University of Notre Dame - Dome Yearbook (Notre Dame, IN)

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Danie senior Sara Schixiii- ic i counesy of S xirts Info VVomen ' s vSof tball captJ IfPC viorrc Dame women ' s siiftlxill team had aiuuher extradrdinan ' 1. Lcl bv All-Ameneaii Stephanie Rrnwii, the Insh tinishexl on the 2006 seaso n, eamint; their protrram-rexrori-l eiylith cudve bid to iJie 2006 A Championship. : Dame ' s season was with many close calK Irish altered play at udi Gannan Classic in Califoniia v ith a lof 9-7, but lost their extra-inning game of ason to CS Fullerton ng the tournament. ;ver, Notre Dame :ed back in a big way consecutive one-nin ies. The Irish defeated ranked Arirona State a walk-off rwo-Rui ■ nin K ' Stephanie n, capping an Jible complete-game ing perftimiiince by nan Britmey Bargar. T Headier Btxith a, pitching) led Notre ? in a 1-0 ctor RoriAi State with a ' lete-game three-liit ' ut. However, the ran out on the Irish , , ■;,., consecutive one-run defeats from top-ten programs Te.xas , i d ima. Notre Dame finished the Big E;ist regular seascm with a record after sweeping a doubleheader from St. John ' s. With hits on the day, Stephanie Brown set a new Big East regular- 1 hits record with 38 and finished the r ular seascin with a .528 g average. Heather Bcx)th pitched ever - inning of Kith shutout wins over St. Jolin ' s. Qnitinuiiig the momentum, tlie Irish rolled past their first two opponents in the Big tisl C ' hampionship, Providence and Pittsburgh. Tliis set the stage tor a rematch in the championship game with Louisville, who managed to defeat the Irish twice three weeks prior. At the end of a rainy v ' eekend, Notre Dame upset Lx)uisville 1-0 thanks to another masterful pitching effort from Heather Booth. Heather was named the tcuimament ' s most outstanduig player after winning all three games Lind only allowing one run on se en liits the entire weekend. Notre Dame then headed to Evanston tor regional play in the NCAA Championship. ■After Ivating UC Santa Barbara in the first g;une, the Irish struggled the next day, losing to Northwestern 9-0. Notre Dame showevl a lot of he-art when they came back to defeat Soudieni Illinois 54 after scoring 4 runs in the last nvo innings. Notre Dame thai got die chiuice to play Northwestern again, but, despite senior Meagan Ruthrauff ' s home run ;ind 44 day, lost the game 74. Evai with the disapiiointing aiding to the season, the softhall team showal it c;ui hold its own against the elite teams in the countr ;ind is primal for another great season next yc; r. story by Bryan Ahem Irisli . tlilcti{;s 173

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0«i Catcher Mallorie Lenn attcmpcs to tlmnv out a hjsc steali St;mdoiir (Hirficlcicr Stcplimiie Brown cappai a cunichick cncr liighly ranked Arizona State with a walk-off Iionic rtui. Als i, her Biy Eisi record 38th lilt came on a liomc nin against St. Jolm ' s in the last t anie of the rcfiular-season. ScphameBr.™ Bnmn cxcellcxl not onh- on the field, hut in the ckissrcxim as well. In addition to numerous other accolades, she wx- named an Academic All-Americ;m as well as an Ali-Americ;tn. Brown is a member of Notre Rune ' s prestisious Academic Honors Pr(5gram ;uid is nwjoring in marketing, ' . Qxidn Deanna Cjiimpf talks with Brittne ' Rirgar. t l oU) amtesy of 5)xnts Info Meifjan Riitliraiiff score. a run ag;tiiist Rutgers. . ) ioto amtesy of Sports Info 172 ICiiie Liu ii: ), ' un.s limii ;ui iKlv.uKiiiK runner. Jiiiii) aiuncs () Slims Infa TIk 2006 wnnen ' s softKJI ie;iin. i i U) OMTtcsy nf Sfons Info V a i i kjmj- - f- ft .»Qr -l.r l)()lll{ '

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Frcshnum Bren HcIkcski. fUito cmtnesy of S( tnts bifi i Men ' s Tennis wins in NCAA Tournament edited by Brjan Ah m The Notre Danic men ' s tamis team definitely has hecome a force to be reckoned with in the Midwest. Tliey l egan the 2006 season rariked 26di and oi-vned dual-match pla - with a 6-1 ictor - at Northwestern. A tough early season slate that included three top-ten teams caught up with the Irish, however, as they lost four of their ne.xt five matches. Tlie ' did not go down widioiit a tight; though diey lost thrcx; of diose matches by a score of 4-3. One of those tough sethicks caine against top- ranked Virginia, where fresliman Brett Helgeson put Notre Dame in a position to win by defeating the 6 th ranked singles player in tiie nation. Notre Dame then got on a roll , winning 11 straight matches and rising to as high as 1 5th in the rankings. Among those Irish xictories was a 5-2 triumph over Ohio State, handing the Buckeyes their lone li«s of the regular season. Junior Ryiui Keckley (pictured, center) ;uid sophomore Shecva Parbhu both rallied from dropping ( ipaiing sets to win in thrix: and clinch the Notre Dame ictor -. In tiie presrigious Blue-Gray Narional Tamis Qassic, Notre Dame guttetl out a 4-3 victor ' ovct Boise State in the semifinals thanks to a clutch thrcv-sot victory by junior Stqihai B;vss in a match up of two top-25 singles playtTs. Tlie Irish saw their winning streak come to a halt in the final, losing 4-2 to Virginia Q)miiionwe;iltii. In the 2006 Big Eiist Ginference Championsliip, the Irish opened with consecutive ' I victories over Georgetown and Soudi Florida. Notre Dame tell 4-1 the final to Louis ille, with Brett Helgeson providing die kmc Ir fxiint in singles. He v named to the Big East Tournament Team ale with the doubles tcaiii senior Eric LingenkiU ;uid R ' an Keckle ' . Af three straight yt without tasring ictor ' the NGAA Tuimaiiic Notre Dame got back the winning track wit! 4-3 ictory o ' er Bnwn the opaiing roiuid. 1 Irish followed that upw a 4-2 victor ' o er Te .A AI, ax aiging Nc Dame ' s previous loss die Aggies earlier in i season. Ryiui Keckle v die ictor in tiie Jtxis singles match, a 7-6(1 64 win that sait the It to die round of 16. 1 Irish were then fiircd face the top merall s oi the touniament Ckxirgia, which dcfcrt Mitre Dame 4-0. Nt Dame finishal the sea nuikcxl ITtli nation, illv and rJ in the Midwx-st RL-gion,lx ' liindO State and Illinois. X ' iih,in.in t.ilental underclassmen making la contriburions to Notre Dame ' s succes.st ul season, Notre D.mie is re to make another big leap luul Iv among the top tamis pn»graiiv the counm,- in the 2007-08 seas stors i Bn an .M« 174 Dome