The Week in Notre Dame Athletics: End of a Great Year

The season ended for men's lacrosse, men's tennis, and women's tennis this past week. Only track & field and rowing remain. Without further ado, we bring you the results of the last week's Irish match-ups.

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No. 6 men's lacrosse (12-6) played into the national championship game on Saturday with a dominant semifinals win over Maryland, 11-6, marked by career performances by goalie Connor Kelly (14 saves) and Matt Kavanagh (5g, 2a). Here's Paul Rigney's game recap.

Monday afternoon, the Irish fell behind in the championship game, where they faced a powerfully talented Duke team. After going down 8-2 in the 3^rd quarter, Notre Dame's valiant late-game rally saw them outscore the Blue Devils, 7-2. They were left trailing by 1 with less than a minute to go. The final effort wasn't enough, and the Irish fell, 11-9. Freshman Sergio Perkovic led the Irish with 5 goals; Kavanagh netted 2 goals (plus 1 assist), and Conor Kelly had 12 saves. Paul Rigney has a full game recap for you here. Congratulations to the Irish on an impressive season.

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After falling in the sweet 16 of team competition in the NCAA tournament the previous week, members of ND's no. 13 men's tennis team (21-10) competed in the singles and doubles championships. Greg Andrews played into the round of 32 before falling, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3. Andrews and Alex Lawson lost in the 1^st round of doubles competition, 7-6(5), 7-6(0). All Irish opponents hailed from Georgia.

Women's tennis (19-9) also fell in the sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament the previous week, but members of the squad competed in the singles and doubles NCAA tournament competition this week. No. 12 doubles team Britney Sanders and Quinn Gleason played into the round of 16 before falling to a team from North Carolina, 6-2, 6-3. In singles competition, Quinn Gleason fell in the round of 32, 6-1, 6-1, to a Texas player.

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Notre Dame track & field was idle this past week as athletes continue preparing for the NCAA preliminary meet in Jacksonville, FL, beginning this Thursday. Members of the Irish team who qualify will compete in the NCAA Outdoor Championships beginning on June 11^th in Eugene, OR. Head coach Joe Piane announced his retirement this week after 39 seasons.

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No. 10 Irish rowing was idle this past week. They received an at-large berth to the NCAA championship in Indianapolis this weekend (beginning May 30^th). This is ND's 3^rd consecutive trip and they'll compete in a field of 22. Best of luck to the Irish.

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With the end of the academic year, we want to pause to congratulate all of the new Notre Dame graduates, including all the student athletes who have played their final season under the Golden Dome.

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With this, our coverage of Notre Dame's Olympic sports joins the athletes in their summer hiatus from competition. Like them, we'll keep up with our training and conditioning - in this case, lots of typing and editing drills and tons of sports-watching. TWINDA will be back in August. Until then, go Irish. Beat everybody.