Blue and Gold Illustrated

August 2017

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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56 AUGUST 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED ND SPORTS BY DAVID MCKINNEY N otre Dame men's tennis senior Josh Hagar earned an at-large bid to the 64-player NCAA Men's Tennis Cham- pionships May 24-29 in Athens, Ga., marking the 12th year in a row the Irish had a representative in the competition. Hagar — a native of Austin, Texas — entered the event holding a 20-15 singles record on the year. In round one, he faced off against Northwest- ern's Konrad Zieba and fell behind early before battling back to take the match 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(3). "The first round of any tournament is tough, especially in an event like this where the competition is so good," Hagar said following the match. "It was a gritty win and I can focus on building from there and playing well in the next match." In that next match, Hagar went up against the nation's No. 4 player, Nuno Borges of Mississippi State. His Irish career came to an end with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat. Following the season, Hagar re- ceived All-ACC honors for the sec- ond time in his career. As a senior, he achieved career-high rankings at No. 27 in singles and No. 6 in doubles. He was also named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Most Improved Player in the Midwest region in 2017. During his Irish career, Hagar posted a record of 76-49 in singles and 67-41 in doubles. ✦ Tennis Standout Josh Hagar Ends Irish Career On A High Note The Intercollegiate Tennis Association tabbed Hagar as the Most Improved Player in the Midwest region in 2017. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS Irish Roundup BASEBALL (26-32 OVERALL, 10-20 ACC) Notre Dame's season came to an end with a 10-3 loss to Louisville in the ACC Tourna- ment May 25 in Louisville, Ky. Qualifying for the tournament was an accomplishment for the Irish considering their 10-20 conference record, which included three straight losses in the last series of the year at Boston College. The Irish did take Florida State to 12 innings in the first round of the ACC Tournament May 24, but ultimately lost 5-3 and were elimi- nated by Louisville the following day. MEN'S LACROSSE (9-6 OVERALL, 2-2 ACC) Notre Dame's promising season ended pre- maturely with a 16-4 defeat at the hands of eventual Final Four participant and No. 5 seed Denver. The Irish entered the tournament as a No. 4 seed and took care of the business in the first round with a 15-9 victory over Marquette. Senior midfielder Sergio Perkovic was a standout all season, netting 23 goals and a career-high nine assists. He recorded six multi- goal games during his senior season, including four hat tricks. Following the season, Perkovic was named the ACC's Men's Lacrosse Scholar Athlete of the Year. ROWING The Fighting Irish wrapped up their season May 28 at the NCAA Championships on Lake Mercer in West Windsor, N.J. With three Notre Dame boats competing (the varsity eight, sec- ond varsity eight and varsity four), the Irish finished 16th in the team competition with 40 points. The 2017 season marked the fifth time in the last six years that Notre Dame has quali- fied for the championship regatta. SOFTBALL (34-23 OVERALL, 13-11 ACC) After falling 6-0 to Florida State in the semifi- nals of the ACC Tournament May 12 in Chapel Hill, N.C., Notre Dame headed South to play in the Auburn Regional of the NCAA Tournament, along with Auburn, East Tennessee State and California. The Irish dropped their first game 6-2 to California May 19, but responded with a 7-6, extra-innings win over ETSU the following day. Notre Dame faced Cal again May 21 and lost 5-3 to bring the season to a close. — David McKinney

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