Print edition for The Observer for Wednesday, April 30, 2025
South Dining Hall to undergo renovations Observer office to move to library
By ROSE ANDROWICH News Writer
For nearly 100 years, South Dining Hall has been a hallmark of Notre Dame’s campus. The dining hall, known for its iconic Gothic architecture, will see changes over the next two years as it undergoes an extensive construction project. The exterior of the building has been undergoing a restoration throughout the spring. Renovation of the interior will begin after commencement.
South Dining Hall was designed in 1927 by Ralph Adams Cram, a renowned American architect. Cram designed
Professors reflect on Trump’s education policy
By MARIA CLARA LOPES CORONA Staff Writer
As tensions escalate between the federal government and higher education institutions, Notre Dame has opted for a watchful, coordinated response while peer institutions such as Harvard prepare to challenge the Trump administration in court. University administration and political science faculty offered perspective on this approach to The Observer.
The Trump administration’s recent actions — including threats to withdraw federal funding, investigations into diversity and inclusion initiatives and visa scrutiny affecting international students — have targeted a select group of primarily private, research-driven institutions. These moves have prompted concerns across the academic landscape regarding constitutional protections, institutional autonomy and the politicization of federal agencies.
Political science professor
David Campbell, director of the Notre Dame Democracy Initiative, described the situation as “a broadside — I think I would say attack — on higher education.”
Within Notre Dame’s administration, the response has been measured. “We are actively monitoring the situation in Washington and working to document the impacts thus far,” Pedro Ribeiro, vice president for public affairs and communications, wrote.
“We are also coordinating with key partners, such as the Association of American Universities (AAU), the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) and the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU), to underscore the value of what we do as a leading global Catholic research university, from educating future leaders to advancing human understanding through research,” Ribeiro added.
Ribeiro also addressed student concerns about recent
visa-related changes affecting international students. “While privacy laws preclude us from commenting on any particular student’s immigration status, we have been in contact with all of our international students to alert them to resources available to them on campus, and we continue to monitor their situations closely,” he wrote. “Our international students and scholars and their families are important and vital members of our campus community, and we will continue working to ensure that they are welcomed and supported at Notre Dame.”
Campbell noted that the universities under investigation share certain traits. “It is notable that the institutions that the Trump administration has targeted are all private institutions. They are all elite, if you want to put it that way, or highly selective admissions,” he said. “I think it’s fair to say one of the reasons why it’s those institutions that have been
Observer Staff Report
The Observer’s offices will relocate to Hesburgh Library this summer after almost 30 years in the basement of South Dining Hall. The new offices will be located on the ninth floor of the library.
“We are excited by the opportunity to move to a new office,” editor-in-chief Liam Kelly said. “While many Observer writers will hold fond memories of their time spent in South Dining Hall, I’m confident that
our new office will be able to meet our needs and allow the paper to thrive for years to come.”
The move was prompted by a major renovation of South Dining Hall that is scheduled to begin in May. The building has been home to the newspaper since 199 the Observer offices had been located in LaFortune Student Center until 1997.
The new office will open in August just before the beginning of the school year.
ND releases common data set
Observer Staff Report
The University of Notre Dame has published the Common Data Set (CDS) for the 2024-25 admissions cycle. This cycle saw the applications and acceptance of the Notre Dame Class of 2028, the first after the Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action in 2023.
The CDS report features information on the enrolled classes’ demographics, academic statistics and the school’s criteria for admission.
There are 56 fewer Black students in the Class of 2028 compared to the Class of 2027, a roughly 44% decrease, the largest decrease of any group.
The only two demographic groups to see an increase in enrollment were white and Hispanic/Latino students.
The University enrolled seven more students in the 2024-25 cycle than the previous year.
The student body at Notre Dame has historically been predominantly white.
According to admissions staff, the University has never considered race as a
standalone factor in admissions, but did employ “raceconscious” admissions up until the ruling. The Supreme Court’s decision ruled it illegal to do so, forcing many colleges to change their policies.
According to the Common Data Set Initiative’s website, the purpose of publishing this information is to “improve the quality and accuracy of information provided to all involved in a student’s transition into higher education, as well as to reduce the reporting burden on data providers.”
“Institutional Research compiles data that originates from various offices, including Admissions, Financial Aid, and the Registrar,” Adrea Hernandez, executive director of institutional research, wrote in a statement to The Observer. “Our processes have not changed.”
“We publish the Common Data Set, as many institutions do, in an effort to be transparent about student enrollment, admissions, financial aid, and academic and extracurricular offerings,” Hernandez’s statement continued.
Photo Courtsey of ND Works
ND Works released an official rendering of the new serving area in South Dining Hall. Renovations are expected to be done in two years.
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“Physics
Jacklyn Messina freshman Johnson Family Hall “Mandarin 1.”
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“General Chemistry.”
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Collegium Musicum DEPAC
7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
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Vocal ensemble performance led by Daniel Stowe.
Art Sale Great Hall, O’Shaughnessy Hall
9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Art sold through Notre Dame art department.
Thursday
Notre Dame Softball Game
Melissa Cook Stadium
5:30 p.m.
The Irish take on Bowling Green.
Marian Art Conversations
Raclin Murphy Museum of Art
5 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. Spiritual art event.
Friday
Film: ‘I Heard It Through the Blueberry Vine’ DPAC
12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. 2024 mystery film.
BFA/BA Honors Thesis Exhibition 214/216 Riley Hall
8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Art history & design candidates present.
Saturday
Film: ‘The Working Class Goes to Hell’ DPAC
6:30 p.m. - 8:40 p.m. 2023 Serbian horror film viewing.
Notre
2 p.m. ND faces off against Louisville.
Sunday
1 p.m. - 2:40 p.m. 1984 sci-fi film viewing.
Concert: ‘May the Fourth Be With You’
Professors discuss Trump’s first 100 days
By MEGAN CORNELL Staff Writer
Professors Matthew Hall, Christina Wolbrecht, Aníbal Pérez-Liñán and Michael Desch gathered Monday evening in Hesburgh Auditorium to discuss the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s presidency. At the panel, hosted by the Notre Dame Democracy Initiative, each professor contributed a unique area of expertise ranging from constitutional studies to international security.
Wolbrecht moderated the panel and began by posing a question about the extraordinary nature of Trump’s term so far.
Pérez-Liñán answered first, speaking on the decline of American exceptionalism by comparing the United States to Latin American countries.
“For me, what is extraordinary about the Trump administration is how ordinary the US has become … what people thought about the foundation of American exceptionalism was the strength of the American political system and the implication that you have a very strong judiciary and Congress,”
Renovation
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
he said.
Aníbal Pérez-Liñán continued, “By contrast, the president is relatively weak politically … when you think about the way democracy was used to describe the way presidents ruled in Brazil, in Argentina in the 1990s, in Peru, it sounds very much like the first 100 days of [Trump’s presidency] in the sense that it’s an administration that rules unilaterally.”
Desch argued that the extraordinary feeling of the Trump administration was due in large part to rhetoric and style.
“I think what’s extraordinary for me is how President Trump has managed to take issues that are serious and that I think could be topics of serious debate, and make them seem crazy, frankly,” he said, citing Trump’s aim of ending Russia’s war on Ukraine as an example of an area of reasonable disagreement.
He encouraged the audience to reconsider these issues from the perspective of Catholic just war theory. “One of the tenets [of just war theory] we don’t talk about but which is very important is the reasonable prospect of success. There has not been a
reasonable prospect of success that Ukraine is going to win, defined in terms of re-establishing the 1991 borders. To its discredit, the West and especially the U.S. have ignored this fact and continue to pump weapons and money into a war that’s just killing people now,” Desch said.
Hall had a different perspective. “What’s extraordinary about Trump’s first 99 days is that he has systematically attacked what it means to be an American,” he said.
He continued by identifying exactly what it means to be an American as defined in Section 1 of the 14th amendment.
He explained that by taking away naturalization and attacking birthright citizenship, Trump is undermining the Constitution and threatening due process for immigrants who are deported without a trial. “The law applies to everyone equally, regardless of what group we can assign you to, regardless … if you’re here legally or not legally … it doesn’t matter,” Hall said.
After their initial answers, Wolbrecht asked the panelists to highlight a few consequences of Trump’s presidency thus far.
Pérez-Liñán spoke on the example Trump is setting for executives worldwide. “Trump is a very powerful figure who produces a very strong demonstration effect across the world, and I think that he is legitimizing a kind of strong politics. I can imagine how in many other countries presidents now want to be like Trump,” he explained.
Amid conversation about the failure of American institutions,
Hall thinks we are asking the wrong questions. Instead of concern for institutions, Hall expressed anxiety about worsening of democratic attitudes and erosion of civic virtue. He referenced an idea from U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Learned Hand, saying, “When liberty dies in the hearts of men and women, no Constitution, no
several major churches and is known for his Gothic Revival style.
In an email to The Observer, University architect Doug Marsh wrote that South Dining
Hall is among the campus’s most treasured buildings because of its two day-lit grand halls.
Marsh, who helped with
the 1999 renovation of South Dining Hall, will retire May 30.
Marsh said the 1999 renovation of South Dining Hall was one of the first projects he led after joining the University’s facilities team in 1995. Marsh is also Notre Dame’s vice president for facilities, design and operations.
Mindy Bowling, a service lead for South Dining Hall, said that the dining hall will remain open during the school year. As a service lead, Bowling manages the dining hall’s staff and operations.
Bowling said that only North Dining Hall will be open during the summer, but South will be open during the 2025-26 school year.
She added that next year, South Dining Hall will only be open to students with a meal plan. This means that postfootball game candlelit dinners will not be open to the public during the construction.
“Normally we have tons of guests that come in and people that are here for the game [and] for the majestic dining hall experience on top of it,” Bowling said. “In the upcoming years during everything it’s going to be only ... students with a plan, and that’s it.”
Bowling added that while construction plans are currently being finalized, they have a plan for the location of different facilities. Food preparation areas will move to the basement, and the dining hall will still have “grab and go” service.
Since the dining hall has
been open for nearly a century, Bowling said she feels the renovations are necessary. She added that some of the equipment is outdated and needs updates to keep up with current technology.
Marsh shared that the renovations will keep many of South Dining Hall’s iconic features. The project will retain the building’s historical elements and involve the restoration of the hall’s two dining rooms. The furniture that is original to the building will also remain.
“The two flanking halls are wonderfully proportioned spaces that are simply appealing,” Marsh wrote. “And the oak tables and chairs, most of which are original to the building, are perfect accessories to the space. The two great halls and their furniture will be refreshed but remain intact.”
The kitchens, however, will be modernized.
“This next renovation will include a new prep kitchen in the lower level, a more efficient work flow for the culinary team, and a much larger space for students and guests to select their preferred cuisine and see it finished in front of them,” Marsh wrote.
The University’s statement on the construction also said that an entrance will be added to the south side of the building. New, more energy-efficient electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems will also be added.
MEGAN CORNELL | The Observer
Professors Matthew Hall, Michael Desh, Aníbal Pérez-Liñán and Christina Wolbrecht speak at on the consequences of Trump’s term.
Pfizer VP, provost give leadership advice
By AYNSLEE DELLACCA Assistant Managing Editor
On Monday afternoon, the Saint Mary’s College Alumnae Association hosted its first “Lunch and Learn” as part of their Success After Saint Mary’s series, which invited Saint Mary’s alumna Beth McCormick ‘96 and interim provost Megan Zwart to speak on a panel titled, “Saint Mary’s Prepares You to Be a Values Based Leader.”
Jessica Zigmond ‘97, chair of the cultivation committee for the Alumnae Association, helped organize and guide the event and hopes it will bring greater connection between current students and alumnae.
Editor’s note: McCormick is a former Saint Mary’s Editor and Managing Editor for The Observer. Zigmond is a former reporter for The Observer.
“We hope students understand the incredible education and experience they get here at Saint Mary’s and how that will translate in the real world,” Zigmond said. “And we hope to encourage our alumnae to give back, because I’ll live my whole life and never be able to give Saint Mary’s back all that I received … Let’s give back, because we were given so much.”
Hosted in the Welsh Parlor in the Haggar College Center, the panel began with Zigmond offering thanks to McCormick and Zwart for agreeing to participate in the event as well as several current and former professors and administrators in attendance.
Zwart was the first to present. In her presentation, she focused on the values for leadership taught by Saint Mary’s and a democracy and dialogue class she founded and taught for six years before otaking on her current provost position.
“After the 2016 polarizing election between Trump and Clinton, I remember, it was the first day that I taught after that election, and students didn’t want to talk about Descartes or whatever was on the syllabus for that day. They wanted to talk about how they were experiencing the world with roommates and family members who had voted differently than they had and were feeling like they didn’t know how to have the kind of conversations they wanted to have,” Zwart said.
“We had those conversations in class. And I thought, ’This is remarkable. The country at large is not able to do this but look at our students stepping up and talking.’ I mean, they were about 5050, how they would have voted in this class This was a very diverse crowd, and they were having these remarkable conversations about things that mattered to them,” she continued.
Zwart founded a democracy and dialogue-centered class the next year and believed it helped her students learn to have meaningful and difficult conversations. She asserted that “to have good dialogue across social and political difference,” a person should know and practice five “virtues” which are also important values for any
the administration,” he said.
targeted is because they’re the least likely, it is thought, to have public sympathy.”
He also pointed to the administration’s broader ideological outlook. “The Trump administration’s obviously conservative. And so there’s this belief that universities are institutions of the left,” he said. “If you’re a conservative, you may not like what’s happening at many universities.”
He added that the focus on elite research institutions may reflect a deeper shift in federal funding priorities. “These are institutions — Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Columbia — that are major sources of the production of research. And so if the administration wants to clamp down on the kind of research that’s being done, this is a sort of target that you might expect them to go after.”
Notre Dame, Campbell explained, has not yet been publicly drawn into the conflict. “Notre Dame as an institution has thus far — but I should stress only thus far — been mostly insulated from the sort of actions that we’ve seen from
leadership role. These values include giving attention, empathy, curiosity, intellectual humility and courage.
“This is a place where we want to grow women and leaders who care about things and who speak up for what matters to them, and that means they’re not going to always agree on what those are, but you need to have the courage in your convictions to speak up as much,” Zwart said.
McCormick presented after Zwart, focusing her presentation on her career and life path and how five core values she resonated with kept her “anchored” in her leadership skills. The five values she shared were connection, curiosity, optimism, perseverance and growth.
After graduating from Saint Mary’s with a degree in political science and English writing, McCormick began working for a publishing company in New York. She quickly realized such a career was not fulfilling for her, so she took on the position of director of communications at Catalyst, a nonprofit organization that “focuses on the advancement of women in business.”
After working with Catalyst for just under five years, McCormick switched directions and served as the director of global diversity of UBS for another six. In 2009, she was hired by Pfizer as diversity and inclusion lead of worldwide pharmaceutical operations, but she swiftly moved to work as the executive director of diversity and inclusion of Morgan Stanley in 2010.
“Our religious character probably does somewhat insulate us,” Campbell added, “but I wouldn’t want to overstate that, because I do think that every university is vulnerable at this moment.”
As Harvard and other institutions move toward legal action, law scholars suggest the lawsuits will challenge both the process and constitutional basis of the administration’s policies.
“Harvard has advanced (and other institutions likely will, too) a variety of constitutional, statutory, and administrative arguments against the Administration’s recent funding-freeze orders,” professor Richard Garnett of Notre Dame Law School wrote. “The claims are that the administration has not followed the required procedures for enforcing conditions on funding and that it has imposed unauthorized requirements that infringe on institutions’ First Amendment rights.”
Garnett explained that while all universities receiving federal funds accept legal conditions, those conditions cannot override constitutional
McCormick was rehired by Pfizer two years later and now serves as their vice president of diversity and inclusion. She has worked at Pfizer for the last 14 years and is their vice president of organizational development and colleague communications.
“I’m really working with our leadership teams to ensure that we have a culture that’s welcoming for everyone, to ensure that we have a really strong grasp of the talent that’s working currently at Pfizer, how we’re developing them, how we’re ensuring they’re ready for future roles and then aligning all of our people strategies to the business strategies to make sure that we’re meeting the needs of the business,” McCormick said.
After her presentation, Zigmond moderated a short Q&A session with Zwart and McCormick. When asked how her education based in Holy Cross values has impacted her leadership approach, McCormick called upon the importance of reflecting on how one presents oneself.
“I worked with a lot of people, and the ones who do it well, it starts first with yourself, your empathy, your humility, so that you can build that relationship, so that you can truly engage with people and see them and hear them and move forward in a collective way,” McCormick said.
Zwart was also asked how Saint Mary’s students could live out these values as leaders in their daily lives to make a positive difference in the world.
“What I see our students talk
protections. “There are strong arguments that the strings currently attached to federal funds do not include the power to impose ideological requirements on universities’ core academic decisions and practices,” he wrote. “Any university — public or private — that accepts federal funding may be subject to the reasonable, relevant conditions that are attached to that funding. But those conditions must be consistent with the First Amendment’s free-speech and religious-freedom guarantees.”
Other scholars emphasized the political dimensions of the current moment.
“It’s clear that the Trump administration prizes ideological loyalty over administrative expertise,” constitutional studies professor Matthew Hall wrote. “I think they will continue to demand ideological purity from every part of the executive branch.”
For Hall, Notre Dame’s response should be grounded in its academic mission. “It’s critical that Notre Dame continues to assess the institutional, psychological, and social factors that are reshaping our society through the nonpartisan application of
about most is, they go out in the world, and they realize how extraordinarily well prepared they are to be leaders in whatever industry they want to find their voice. I love this language of thinking about finding your voice, but I always want to pair it with listening to the voices of others, because I don’t think you can be that kind of values-based leader if you aren’t also listening to the needs of the world,” Zwart said.
As one of the final questions of the afternoon, McCormick was asked how her experience with extracurriculars during her time at Saint Mary’s prepared her to be a future leader in her career field. McCormick cited that working as an editor for The Observer was influential for much of her leadership skills after graduation.
“When you’re an editor, you get to work with people on their writing. You get to choose stories, which was a learning moment for me and a growth moment for me,” McCormick said. “But [I] also, in that role, was part of the editorial board, and we would lock ourselves in an office all the time and debate things, like have real conversation, about what we were going to write in our editorial pieces. Who was going to write it? Who’s going to draft it? What were we going to say? What was our point of view? And I learned how to sort of articulate a point of view, influence my peers and challenge things.”
Contact Aynslee Dellacca at adellacca01@saintmarys.edu
objective social science,” he wrote.
Looking forward, Campbell believes the moment requires more than caution — it demands collective action and clarity. “This is a moment of reckoning,” he said. “Universities need to decide what they stand for. This is a time to stand up in the public square and say: this is what we do as universities. We are engines of social mobility. We educate the young people of America. We conduct vital research.”
He pointed to a recent joint statement endorsed by over 400 institutions, including Notre Dame, as a step in that direction. “Rather than the institutions compete against one another, higher ed — whether public, private, community colleges, or research institutions — needs to speak with one voice and defend what it does,” he said.
“Just imagine an America without its universities,” Campbell said. “Probably not a place most people would want to live.”
Contact Maria Clara Lopes Corona at mcorona@nd.edu
law, no court can save it. It’s safe when it lives in the hearts of men and women. It needs no constitution, no court and no law to save it.”
Wolbrecht asked Desch about “Signalgate,” during which Trump’s national security advisor Michael Waltz accidentally shared plans about an attack on Houthi fighters in Yemen with Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg. Desch said that “it only matters to a certain extent because you can think of cases in our political system where sensible people in our political system have done very crazy things.”
He pointed to examples of the Vietnam War and former president Joe Biden’s policy toward Gaza.
The panel concluded with a question and answer session. Students asked the panelists questions about a wide variety of topics, ranging from Congress’s power over Trump to increasing xenophobia in the United States.
Contact Megan Cornell at mcornell@nd.edu
Gracie Eppler The Soapbox
South Bend’s cave walls
In 1909, my great-great-granduncle Eugene was stabbed to death in a tavern over a girl. Some decades earlier, his ancestors sailed across the Atlantic from Alsace-Lorraine. Maybe when they first arrived on the shores of the New World — just two, young, French-German immigrants — they brushed shoulders with my best friend Katie’s ancestors, who were carting over from England. Maybe their descendants stood in the same line at the butcher’s as Katie’s paternal grandparents, who hailed from Cuba. Maybe, on the trolley, David and Marilyn Eppler sat a few rows down from my own maternal grandparents, fresh-off-the-boat from the Philippines.
At some point or another, our immigrant ancestors had to have crossed paths. Because the world is not as big as we think it is and because humanity can all be traced back, in some form or another, to the same cave in East Africa. The first Homo sapiens — evolving with their large brains and light skeletons — are every modern human’s great-great-(about 10,000 more greats)-grandparents. That makes us all family.
So where did we all go wrong? When did we start drawing borders, harboring prejudices and shouting at people to “go back to where they came from”? When did we start building walls and deporting children and forgetting that we’re all kin?
Some years ago, Caveman A probably tried to steal Caveman B’s prized rock. Or maybe Caveman C clubbed someone with his friend’s severed femur. Whatever the case, as soon as we started getting greedy, as soon as we started stabbing and punching and throwing accusations around, we started to take sides. We started to draw borders. We started noticing the differences between “us” and “them.”
Over these past four years, I have had the pleasure of volunteering with South Bend’s immigrant and Hispanic communities at La Casa de Amistad. If I’ve learned anything as a volunteer, it is that the
INSIDE COLUMN
Aynslee Dellacca Assistant Managing Editor
When I was first told that our current office is soon to be torn down, that we will have to move decades of history into a then-unknown location by the end of the semester, my heart stopped. I was walking across South Quad, home to our headquarters, and as the news registered, I looked to the South Dining Hall and nearly tripped over my own feet.
All of our archives, all of our books and posters and computers, all of the silly mistakes, Inside Editions and achievements tacked or taped along the walls, all of our chairs and desks and supplies, our stash of Coke and animal crackers, all of the mysterious or bizarre items left in desks and corners; it all has to be relocated. We have to be relocated. For over 25 years, The Observer resided and thrived in the basement of the South Dining Hall — and soon it will all become a food prep area.
And as much as all of the material history and ephemera that surrounds me in that office means to me, I mourn the space that I found my college purpose and family in. The space that’s always been open to me for work, leisure and community. The space that holds some of my fondest memories of college thus far. I experienced my first college all-nighters in this space, my first big interviews, monumental scoops, my first commencement week boot camp, dozens and dozens of meetings, discovering new music, the 2024 election, South Quad’s annual snowball fight, an unquantifiable number of laughs and several cries.
“Not again,” I thought to myself.
This isn’t the first time I’ve been a part of an office
differences we project onto “others” are purely exterior. Strip every last person down, and we’ll find the same skeleton and 99.9% of the same DNA. At La Casa, I laughed at silly jokes with people whose cultures I did not share and whose languages I did not understand. Because if I try hard enough, I can remember that cave in East Africa, when I snoozed around the same fire with my cavemen brethren. If I squeeze my eyes tight enough, I recall that we’re all a part of the same tribe.
I am saddened by the normalization of xenophobia in today’s society. Phrases like “go back to where you came from” are tossed around callously and casually. We forget not only that we are all immigrants, but also that our communities are built upon the backs of these migrants.
Despite calling South Bend our home for four years, most of us are ignorant of its storied past, and the key role that Hispanic Americans played in it. La Casa de Amistad is dedicated not just towards uplifting modern communities, but painting the stories of their past.
Literally.
Next week, La Casa will unveil a new addition to the mural at Foundry Field. The art portrays the narrative of South Bend’s migrant populations. Just as our cavemen ancestors sketched stories across their walls, hundreds of thousands of years later, we still have the same desire to create art, to tell tales and to share them visually with one another.
South Bend’s own cave walls will be painted with the legend of the hardworking, underprivileged workers who made our city what it is today. Although we’ve escaped the shadowy depths of our prehistoric caverns, we still have many more walls to paint before we can learn to accept one another.
Foundry Field’s mural depicts marginalized 1920s laborers, many of whom were employed by the Studebaker Corporation. These men celebrated their heritage through community baseball games every Sunday. After toiling away all week — helping to produce the steel that would lay the groundwork for
Uprooted, again
relocation. During my spring semester as a senior in high school, my journalism teacher stood before us one morning and told us the same somber news. I remember Mr. Smith’s words caused silence, then an eruption of questions and outrage. That classroom was home to me for all four years of high school, to which I had just as much attachment to as our current Observer office. Spending almost all of my homeroom periods, many a lunch period, and every class I had as part of the newspaper in this room, I couldn’t fathom us going anywhere else. And what was I to feel, if I were to come back and visit and nothing be the same?
We spent an entire week packing up my journalism classroom before spring break, putting everything in boxes and asking Mr. Smith all sorts of questions about the history of our school paper. We unearthed all sorts of things from our archives: yearbooks older than our grandparents, photo negatives, design mock-ups, a particularly meaningful toy accordion. My personal favorite find included some of the first-ever issues of the Crimson Messenger from 1924. Our most prized possession of the entire classroom, dubbed the “J-couch” and made of cardboard and paper mache, was one of the last things put into storage. I remember all of us visiting it and taking our photo together, the seniors signing their name on the back of it to memorialize our time dedicated to our high school publication. My heart felt ripped out of my chest, demanded that I leave it behind. I feel the same now with our Observer headquarters.
Now, as we all work together in the next couple months to clean, organize and pack everything that is important to keep in preparation for our relocation, I cannot help but feel transported back to senior year. As difficult as it was to
South Bend’s economy — the laborers made merry with America’s favorite pastime. Baseball brought them all together as new Americans.
The mural illustrates just one example of how immigrant communities shape and strengthen American cities. Cultural mixing makes our societies stronger. We waste too much time debating over made-up lines drawn in the sand rather than considering that we are all members of a collective home, all citizens of this one earth.
On the one hand, it is undeniably unrealistic to imagine a world with no borderlines. Eventually, boundaries must be drawn, governance must be centralized and taxes must be levied. But what really is the difference between a human born in Buffalo, New York and one born in Effingham, Canada? Does a 50-minute drive across the border really denote a person’s worth — born on one side of the drive, you’re American, and on the other, you’re less-than?
The baby born in Buffalo is just a baby, and so is the one born in Effingham. A person is just a person. Where they happen to be born is mostly luck.
What is America, if not a land of immigrants? What is America, if not a nation filled with people who come from another place? When xenophobes shout at others to “go back to where they came from,” do they not realize the irony in their own language — because they themselves “came from” somewhere else too?
Let’s suppose we really were to go back to where we came from. If we really wound the clock back far enough, every last one of us would wind up at the same joint in East Africa, painting the same cave walls, finding ourselves rather cramped.
Gracie Eppler is a senior business analytics and English major from St. Louis, MO. Her top three things ever to exist are ‘70s music, Nutella and Smith Studio 3, where she can be found dancing. You can reach her at geppler@ nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
say goodbye to that space, I’ve realized in hindsight why spaces in particular become so important to a person. While attached to a specific location, it is the significance of the memories made and history recorded that creates such a significance, not the office or classroom itself. Without the computers, the yearbooks, the intriguing and out-of-place items, without people there to run a paper, the classroom and office are both nothing more than square footage defined by man-made walls. (I am still trying to come to terms with this, of course.)
There is no doubt that more tears will be shed, more laughs to be heard and more sleep will be lost in this office until we close our doors for the final time. There is no doubt this office will be missed deeply and profoundly by everyone who’s valued it as much as I have. But I have looked toward our Observer ancestors, who were forced to move from LaFortune Student Center after 30 years to South Dining Hall, and I have hope that we can make our next space a home for future staffers just as they did for us. I like to think the best thing about journalism offices is that every object tells or symbolizes a story of a past generation of staffers, who worked and loved the office just as much as we do now. Though we will certainly keep and rehang all of our important pieces of history on our new walls, surrounded by (hopefully) new furniture, I look forward to what our new office will look like for our Observer descendants in the next 10, 20 or 30 years and what history we will make in our new space.
You can reach Aynslee Dellacca at adellacca01@saintmarys.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
By SHEILA-MARIE MANYARA Scene Writer
It has been almost 20 years since “How I Met Your Mother” (or “HIMYM”) started airing and just over 10 years since it aired what is generally considered one of the worst TV series finales ever created.
“HIMYM” follows Ted Mosby, whose future self in the 2020s tells his children the very, very long story about how he met their mother through a series of flashbacks. In the pilot episode, his two best friends, Marshall and Lily, get engaged, and this becomes the motivation he needs to find his one true love, much to the dismay of his other friend Barney, who would rather they continue as bachelors for the rest of their lives.
He meets Robin, and she ticks all of his boxes for the kind of woman for whom he is looking. But future Ted reveals to his children that this is also the story of meeting their Aunt Robin, and he has not yet gotten to the part with their mother. Robin joins the friend group, but Ted continuously obsesses over her for the better part of the first season before they finally get together at the end of season 1, only to break up at the end of season 2.
The series continued to run until its ninth season. Ted and Robin both move on with different relationships, still being friends. But while Robin never regrets the break up, Ted continuously wishes he could have Robin back. To make things more complicated, Robin and Barney start a relationship over the seasons, with the ninth season focused on their wedding weekend. It is only at the end of season 9 that we get the long awaited reveal of “the mother,” played by Cristin Milioti.
So, what goes wrong in that finale? The major point of anger from the fans is that after Barney and Robin’s wedding, we see the first interaction between Tracy (the mother) and Ted. Then, we get a speedrun of the events leading up to the present day, including Barney and Robin’s divorce and Tracy’s illness and subsequent death. Future Ted finally concludes the story to his children, but they point out that this wasn’t about their mom; it was about how he is still in love with Robin. So, the series ends with Ted stealing the blue French horn from a restaurant they went to on their first date and getting back together with Robin. This series finale betrayed its audience, its characters and even its own writing.
First, it should be noted that the creators knew “HIMYM” would run for a long time and they didn’t want Ted’s kids to age, so they shot the series finale at the end of season 1. My theory is that they had not anticipated how well received the Barney-Robin relationship would be, and more so, how unpopular the Ted-Robin relationship would prove. Among the most iconic love triangles in pop culture, Robin, Ted and Barney don’t usually show up, since the fandom wasn’t divided on Team Ted or Team Barney. Every time Ted would remind Robin of his feelings for her, she would remind him that she had none for him. The series always showed us that Ted and Robin were not a good fit, and gave us what felt like a message about letting go of an unrequited love.
The show introduced rules and theories on dating that felt like life lessons, even more so with the context of this being a story a father is telling his children. In the second episode, titled “Purple Giraffe,” future Ted relates his past self to a child who got stuck in a claw machine trying to get a purple giraffe toy after failing many times. This metaphor
is for the younger Ted who throws a party three nights in a row just to invite Robin, who keeps canceling on him. In contrast, there is the yellow umbrella seen throughout the series. Ted finds it by chance at a random party, and we learn it actually belonged to Tracy. In the 200th episode entitled “How Your Mother Met Me,” we see how close Tracy and Ted were to meeting each other over the nine years. The idea of this was clear: Ted had to bend over backwards to try and get Robin to be with him and closed himself off to any actual possibilities including the woman who was supposedly his soulmate.
It seems like Ted’s romantic misfortune with other women was a direct consequence of his inability to let Robin go. At Robin’s wedding to Ted’s best friend, after a season of still secretly pining for her, Ted truly lets her go, and almost instantly finds the woman he is actually waiting for, Tracy. It seemed like his punishment would be over, but then he went right back to her in the end, as if no lesson had been learned.
“HIMYM” set up the perfect story to explain why we need to let go of obsessions and not force connections where there are none and let our soulmates come to us instead, but its finale completely contradicted this setup. It left us with the corrosive idea that it’s okay to obsess over someone for over a decade, because you will eventually get her. This isn’t how dating works, and it’s also not a good idea when writing: don’t hang onto your first idea of the ending, because like “How I Met Your Mother,” you might have outgrown it.
Contact Sheila-Marie Manyara at smanyara01@saintsmarys.edu
Modleski makes Irish history at ACC’s
By CHRIS DAILEY Sports Writer
Sophomore Jacob Modleski made history last week at the ACC men’s golf championship in Bowling Green, Kentucky, as he became the first Notre Dame men’s golfer to win the conference’s top prize: the ACC individual title. Modleski shot a lightsout 207 (-9) from April 24 to April 26, edging out Florida State’s Tyler Weaver by one stroke. The team finished in 10th place.
Modleski started off his week sitting at even par through his first 16 holes
SMC SOFTBALL
before sinking two late birdies, bringing his total to 70 (-2) through the first 18. Modleski then heated up on day two. Despite bogeying on the third hole, Modleski managed to end the round with a superb 68 (-4) and first-place position on the leaderboard thanks to three birdies and an eagle on the 18th. Then, with a target on his back in round three, Modleski tallied two early bogeys. However, he did not fret. Modleski shot a 69 (-3) for the round, recording his tournament-best five birdies.
His historic day is a
momentous feat for the program and marks a new era for the Irish. Notre Dame was eager to see who could take the reins as their star since Palmer Jackson graduated last season, and it’s safe to say that Modleski has delivered.
The Irish’s next best performance came courtesy of sophomore Rocco Salvitti. Salvitti finished with a 219 (+3) en route to a tied for 36th place result, highlighted by a 71 (-1) in round two.
Mike Qiu, Nate Stevens and Calen Sanderson finished tied for 53rd, 66th and tied for 69th, respectively.
Qiu got better as the tournament progressed, shooting back-to-back 76s (+4) prior to shooting even in round three. He birdied eight times throughout the three days. Stevens, meanwhile, had his best day in round one, shooting 74 (+2). A few unlucky double bogeys through the next two rounds inflated his overall score to 231 (+15). Sanderson rounded things out for Notre Dame with a 75 (+3) round three, helping bring the Irish just ahead of Duke in the overall team standings.
With the result, Modleski firmly puts himself in the
Notre Dame record books. Modleski and the rest of the team now await their postseason fate. The NCAA releases their postseason selections today at 2 p.m. on Golf Channel. Regardless of the outcome, head coach John Handrigan’s squad can be proud of their fight shown in Bowling Green. Apart from Modleski’s brilliance, the Irish maintained a steady level of play and laid a great foundation for the 2026 season.
Contact Chris Dailey at cdailey2@nd.edu
SMC softball falls to Albion and Calvin
By CLAIRE WATSON Associate Sports Editor
The Saint Mary’s softball team competed four games this past week, including doubleheader against Albion and Calvin. The Belles lost each game, bringing their recent losing streak to eight games. Saint Mary’s fell to 8-18 on the season and 2-10 in the conference.
Albion Game 1
Freshman infielder Talia Jorgensen had a single and was followed by sophomore transfer and infielder Laura Heim, who singled up the middle to put runners on first and second, but the Belles were unable to finish out as Albion stepped up to the plate. In the bottom of the inning, a combined three hits gave Albion its first run of the game. Heading into the top of the second inning, it was three
up, three down for the Albion defense to hold the Belles. At the end of the inning, multiple hits to the outfield and a home run from Albion allowed the Britons to take a 7-0 lead.
Going into the third inning, Albion forced two outs on the Belles before Jorgensen made it to first and Heim hit a hard grounder, but a double play finished the top of the inning.
Going into the bottom of the inning, the Saint Mary’s defense was able to hold Albion to keep the score unchanged.
The Belles were unable to score in the top of the fourth, and heading into the bottom of the inning, Albion put up four more runs to steamroll the Belles 11-0.
Game 2
Game 2 was a lot of the same as Albion continued to dominate offensively. Albion took up the role of visiting team and started off the first inning with four runs to take the
early lead. Jorgensen singled, and a fielder’s choice from Heim put Jorgensen in scoring position, but the Belles were unable to finish once again. Heading into the second inning, Albion continued by putting three more runs on the board. Albion continued its offensive drive in the third inning, adding another four runs to stay ahead 11-0, and with the Belles unable to score, Albion took the win.
Calvin Game 1
There was no score between the two teams in the first inning, but Calvin was able to put up the first three runs of the day between the second and third innings. The Belles’ defense was able to hold Calvin in the fourth and fifth innings, and vice versa, as Calvin held the Belles’ offense. Going into the sixth inning, Calvin put up four more runs to pull ahead 7-0,
and with Saint Mary’s unable to come back, Calvin took the first win of the day.
Game 2
Jorgensen kicked things off by reaching first base off of an error on the defense and stealing second to be in scoring position. Heim followed with a single to the right side to allow Jorgensen to score, putting the Belles up 1-0. These were the first points scored by the Belles in four games. Going into the bottom of the inning, Calvin put two runs on the board to regain the 2-1 lead. The Belles came back in the top of the second inning as Rauch walked and a combined hitting effort from sophomore outfielder Madi Ingolia and junior outfielder Leah Zimmerman allowed Rauch to score and tie the game. In the bottom half of the second, the Belles held the Calvin offense.
Going into the third inning,
the Belles were unable to score as Calvin added on two more runs to pull ahead 4-2. Neither team scored in the fourth inning, but heading into the fifth, Calvin kept its offensive drive going by adding on another run, bringing the score to 5-2. Zimmerman kicked off the seventh inning with a line drive to the pitcher to get on base, followed by a triple from Heim to score a run. Freshman Gia Schiavone flew out but gave Heim space to run home and bring the score to 5-4. Freshman catcher and infielder Maddi Duncan then reached first base, followed by junior pitcher Sam Mikitka, to put runners in scoring position. A single from Rauch allowed Duncan to score and tie up the game. Calvin got the last at bat and was able to score a run to take the 6-5 win.
Contact Claire Watson at cwatson01@saintmarys.edu
Saint Mary’s takes a close win over Calvin
By CLAIRE WATSON Associate Sports Editor
Despite a loss against Hope, the Saint Mary’s tennis team battled its way back against No. 4 Calvin, earning a 4-3 win. With the victory, the Belles finish their regular season 15-4 overall and 6-2 in the MIAA. The Belles continue to hold the No. 3 position in the MIAA, giving them a pathway to the tournament.
Doubles
The Belles dominated on the doubles courts, as senior Alayna Campbell and junior Emma Kealy took a
6-2 win on the No. 1 court over Catherine Grissom and Marina Ribeiro. Following on the No. 2 court were sophomore transfer Sophia Pischalko and freshman Shannon Dudy, who took another 6-2 win over Ryan Morey and Julia Hooker. Rounding out the competition were sophomore Anna Gardner and freshman Lanie Brant, who pulled through with a 7-6 win to secure the doubles point.
Singles
Brant kicked off the singles matches on the No. 5 court as she won 6-0, 6-4 against Hooker. Kealy followed with
a No. 2 court with a swift 6-2, 6-2 win over her opponent, Ana Clara Ornellas, to take the 3-0 lead. Calvin looked to make its comeback as Grissom took the 6-3, 6-2 win over Gardner on the No. 3, but Saint Mary’s quickly came back as Campbell followed with a 6-2, 7-6 win on the No. 1 court to stay ahead 4-1. Ribeiro took a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 win over Dudy on the No. 4 court and Morey defeated Pischalko 6-3, 6-4 on the No.
6 court to wrap up play. By taking the final two wins, the Belles came out on top with a 4-3 decision.
The Belles now head to the MIAA Tournament, where they will face off against Trine on April 28, starting at 4 p.m. While the Belles hold the No. 3 position, they have a hard tournament in front of them as the top two teams are No. 1 Hope and No. 2 Kalamazoo, both of which
the Belles fell to earlier in their regular season, but the Belles prepare to face Trine first. Holding the No. 6 position, Trine enters the tournament coming off a 6-1 loss against Kalamazoo, as it finished the regular season going 12-6 overall and 3-5 in conference play. The two teams met up earlier this season, and the Belles took a quick 6-1 win.
Contact Claire Watson at cwatson01@saintmarys.edu
rewarding. Preparation, reliability, and modesty will carry you to your destination of choice. Romance and self-improvement are yours to behold. Your numbers are 2, 13, 21, 29, 33, 41, 45.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Look for the best deal, prepare to barter, and make your money stretch. The joy of less debt will be worthwhile. Tidy up your life and your look, and get in step with the intent of reaching goals and putting your energy toward something that makes you happy. Personal gain is within reach.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Take the initiative and finish what you start. Clearing a path to freedom to do as you please will offer satisfaction and insight into turning your dreams into a reality. Trust and believe in yourself; you’ll gain respect and the support necessary to reach your objective. Prepare to commit.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Distance yourself from those who make you doubt your inner voice. Base the changes you make on what feels right. Put your energy into research, learning, and going directly to the source, and you will gain peace of mind. Communication and travel are favored. Change your surroundings, and you’ll gain perspective.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Take a step forward and back your words and promises with action. Your objective is to have an impact and to influence those who are sitting on the fence. Putting your reputation and expertise to the test will prove gratifying and encourage you to do more to honor your promises and beliefs.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You will attract attention if you are vocal, participate, and do your part to spread the word. Now is not the time to sit on the sidelines and act on behalf of those who cannot, and it will encourage others to do the same. Be a driving force, and your popularity will grow.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Get your facts straight before you share information. Over or under, stating the magnitude of any situation you face will cause doubt and a reluctance for others to join forces with you. Take the high road, toot the truth, and make the changes necessary to reach your goal. Partnerships require openness and honesty.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Broaden your knowledge, and you’ll gain perspective regarding something you want to pursue. Planning a trip, signing up for a course, or engaging in a rally that offers insight into how you can contribute will give you a sense of belonging and purpose. Someone you meet will raise your awareness and enthusiasm.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Use your energy wisely. Exercise, competitive sports, physical challenges, and participating in something that motivates you will positively impact your life. An investment looks promising. Research, use intelligence and discipline, and position yourself for victory. A financial gain and lifestyle change are apparent if you are true to yourself and trust your instincts.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Domestic issues will surface if you are reluctant to handle matters upfront. Hesitation will lead to accumulated mistrust with someone you need to get along with. Take an innovative approach, choose your words wisely, and make a reasonable suggestion or offer, and you will gain respect and avoid emotional mind games.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Listen, observe, and protect your achievements and possessions. Tone down the rhetoric and refrain from bragging about what or how much you’ve got. A change of attitude regarding who you allow access to your inner circle will help you maintain your status quo and keep outsiders guessing your next move.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Stay calm, pace yourself, and only adjust or make necessary changes. Focus on broadening your outlook, skills, and pursuits and pouring your energy into actions rather than discord. A talent, skill, or idea will carry you in a direction that offers more significant income, a higher position, or self-improvement. Explore the possibilities.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Settle in and look at the big picture. Before making a move or altering how you feel and do things, you should study the consequences and who stands to win or lose. Worthwhile change begins with a positive attitude and the intent to choose what works for the majority. Embrace unity, not division.
Birthday Baby: You are unyielding, emotional, and articulate. You are outgoing and intense.
Notre Dame softball falls to Oregon
By CLAIRE WATSON Associate Sports Editor
On Monday, the Notre Dame softball team, nearing the end of its season, lost to Oregon at home. The Irish entered the game 2329-1 overall and 7-17 in the ACC, while Oregon entered 44-5 overall and 17-2 in the Big Ten.
Kicking off the first inning, sophomore pitcher Kami Kamzik took the circle for the Irish. Throughout the inning, Oregon’s offense was on point and put up five runs. In the bottom
of the inning, Notre Dame was unable to score, keeping the score in Oregon’s favor.
Kamzik started in the circle again in the top of the second before senior pitcher Shannon Becker took over.
The Irish held the Oregon offense and turned around to add a run of their own as senior catcher Rachel Allen homered over the centerfield fence to make the score 5-1.
Oregon was not phased as it added on two more runs after forcing errors on the Irish defense.
Another double from the Ducks allowed them to add an additional two runs to bring the score to 9-1. Notre Dame was unable to score in the latter end of the inning. Going into the fourth inning, freshman lefty Brianne Weiss took over on the mound for the Irish, but the Ducks quickly got a runner into scoring position. A hard single to right field allowed the Ducks to earn their 10th run of the game. The Oregon defense continued to hold the Irish offense in the bottom
of the fourth, as the score remained 10-1.
After preventing the Ducks from scoring in the top of the fifth, the Irish looked to make a comeback in the bottom as senior utility player Jane Kronenberger made it on base after a single to right field. Junior pitcher Paige Cowley flied out, and sophomore outfielder Christina Willemssen struck out to end the inning. As such, the Ducks took the final 10-1 win.
On offense, Allen led the team with a solo home run. In the circle, Notre
Dame relied on three pitchers, Kamzik, Becker, with two strikeouts, and Weiss, also with two strikeouts. With this loss, Notre Dame falls to 23-30-1 overall on the season, while Oregon improves to 45-5. The team now looks ahead to their May 1 Bowling Green rescheduled game. Following the game, the Irish look to compete in the ACC Softball Championship beginning on May 7.
Contact Claire Watson at cwatson01@saintmarys.edu
KIERA JONES | The Observer
Senior catcher Rachel Allen smashes a line drive home run over center field against Oregon on April 28. While the Irish fell to fifth-ranked Oregon 10-1, this was Allen’s sixth home run of the season. Next, the Irish will take on Bowling Green at Melissa Cook Stadium to close the regular season before the ACC Tournament.
Rowing places second at Dale England Cup
By CLAIRE WATSON Associate Sports Editor
The Notre Dame rowing team posted its best performance of the season on Saturday at the Dale England Cup, hosted by No. 18 Indiana. The Irish brought 50 athletes and seven boats to the meet, posting three wins throughout the day.
The Cup’s scoring system awarded 18 points to the varsity eight winner, 12 points to the second varsity eight winning squad and six points to the
varsity four winner. The Cup also gave half the points to the runners-up in each race.
The third varsity eight showed off Notre Dame’s immense depth, giving head coach Martin Stone a good problem: an overflow of talent. The third varsity eight composed of sophomore Christina Henning, freshman Lauren O’Grady, junior Maeve McMahon, freshman Caroline Logan, sophomore Scarlett Quinn, freshman Elle Kilgannon, sophomore Reyna Lewis, sophomore
Grace Hartzell and senior coxswain Grace Collins finished in 7:44.6. The time was 21 seconds ahead of second-place Michigan State, and it was just a few seconds behind the first and second varsity eight boats. They raced a 7:41.67 and 7:42.3, respectively.
Additionally, the Irish won both the second and third varsity four meets. Junior Grace Taylor, sophomore Anna Kahl, senior Victoria Gordon-Brown, junior Morgan Rice and coxswain sophomore Joyce Kang
dashed to an 8:38.4 finish in the second varsity four heat. Freshman Marie Golden along with sophomores Sara Louser, Madison Naman, Lilly Keegan and coxswain Lily Fratantonio were not too far behind, clocking an 8:38.9 in the third varsity four heat.
Although the Irish fell short to a highly-touted Indiana team in the overall standings, the thirdboat results were not factored into the final cup standings. Had they been, Notre Dame likely would have notched the
cup outright. Despite early morning wind gusts peaking at 30 miles per hour, Stone’s team strung together another solid performance. As a collective unit and under head coach Stone, Notre Dame has one of the best young units in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the makings to turn some heads within the conference come May 16.
Contact Claire Watson at cwatson01@saintmarys.edu
Irish sweep major ACC awards
By BEN HICKS Associate Sports Editor
After wrapping up the No. 1 seed in this week’s ACC Tournament, the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team also collected some postseason hardware from the conference on Tuesday.
Senior attacker Chris Kavanagh captured the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, marking the second straight year the Irish have received the award and third time overall. Kavanagh’s brother, Pat, took
HCC
WOMEN’S TENNIS
home the award for the dominant Irish attack a year ago, while Bryan Costabile was the first Notre Dame man to win it back in 2019.
Kavanagh, the Rockville Center, New York native, scored 31 goals and added 22 assists to lead the team tallying 53 points. He currently ranks second in program history with 143 goals, setting the season record for points a year ago with 81.
On the other side of the field, sophomore defender Shawn Lyght was named Co-Defensive
Player of the Year, becoming the seventh Notre Dame player to earn the honor. Despite entering the league just 12 years ago, the Irish have won the award more than any other school.
Lyght makes it three in a row for Notre Dame, following Liam Entenmann claiming the crown as top defender each of the past two seasons. It is also the fourth time in five years that the Irish have taken home the award, as Jack Kielty won in 2021.
Finally, dual-sport athlete and previous No. 1 national recruit
Matt Jeffery made it a clean sweep by winning Freshman of the Year. The midfielder, who also plays wide receiver for Marcus Freeman, scored five goals on the season, four of which came in the four ACC games.
The Irish also led the league in All-ACC team selections with six. Alongside Kavanagh and Lyght on the all-conference squad were junior midfielder Will Donovan, senior midfielder Ben Ramsey, junior goalkeeper Thomas Ricciardelli and
graduate forward Jake Taylor. The postseason quest for a third consecutive ACC Championship and NCAA Championship begins on Friday afternoon in Charlotte, North Carolina. The No. 1 seed Irish will seek revenge on No. 4 Syracuse following the Orange’s 14-9 win in upstate New York back on April 5. Faceoff is set for 5 p.m. with the telecast available on ACC Network.
Contact Ben Hicks at bhicks2@nd.edu
Saint’s bring home SCAC Championship
By CLAIRE WATSON Associate Sports Editor
Over the weekend, the No. 1-ranked Holy Cross women’s tennis team took home its third NAIA Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Championship title, marching through the competition by taking three straight wins.
In the semifinals on Wednesday, April 23, the Saints took a 4-0 win over the No. 4-ranked St. Francis.
Two days later, the Saints took to the championship and claimed a 5-0 win over No. 2-ranked Olivet Nazarene. Earlier in the season, Holy Cross similarly secured a 5-0 win over Olivet Nazarene.
With this championship win, the Saints improve to 8-5 overall.
Doubles
The Saints took the doubles point to take an early lead over Olivet Nazarene. On the No. 1 court, junior pairing Leah Gonzales-Edwards and Victoria Savvidou took a 6-1 win over Natasha Nieto and Rafaela Luna.
On the No. 2 court, sophomore
Nicole Martinez and freshman Sofia Rocha took a 6-1 win over Chieh-Yu Chen and Savannah Amatyleon. Finishing off on the No. 3 court, freshmen Emery Porter and Maren Woelfer took a 6-0 win over Olivia Bonnivier and Jori Lambert.
Singles
The Saints continued to dominate on the singles courts as Savvidou took a 6-2, 6-0 win over Nieto to bring the Saints ahead 2-0. Following on the No. 4 court, Gonzales-Edwards took a 6-0, 6-0 win over Amatyleon. On the No. 5 court, Rocha swept the match, taking a 6-0, 6-0 win over Lambert, bringing the score to 4-0.
Sophomore Jamison Geofferys took a 6-2, 5-1 win over Chen on the No. 2 court to gain the fifth point for the Saints. Martinez took a 6-1, 2-1 win on the No. 3 court, and sophomore Anna Vanderhyde took a 6-1, 5-0 win on the No. 6 court. With this championship title, the Saints’ young but dominant team now looks to prepare for the NAIA National Championships. The championships will begin on May 13. The championships schedule has not yet been released.
Contact Claire Watson at cwatson01@saintmarys.edu
Irish winning streak snapped at Purdue
By BEN HICKS Associate Sports Editor
After a brief rain delay postponed the start of Tuesday’s intra-Indiana clash, the Notre Dame baseball team put their eight game winning streak on the line in West Lafayette against the Purdue Boilermakers.
Purdue came out of the delay hot, quickly jumping all over Notre Dame starter Dylan Heine. The graduate righthander would only complete one inning, while allowing five runs. He wasn’t helped by his defense, as a costly error resulted in only one of those runs being earned. The Boilers blasted two home runs in the inning, with shortstop Logan Sutter and first baseman Breck Nowik going yard.
he Notre Dame bullpen was up early, as junior reliever Xavier Hirsch entered to begin the second, but he didn’t fare much better than Heine. The righty conceded two runs, with designated hitter CJ Richmond and catcher Houston Russell each collecting RBIs. Notre Dame
trailed 7-0 after going scoreless through two innings.
The Irish finally got on the board off sophomore southpaw Easton Storey in the third, when sophomore designated hitter Carson Tinney continued his hot streak with a home run. The shot to left field was Tinney’s 12th round-tripper on the season but only cut the margin to 7-1.
Purdue added one back when freshman lefthander Brady Koester entered in the bottom half of the fourth.
Koester recorded just one out while walking three, throwing just three strikes in his 16 pitches. A wild pitch scored a runner left on by Hirsch to make it 8-1 Purdue after four.
Tinney drew the Irish back in the next frame, as his 13th blast of the season plated three and cut the lead in half to 8-4. With sophomore catcher Davis Johnson and senior outfielder DM Jefferson on the pond, Tinney unloaded on Maclane Finley’s first offering of the at bat to give Notre Dame some life.
Freshman right fielder Bino
Watters pulled the Irish even closer in the sixth inning by driving home Johnson. The power hitting youngster lined a full count pitch back up the middle for his second hit of the day, which also moved his batting average to .305.
Despite continuing to load the bases with hits, Notre Dame couldn’t draw any closer as they left an astounding 14 runners on base throughout the nine innings. Purdue then added insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth off freshman Chase Van Ameyde to put the game away. Nowik scored on yet another Irish wild pitch, before Sutter continued beamed a two-RBI double to make matters worse at 11-5. The Irish once again made some noise in their final atbat in the top of the ninth off of reliable Purdue graduate closer Avery Coo. Cook has a sub-four ERA and a WHIP just above one, but the Notre Dame offense was able to load the bases. With Jefferson, freshman Noah Coy, and graduate Connor Hincks on base, Johnson
popped up a 3-2 pitch to third base to close out the game.
Despite matching Purdue with ten hits, the Irish did not play a clean or complete game, and the Boilers took advantage. Runners left on base, wild pitches and a costly first inning error ended up being the difference, and Purdue took the Northern Indiana showdown 11-5.
Heine took the loss for Notre Dame, moving the midweek starter to 2-3 on the season. Despite only producing four innings of work, Storey earned the win for the Boilermakers to move to 3-1. Cook came out of the pen to work a six-out save for his eighth of the season. Purdue is now 26-18 on the year, but will need to capture the Big Ten Tournament crown to make the NCAA Tournament. Despite compiling a 7-14 record in the league, Purdue has been dominant in the non-conference at 19-4.
The loss ends Notre Dame’s eight game winning streak over the past two weeks, dropping their overall record to 24-18. At 12th-place in the ACC with a 10-14 mark, the
Irish need to make a push over the final ten games of the season if they hope to make the program’s first NCAA Tournament since the 2022 College World Series appearance.
Following consecutive sweeps at Stanford and at home against California, the Irish will host the penultimate ACC series of the season this weekend at Frank Eck Stadium. Coming to town for the crucial three-game set are the Louisville Cardinals, who sit in seventh place with a 12-9 league record. Having qualified for just one NCAA Tournament since 2019, the Cardinals have put together a resurgent season with a 3113 overall record which puts them in the top-25 on the national RPI.
Game one is set for a 7 p.m. first pitch on Thursday, with the broadcast on ACC Network. Games two and three will begin at 6:30 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively, with streaming available for both on ACCNX.
Contact Ben Hicks at bhicks2@nd.edu
KIERA JONES | The Observer
Junior Justin Mayes Jr. made his 11th appearance on the mound for the Irish on April 23, 2025. Mayes did not appear in the April 29 loss to Purdue. He pitched in one inning of action and helped the Irish defeat Purdue Fort Wayne 8-6 in a comeback victory that saw 6 runs by the Irish in the last two innings at home in Frank Eck Stadium.
