak Ridge/Cardinal Invitational in Oak Ridge, TN, where they won 9 races, including 5 of 6 on day two (they took 2nd in the 6th race).
Notre Dame will head to East Lansing for a four-team competition on March 30th, when they'll battle Michigan State, Michigan, and Iowa.
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Fencing: After qualifying the maximum number of fencers in the regional championships, the Irish head to the 2013 NCAA Championships beginning Thursday and running through this weekend in San Antonio, TX. Good luck to all.
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Track & Field: After competing in the NCAA Indoor Championships a few weeks ago, the Irish have had their eyes set on the outdoor season, which begins for them this weekend in Houston, TX, at the Victor Lopez Invitational.
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Basketball: The no. 2 women's team (30-1, 16-0) was idle last week, but begins its first round of NCAA tournament play vs. UT Martin in Iowa City on Sunday (5:05 p.m. CST, ESPN2). If the Irish win, they'll head to the second round on Tuesday (9:30 p.m. EST).
The no. 24 men's team (25-9, 13-8) earned victories in the Big East Tournament over Rutgers (69-61) and Marquette (73-65) before falling to Louisville (69-57) in the semifinals on Friday night.
The Irish face Iowa State on Friday (9:45 p.m. EST, CBS) in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
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We'll bring you updates again next week on all our Notre Dame Olympic sports. Go Irish.