June 22, 2000

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame finished 21st in the final set of sports standings released in the 1999-2000 Sears Directors’ Cup all-sports competition.

Spring NCAA competition earned the Irish points based on their quarterfinal appearance in men’s lacrosse (40 points), their third-round appearance in women’s tennis (50 points), their second-round appearance in men’s tennis (30 points), their regional appearances in softball (30 points) and baseball (30) points, and their 47th-place finish in men’s track and field (34.5 points), giving Notre Dame 594.5 points.

Winter sports points came from Notre Dame’s NCAA runnerup finish in fencing (85 points), a final 16 appearance in women’s basketball (50), and an 18th-place finish in women’s swimming (50).

Thanks to the Irish women’s soccer team’s NCAA runnerup finish, the men’s cross country team finishing eighth and the women’s cross country team finishing 29th at the NCAA championships, plus the volleyball team advancing to the NCAA tournament, Notre Dame earned 195 points during the fall sports season.

Stanford (1359.5 points) won the competition thanks to its NCAA championships in men’s tennis and men’s outdoor track and field and runnerup finishes in women’s tennis, women’s golf, water polo, baseball and men’s indoor track and field. Second is UCLA, followed by Michigan, North Carolina and Penn State.

In previous years in which the Sears Directors’ Cup competition has been held, Notre Dame has finished 11th in 1993-94, 30th in 1994-95, 11th in 1995-96, 14th in 1996-97, tied for 31st in 1997-98 and 25th in 1998-99.

Baseball (46-18)

NCAA Championship, Regional Championship Game Participant
BIG EAST Regular Season – T-2nd (18-7)
Collegiate Baseball Final Ranking – 30th (based on votes received)

  • Notre Dame posted 40-plus victories for the 12th straight season, the nation’s fourth-longest active streak behind Florida State (23), Wichita State (23) and Clemson (15). The Irish registered the third most wins in school history, two shy of the record.
  • Junior All-America pitcher Aaron Heilman went 10-2 with a 3.21 ERA and 118 strikeouts during the regular season. Heilman ended the season drafted by the Minnesota Twins with the 31st overall pick in the Amatuer First-Year Draft. He was a first-team All-America selection by College Baseball and was the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year.
  • Alec Porzel and Brian Stavisky were second-team all-BIG EAST selections.
  • Second baseman Jeff Perconte earned GTE Academic All-America first-team honors, while pitcher Mike Naumann was a third-team honoree.
  • Rookie outfielder Brian Stavisky set a record for home runs (14) by a Notre Dame freshman. Stavisky also led the BIG EAST in triples with five.
  • Senior pitcher John Corbin set school records for career saves (20) and saves in a season (11, in 2000).

Men’s Basketball (22-15)

Preseason NIT Semifinalist
NIT Runner-up
BIG EAST Regular Season – T-6th (8-8)

  • Sophomore forward Troy Murphy (22.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg, .808 FT shooting) was selected as a first team consensus All-American. Murphy had 20 double-doubles and led the BIG EAST in scoring and rebounding on his way to being named BIG EAST Player of the Year.
  • The team posted five upset wins over nationally ranked teams: Ohio State (ranked 4th), Connecticut twice (ranked 2nd and 13th), Seton Hall (ranked 23rd) and St. John’s (ranked 23rd).
  • An 8-8 league mark in BIG EAST play is the best conference record since the Irish joined the conference in 1995-96.
  • The 270 three-point field goals set a new Notre Dame single-season record.
  • Head Coach Matt Doherty’s 22 wins set a school record for most wins by a first-year coach in men’s basketball.
  • Sophomore forward David Graves hit two game-winning shots over ranked teams in 1999-2000 (vs. Ohio State and Seton Hall).

Women’s Basketball (27-5)

NCAA Regional Semifinalist (Mideast Region)
BIG EAST Regular Season – 2nd (15-1)
Wachovia Women’s Invitational Tournament Champion
Associated Press Final Ranking – 5th
USA Today/ESPN Final Ranking – 9th

  • Junior center Ruth Riley (16.2 ppg., 7.3 rpg) was the first Notre Dame women’s basketball player to be selected as a tirst-team Associated Press All-American and first-team GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American. Riley also earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive year and was a unanimous first-team all-BIG EAST choice.
  • The Irish won a school-record 20 consecutive games in 1999-2000 and head into the 2000-2001campaign riding a 23-game home win streak.
  • Riley and senior guard Danielle Green became the 15th and 16th 1,000 point scorers in Irish women’s basketball history.
  • Freshman Alicia Ratay was named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and was an AP honorable mention All-America selection.
  • The 27 wins are the second most in school history season as the Irish earned their seventh straight 20-win campaign. Notre Dame made its fifth straight NCAA tournament appearance.

Men’s Cross Country

NCAA Championship – 8th
BIG EAST Champion
Final Ranking – 7th

  • Won BIG EAST Championship for the second time in three years.
  • Junior Ryan Shay earned All-America status with a 12th-place finish at the NCAA Championship.
  • Sophomore Luke Watson won the 1999 U.S. Junior Cross Country Championship.
  • The team finished second at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Meet, earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.
  • The team also won the National Catholic Championship and the Valparaiso Invitational.

Women’s Cross Country

NCAA Championship – 29th
BIG EAST Championship – 5th
NCAA Great Lakes Regional Meet – 4th

  • Received an at-large invitation to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 1993.
  • Senior Alison Klemmer led the Irish with a fourth-place finish at the Great Lakes Regional Meet and was 73rd in the NCAA Championship.

Men’s Fencing (18-2)

NCAA Runner-up
Midwest Fencing Conference Champion
Midwest Fencing Conference Epee Champion
Midwest Fencing Conference Foil Champion
Midwest Fencing Conference Sabre Champion

  • Sophomore Gabor Szelle won the NCAA men’s sabre championship and earned first team All-America status. He represented his native Hungary at the Junior World Fencing Championships held in South Bend, Ind.
  • Nine of 12 fencers earned All-American honors at the NCAA championships and it marked the first time that the Irish had first-team All-Americans in all three weapons.
  • Freshman Ozren Debic was the NCAA men’s foil runner-up and a first-team All-American.
  • Freshman Jan Viviani finished third in the NCAA epee competiton and earned first-team All-America honors. He represented the United States at the Junior World Fencing Championships.

Women’s Fencing (18-2)

NCAA Runner-up
Midwest Fencing Conference Runner-up
Midwest Fencing Conference Foil Champion
Midwest Fencing Conference Sabre Runner-up

  • Senior Magda Krol finished fifth in the NCAA foil championship and earned third-team All-America status.
  • Freshman Anna Carnick won the Midwest Fencing Conference epee championship and earned third-team All-American status.
  • Freshman Natalia Mazur earned All-America honors in sabre, the first year of women’s sabre competition at in the NCAA championship.

Football (5-7)

  • Senior quarterback Jarious Jackson was named the Monogram Club MVP and was a finalist for the Davey O’Brien Quarterback award and semifinalist for the Football News Offensive Player of the Year. Jackson also set new single-season marks in passing attempts (316), completions (184), and passing yards (2,753).
  • The Irish faced the nation’s third-toughest schedule, including games against six ranked opponents.
  • The Notre Dame – USC rivalry turned in another classic, as the Irish rallied from a 24-3 third-quarter deficit for a 25-24 win. It produced the greatest Notre Dame comeback since the 1979 Cotton Bowl and the biggest comeback in the history of Notre Dame Stadium.

Men’s Golf

Air Force Invitational Champion
Legends of Indiana Champion
Louisville Intercollegiate Champion
Treasure Coast Classic Runner-up
BIG EAST Championship – 3rd

  • After winning three tournaments in the fall, the Irish hosted the BIG EAST Championship at the new Warren Golf Course on the Notre Dame campus. The team’s overall four-man stroke average of 298.29 finished as the best in Notre Dame history.
  • Senior Todd Vernon’s career stroke average of 75.41 was the second-best by an Irish golfer since 1970 and the best by any Irish player with 50-plus career rounds.
  • Junior Alex Kent’s 68 in the BIG EAST Championship was just the 11th time an Irish golfer has shot 68 or better in an intercollegiate competition.
  • Jeff Connell became the first men’s golfer to earn GTE Academic All-America honors as a third-team selection for the men’s spring at-large program.

Women’s Golf

Butler Invitational Champion

  • Junior Shane Smith finished the season with an 80.38 stroke average, the third-best in the 12-year history of the Notre Dame women’s golf program.
  • Junior Mary Klein posted three team-best finishes, a mark that ranks sixth in Notre Dame history.
  • Smith counted to the four-person team score in all 21 rounds she played, joining Kathy Phares (’92-’93) as the only Irish golfers ever to play in 21-plus rounds while counting in each.
  • The Irish four-player average score was 326.36, second-best in school history.

Ice Hockey (16-18-8)

CCHA Tournament Semifinalist
CCHA Regular Season ? 5th (11-10-7)

  • Freshman Connor Dunlop, along with sophomores Brett Henning and David Inman were selected to play on the U.S. Junior National Team.
  • The Irish were sparked by a dramatic 4-3 overtime win against Western Michigan to propel Notre Dame to an 8-4-3 mark in its last 15 games, earning the right to advance to Joe Louis Arena and the CCHA semifinals for the first time since 1982.
  • Junior Dan Carlson (17 goals, 18 assists) led the team in scoring and added five game-winners, including two in overtime.
  • Senior Ben Simon concluded his career as the second-leading point-scorer since the Irish rejoined the CCHA in ’92-’93 with 129 points.
  • Andy Jurkowski was a third-team GTE Academic All-America selection for the fall/winter at-large program, marking the fourth consecutive year the hockey program has produced an Academic All-American.

Men’s Lacrosse (10-4)

NCAA Quarterfinalist
Great Western Lacrosse League Champion
Final STX/United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association ranking – 13th

  • The Irish repeated their historic ’95 win in the NCAA tournament (an upset of fifth-seeded Duke) with a 15-13 win over fifth-seeded Loyola (Md.) in the first round of the NCAA tournament, for a second time becoming the only team from the West to win an NCAA tournament game. The Irish also avenged their worst loss of the season, ater Loyola handed Notre Dame a 12-2 loss at Moose Krause Stadium.
  • Junior Tom Glatzel (37 goals, 17 assists) scored four goals and dished off three assists in the Loyola victory, earning national player of the week honors. Glatzel and fellow junior David Ulrich also earned honorable mention All-American honors.
  • Ulrich’s 32 assists tied the single-season mark.
  • Head coach Kevin Corrigan earned his 100th career coaching victory at Notre Dame when the Irish beat Army 10-5 on April 15, 2000.
  • The Irish finished the season by rattling off seven straight victories for 10 total wins, the most since 1994.
  • Seniors Steve Fiamingo was a third-team GTE Academic All-American for the men’s spring at-large program (the second in the program’s history).
  • Kevin Higgins’ 71 groundballs led the team for the third consecutive year. He finished as the third all-time leader in groundballs with 250.

Women’s Lacrosse (5-10)

  • Sophomore Kathryn Lam earned Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Association Mid-Atlantic all-region honors in 2000. Lam led the team in groundballs (62) and had a team-high 35 caused turnovers. Lam was the Monogram Club MVP and the first-ever sophomore captain.
  • Junior Lael O’Shaughnessy was also named to the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Association Mid-Atlantic All-Region team in 2000. O’Shaughnessy led the team in scoring with 27 goals and seven assists for 34 points.

Women’s Rowing

Head of the Elk Regatta Gold Medal – Novice Eight
Head of the Elk Regatta Gold Medal – Lightweight Four

  • The Irish completed its second year of varsity competition
  • Notre Dame hosted the first rowing regatta of the varsity era, winning two gold medals in the Varsity Four and Varsity Eight races.
  • Notre Dame placed six of seven boats in the finals of the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships in Oak Ridge, Tenn., as the second varsity eight finished second in the grand final to Clemson.
  • Senior Katrina Ten Eyck was invited to the Arco Training Center Camp to train with potential National Team candidates.

Men’s Soccer (8-9-3)

BIG EAST Regular Season – 8th (4-5-2)
BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinalist

  • Freshman Erich Braun led the team in scoring with nine goals and six assists. Braun earned third team all-Mideast region honors and was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Year. His seven goals and three assists in 11 conference games set a BIG EAST rookie scoring record.
  • The team earned its fourth consecutive berth in the BIG EAST tournament.

Women’s Soccer (21-4-1)

NCAA College Cup Runner-up
BIG EAST Tournament Champion
BIG EAST Mid-Atlantic Regular Season Champion (6-0)
Final NSCAA Ranking – 5th

  • The Irish upset number-one ranked Santa Clara in the NCAA semifinals behind a goal by freshman Ali Lovelace and earned the right to move to the NCAA College Cup championship game.
  • Notre Dame survived a four-overtime marathon against fourth-ranked Nebraska in the NCAA tournament to advance 4-3 on penalty kicks, the winning shot coming from junior defender Kelly Lindsey.
  • The Irish posted a pair of regular season wins over top-ranked opponents Texas A&M and Connecticut.
  • Notre Dame won its fifth consecutive BIG EAST title with the win over Connecticut, the fifth straight time the two teams have met for the championship.
  • Head Coach Randy Waldrum was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year in his first year with the Irish.
  • Three players earned All-American honors from the NSCAA, junior Anne Makinen (second team), and seniors Jen Grubb (third team) and Jenny Streiffer (third team).

Softball (47-14)

BIG EAST Regular Season Champion (12-2)
BIG EAST Tournament Champion
NCAA Tournament (Regional)
FInal NFCA Ranking – 24th
State Line Classic Tournament Champion
Kia Classic Semifinalist

  • The Irish were ranked as high as 17th nationally and first in the Northeast Region in registering its best record in the program’s history.
  • Notre Dame captured its second straight BIG EAST tournament title and fifth straight regular season title.
  • Liz Miller was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year and seven members of the team made the all-BIG EAST first team.
  • Notre Dame won the State Line Classic by posting four straight shutouts.
  • Junior pitcher Jennifer Sharron went 26-7 with a 0.88 ERA, hurled 12 shutouts and struck out 246 en route to unanimous selection as BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year and second team All-America honors.
  • Melanie Alkire had a .376 batting average with 13 home runs and 64 RBI. She earned second team All-America honors, was named BIG EAST Player of the Year and BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
  • Jarrah Meyers was a third-team GTE Softball Academic All-America selection.

Men’s Swimming and Diving (5-4)

BIG EAST Championship – 2nd
Notre Dame Invitational Champion
Notre Dame Relays Champion
Shamrock Classic Champion

  • Senior Ray Fitzpatrick was the BIG EAST champion in the 200 freestyle and garnered numerous academic honors, including GTE fall/winter at-large third-team Academic All-America accolades.
  • Jonathan Pierce won the BIG EAST title in the 1650 freestyle for the second straight year and was also an all-BIG EAST selection in the 500 freestyle and 800 freestyle relay.

Women’s Swimming and Diving (10-0)

NCAA Championship – 18th
BIG EAST Champions
Notre Dame Relays Champion
Notre Dame Invitational Champion
Shamrock Classic Champion
Final CSCAA Ranking – 20th

  • Notre Dame defended its BIG EAST title for the fourth time and sent six athletes to the NCAA championship meet, each earning some type of All-America honors.
  • The Irish were led by junior Carrie Nixon, who garnered All-America honors in the 50 freestyle and honorable mention honors in four other events. Nixon recorded the schools highest finish ever with her fourth place in the 50 freestyle, just hours after becoming the first Irish swimmer to ever win a preliminary race at the NCAA meet.
  • Senior Shannon Suddarth became the first Notre Dame swimmer to earn honorable mention All-American honors in four straight seasons by finishing 11th in the 100 and 200 breaststroke.
  • The 400 medley relay team placed ninth at the NCAA meet, the best finish ever by a Notre Dame relay at the event.
  • Mattingly returned to the NCAA meet after becoming the first diver to ever qualify for the championship meet as a freshman last season. She improved both her one and three-meter diving finishes and became the first Notre Dame diver to earn honorable mention All-American status.

Men’s Tennis (13-11)

NCAA Tournament (Second Round)
BIG EAST Runner-up
World Team Tennis National Collegiate Championships – 6th
Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic – 5th

  • Senior Ryan Sachire was a four-time NCAA singles participant and three-time All-American. He was named the BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player and was a semifinalist in the T. Rowe Price National Clay Court Championship and the ITA Midwest Region singles tournament. Sachire lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament but swept both senior awards, winning the Ted A. Farnsworth/ITA National Senior Player of the Year and the John Van Nostrand Memorial awards. Sachire was also named to the USA Tennis Collegiate Team.
  • Javier Taborga and Aaron Talarico won the Tom Fallon Invitational doubles championship and qualified for the NCAA Championship. Taborga and Talarico finished 17-9.

Women’s Tennis (23-7)

NCAA Championship (Round of 16)
BIG EAST Runner-up
World Team Tennis National Collegiate Championship – 6th
USTA/ITL National Team Indoor Championship – 7th

  • Michelle Dasso picked up BIG EAST Most Outstanding Player honors, won the ITA Midwest Region double championship with Becky Varnum and was a semifinalist in the ITA Midwest Region singles championship.
  • The Irish matched their best season ever in coach Jay Louderback’s 11 seasons with a 23-7 record, their third consecutive 20-win season and fourth in the last five years and fourth trip to the NCAA national team championships in the last eight years.
  • Senior captain Kelly Zalinski won the ITA Midwest Region Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship, the first player from Notre Dame to be so honored. Zalinski ended her career at Notre Dame with career records for singles wins (123), combined singles and doubles wins (214) and dual-match singles wins (81).

Men’s Track and Field

BIG EAST Indoor Championships – 2nd
BIG EAST Outdoor Champion

  • Senior sChris Cochran, Tim Kober, Phil Mishka and sophomore Luke Watson earned All-America honors indoors in the distance medley.
  • The Irish won their first-ever BIG EAST track and field championship, taking the outdoor meet by outdistancing second-place Connecticut by 53 points. Anchored by wins in the 10,000 and 5,000 meters by junior All-American Ryan Shay, the team also set a meet record in the 4X100 meter relay and sophomore Luke Watson won his first BIG EAST individual title in the steeplechase.
  • Kober, Shay and senior Marshaun West each earned All-America honors at the NCAA outdoor championship, combining with the women’s team to total five All-American finishes, the most for the Irish track and field program since 1945.

Women’s Track and Field

BIG EAST Indoor Championship – 6th
BIG EAST Outdoor Championship – 3rd

  • Senior Jennifer Engelhardt earned All-America honors in the outdoor high jump and became a three-time BIG EAST champion in the event. Engelhardt cleared 5-11 1/2 at the BIG EAST outdoor championship, establishing a meet record.
  • Freshman Tameisha King broke the Irish women’s indoor long jump record in her first few jumps with the Irish in 1999-2000 and holds school records in both the indoor (20-4 1/2) and outdoor (21-1 1/2) long jump.
  • Fellow freshman Jaime Volkmers shattered the Irish pole vault record throughout the year and also set records in the triple jump. Volkmer owns the indoor (11-3 3/4 in pole vault, 39-8 in triple jump) and outdoor (11-9 3/4 in pole vault, 39-10 3/4 in triple jump) school records in both events.
  • Senior Allison Klemmer became a two-time GTE Academic All-American by earning third-team honors in the women’s spring at-large program.

Volleyball (20-9)

NCAA Championship (1st Round)
BIG EAST Regular-Season Champion (11-0)
BIG EAST Tournament Runner-up

  • The Irish earned thier eighth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. The Irish also went in undefeated BIG EAST regular-season play.
  • Senior middleblocker Mary Leffers was named BIG EAST Player of the Year after setting conference records in hitting percentage and total blocks. Leffers completed her career at Notre Dame ranked in the top 10 in seven career statistical categories, including first in hitting percentage (.304) and block average (1.68 bpg).
  • Junior setter Denise Boylan was named to three all-tournament teams and also earned first team all-BIG EAST accolades. Boylan also moved into second place in all-time assists with 3,291.