July 14, 2014

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Four University of Notre Dame student-athletes — Max Lachowecki (men’s soccer), Steve O’Hara (men’s lacrosse) and Garrett McGrath (men’s fencing) — who helped the Irish claim the 2013-14 Capital One Cup men’s sports title, as well as women’s basketball incoming freshman forward Brianna Turner, will be honored Wednesday in Los Angeles as part of the ESPYs.

The Fighting Irish student-athletes will participate Tuesday in a variety of social media shots at iconic Los Angeles-area locations. On Tuesday night, Turner will attend the 2013-14 Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year gala, hosted by ESPN broadcaster and Notre Dame alum Hannah Storm (’83). Turner is one of six finalists for this year’s Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year award, and is seeking to become the third Fighting Irish incoming freshman in the past five years to take home the honor (women’s basketball’s Skylar Diggins did so in 2009, and last year, the award went to women’s soccer’s Morgan Andrews).

On Wednesday, all four Notre Dame student-athletes will walk the red carpet, then take part in the ESPYs Awards Ceremonies at the Nokia Theatre (televised 9-11 p.m. EDT on ESPN).

Lachowecki will appear on stage during the telecast (along with a representative from the University of Florida, winner of the women’s portion of the Capital One Cup) to be honored for Notre Dame’s first-place finish. Should she win the Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year award, Turner also will appear on stage during Wednesday’s ESPY broadcast along with the male recipient of the award (last year, Andrews was joined on stage by this year’s No. 1 overall selection in the NBA Draft, Andrew Wiggins).

Also attending will be Notre Dame deputy athletics director Jim Fraleigh.

Look for extensive event coverage via UND.com through its Blog Network, as well as Twitter via @FightingIrish (hashtag #MaxAtTheESPYs), with additional coverage of Turner’s trip through the women’s basketball Twitter pages (@ndwbb and @ndwbbsid).

The Capital One Cup scoring includes points from top-10 NCAA and final poll finishes in various sports. Notre Dame won the men’s title with 98.5 points (Oregon was second at 92, Virginia third at 86) thanks to its NCAA title in men’s soccer, an NCAA runner-up finish in men’s lacrosse and a sixth-place finish in fencing.

Lachowecki, a defender on the men’s soccer roster, helped his team to the 2013 NCAA crown. From Evansville, Ind., he’ll be a senior on the 2014 Notre Dame roster.

O’Hara graduated last month just before helping the Irish men’s lacrosse team to its second NCAA title game in five seasons. A West Chester, Pa., product, he earned first-team All-America honors in 2014 and served as an Irish team captain.

McGrath earned NCAA runner-up honors in 2014 in the individual epee competition while helping his team to a sixth-place finish (combined men’s and women’s competition). From Mesa, Ariz., he’ll be a junior on the 2014-15 Notre Dame roster.

Turner, who hails from Pearland, Texas, was tabbed as the No. 1 overall player in the high school Class of 2014 by most recruiting outlets. She was a consensus prep All-America selection in 2013-14, including top honors from, among others, Parade Magazine, USA Today Sports (which named her its Player of the Year) and McDonald’s (which chose her as the Most Valuable Player of the McDonald’s High School All-America Game played in April at Chicago’s United Center). Turner averaged 20.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 3.9 blocks and 3.7 steals per game last season, helping Manvel High School to a 38-2 record and the Texas Class 5A state championship.

— ND —