The Observer u Sports
Friday, September 30, 2011
Nature
Although the Red Storm (6-21, 1-1) lost their Big East conference opener to No. 2 UConn on Saturday, they followed the continued from page 16 loss with a 3-2 overtime win over Princeton on Wednesday. mimicking in practice all week. “They pressure you. You “We’ve worked all week on the won’t have a lot of time turf inside Loftus [Center],” with the ball,” Clark said. Clark said. “We To compensate want to get the for potentially team used to less possession playing on field of the ball, the turf. The ball Irish will de“They pressure you. bounces a little pend on their You won’t have a lot of defense to probetter on the turf, it’s much vide support. time with the ball.” livelier, it’s a The Irish have little harder excellent leadBobby Clarke and the game ership on deIrish coach plays faster. fense, including You have to the last two Big make decisions East defensive a little better.” players of the week in junior Each team will be fueled by recent wins when defender Grant Van De Casteele Saturday’s kickoff arrives. Notre and most recently senior deDame’s win against Louisville fender Greg Klazura, who was put them at 1-0 in the Big East. key in the shutout win over then-
Bearcats continued from page 16 match, and Cincinnati prevailed 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-15). The Irish will take on Cincinnati first Saturday. The Bearcats (10-6, 2-0), who knocked out Notre Dame from last year’s Big East tournament, boast an impressive offense led by senior Missy Harpenau, whose 197 kills at the clip of 3.52/set puts her at sixth in the Big East through two conference matches. The Bearcat offense is also as efficient as it is prolific. Cincinatti’s .220 hitting percentage puts it tied with Notre Dame at fifth in the 15-team conference. The Irish look to counter with the defense of freshman Toni Alugbue and junior Hilary Eppink, who lead the team with 32 and 43 blocks, respectively. Louisville (10-4, 2-0), coming off of straight-set victories over St. John’s and Connecticut, is led
by Big East player of the week Lola Arslanbekova. The Uzbekistan native — one of two on the team — leads the Big East with 239 kills, contributing to Louisville’s .265 team hitting percentage. For the Irish, a top opponent like Louisville is an opportunity to show that they really belong among the best in the Big East. “Performing well against them is absolutely imperative for us,” Dealy said. Though the Irish might be tempted to indulge in the pressure and excitement that surrounds a big match, Dealy said that the team has maintained an even keel. “We like to have a string of good practices leading up to a big match,” Dealy said. “We’ve had that this week. We’re focused and ready.” The Irish take on Cincinnati at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Louisville at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Joyce Center. Contact Conor Kelly at ckelly17@nd.edu
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No. 3 Louisville on Sept. 24. “It has been nice for Greg [Klazura] and Grant [Van De Casteele]. They deserve to get recognition,” Clark said. “But I think all four of the defenders have done very well.” On offense, senior midfielder Adam Mena established himself as an integral part of the Irish offense, playing a key role in each of Notre Dame’s last five goals. Mena contributed three assists and two goals, the only two scores in Notre Dame’s 2-1 overtime victory over Michigan on Sept. 16. “[Mena] was very good for us in the spring season and during the summer,” Clark said. “I’m confident Adam will keep scoring goals for us.” The Irish and Red Storm will kick off at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at St. John’s. Contact Molly Sammon at msammon@nd.edu
TOM LA/The Observer
Senior defender Greg Klazura advances the ball upfield during Notre Dame’s 1-0 victory over Louisville on Saturday.
SMC Cross Country
Belles prepare for Chicago races By WA LK ER CAR EY Sports Writer
Sai nt Mar y’s w i l l compete th is Satu rday at the Sean Earl Inv itational hosted by Loyola Un iversity i n Ch icago. The Bel les are part of a strong f ield, wh ich consists of 53 teams i nclud i ng Il l inois, Iowa, Mich igan State and Wisconsi n of the Big Ten Con ference. Head i ng i nto the f i nal 5-k ilometer race of the season, the Bel les are eager for the race, but real ize that they need to make some strides w ith i n thei r con ference as the season prog resses. Sen ior Joan ne A l mond, who led al l Bel les ru n ners w ith a 20th place f i n ish i n
Carlson
last Satu rday’s MI A A Jamboree, d idn’t dow nplay the i mportance of Satu rday’s event, but real izes that the rest of the con ference season is where the team needs to d i rect its focus. “Ou r team is excited to race in Ch icago,” A lmond said. “We are look ing forward to the last 5-k [of the season], but right now ou r focus is on racing wel l later i n the season.” Ju n ior Ju l ia Ken ney, who f i n ished second among Bel le ru n ners w ith a 32nd place f i n ish at the MI A A Jam boree, backed up A lmond’s senti ments regard ing the remai nder of the season. “Over the next few weeks, we w i l l conti nue to improve,” Ken ney said. “We have to
and Walter Schafer, along with Carlson. Grady and Schafer both finished in the top five during the National Catholic Chamcontinued from page 13 pionships. “Martin Grady and Walter will consist of eight ranked Schafer are two guys that have schools. No. 3 Stanford, No. 10 been real solid for us so far,” Florida State, No. 12 Princeton, Carlson said. “[Senior] Kelly No. 14 Brigham Young, No. Lynch is another guy who has 21 New Mexico, No. 23 Notre made huge strides and will defiDame, No. 25 Ohio State and nitely have a strong impact on the team this No. 26 Eastern year.” Kentucky. This Carlson meet will mark believes the the first time “ND Invite has meet will the Irish have faced this level traditionally brought a lot give the Irish of top-ranked schools to a fair gauge of competition race on our course. This of how they this year. measure up “Somet h i ng year is no different, but to top teams. we can work we are ready to compete “This is on is definitely against these teams.” one of the being more of most coma team,” CarlRachel Valverde petitive racson said. “Not senior captain es we run that we aren't outside of right now, but n a t i o n a l s ,” I think that is Carlson said. something that “There are a can always use work because you can't have a lot of ranked teams, which will nationally competitive team if give us a good chance to test our strength against theirs.” it’s just a group of individuals.” On the women’s side, the Irish Junior Jeremy Rae and senior Johnathan Shawel are both welcome six ranked foes to listed on the Irish roster for the campus for the Blue 5-kilometer race. Neither has seen action so race. Highlighting the competifar, but both are two of Notre tion are No. 2 New Mexico, No. Dame’s top runners. Also listed 7 Florida State, No. 18 Arkanare sophomores Martin Grady sas, No. 22 Princeton, No. 28
prepare to meet ou r [con ference] competition again at the con ference championsh ips.” The MI A A championsh ips are u n ique in that they determ ine t wo-th irds of the team scores that w i l l decide the con ference champion for the season. The other th ird was determ ined at the MI A A Jam boree, at wh ich the Bel les f inished in seventh place. With fou r weeks remaining before the MI A A championsh ips, the Bel les look to continue the improvement process Satu rday and carr y that success for ward as the reg u lar season w inds dow n. Contact Wa lker Carey at wcarey@nd.edu
Penn State and No. 29 Brigham Young. “This is our first major competition of the season. All of the meets from this Friday onward will be very competitive,” senior captain Rachel Velarde said. “ND Invite has traditionally brought a lot of top-ranked schools to race on our course. This year is no different, but we are ready to compete against these teams.” Junior Jessica Rydberg was spectacular in her last outing, winning the National Catholic Championships with a 17:16 finish. She will try to duplicate that success Friday. Sophomore Alexa Aragon and senior Molly Hirt also return to anchor the Irish. “I think we have a lot of talent and hard work on this team, and if we can show that during a race, I have no doubt that we will be a very successful team,” Velarde said. “We have been working on keeping together during workouts and not [letting] people fall off, and we need to continue doing that, especially during the race.” The Gold division races begin at 2 p.m. while the Blue division competition starts at 4:15 p.m., both at the Notre Dame Cross Country Course. Contact Matthew DeFranks at mdefrank@nd.edu