We continue our celebration of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish lacrosse graduates with a chat with defenseman (and Atlantan) Charlie Trense!
World events kept us from the chance to follow this team on its journey to a national championship, so ND-Atl 2.0 will instead use the time he would have spent writing previews and recaps to catch up with as many of the Irish seniors and graduate students as he can to introduce them in new ways to their fans. We hope you enjoy our talk with Charlie!
Charlie Trense
#28 Charlie Trense is a graduate student and played defense for the Fighting Irish. He is from Atlanta, Georgia (#ATL!), and graduated from Westminster School. At Westminster he was a letterman in football, wrestling and lacrosse. He was a 2-time High School All-America.
At Notre Dame, he graduated from the Mendoza School of Business in 2019, and this year became a double-Domer with a master’s degree. He was a Kaneb Family Scholar and received the Monogram Club Postgraduate Scholarship.
He first saw the field in two games as a sophomore, then 11 games as a junior. His senior year saw him develop into a man-down specialist, where he appeared in all 16 games and registered three caused turnovers. This year saw him start on defense until a sprained ankle, and then the abrupt end to the season, closed his career with the Irish.
Last week he was drafted by the New York Lizards of Major League Lacrosse, where he will have the opportunity to continue to play lacrosse as a pro.
Our Chat
We caught up with Charlie at the end of his academic career at Notre Dame, and he took some time to answer our questions:
1. How did you come to play lacrosse as a kid from Atlanta?
I first started playing lacrosse in 5th grade at Bagataway. I had a classmate in elementary school who had recently moved to Atlanta from the northeast whose dad coached lacrosse, so his dad recruited a lot of the guys from my school (Westminster) to come out for lacrosse. My first year, I played both baseball and lacrosse, but ultimately, I decided I liked to play lacrosse more than baseball (and my dad certainly liked to watch it more than baseball) in large part because of the physical component of it. Many of my friends who began playing lacrosse in 4th and 5th grade continued playing through high school, so we had a great group of guys in my graduating class at Westminster who had played in countless summer tournaments together over the years. Seven of us went on to play in college, which was a lot for a Georgia team, especially at the time.
2. Why did you chose Notre Dame and what did you study?
I’m pretty analytical, so I actually made a spreadsheet with about 50 different categories and ranked each of my top schools based on these categories (which ranged from weather to lacrosse to academics to dining hall food). The reality, though, is that, as a sophomore in high school, I really didn’t know what I was choosing between. Knowing what I know now, I absolutely made the right decision. Ultimately, it was a combination of a few different attributes that distinguished Notre Dame from the other schools that I was considering. I wanted to play at a program where I felt like we could compete for a national championship every year and somewhere where I knew I would receive a top-notch education. Furthermore, I liked the fact that Notre Dame had other big-time athletic programs and that it was committed to its religious identity. I believe that both of these attributes contribute to the type of students that the school attracts (oftentimes very well-rounded) and the education that it offers. I majored in Finance and Applied & Computational Mathematics and Statistics (ACMS) and minored in Peace Studies as an undergrad and did the Master’s of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program as a grad student.
3. You’ve been recognized for many important awards, such as from the Andrew Oswald Memorial Fund here in Atlanta (which also support my local team), as a Kaneb Family Scholar, as a recipient of the Monogram Club Postgraduate Scholarship, and I regularly read that you are a featured speaker at many student events. How did you become so involved in leadership activities and what are your favorite projects?
I have a wide array of interests and by nature am someone who likes to be involved in as much as possible. Notre Dame offered me a myriad of different opportunities to grow in my faith, as a student, and as an athlete. My involvement in various activities on campus is partially a function of me seeking them out, but it’s probably moreso the result of serendipitously coming across them through reading an email or having a conversation with a friend. Outside of lacrosse, I really enjoyed being involved in Notre Dame Christian Athletes (NDCA), Iron Sharpens Iron (ISI), and YoungLife because they all provided a space to grow in my faith and to get to know others on a deeper level. I also enjoyed being a part of the Notre Dame Institute for Global Investing (NDIGI), where I had the opportunity to work with a group on a case competition about a pension plan’s asset allocation. We advanced to the semifinals in Montreal, which was a lot of fun.
4. You’ve also had the chance to travel abroad with the team in Spain and to Jerusalem for school. What were your favorite parts about these trips?
Some of my fondest memories while at Notre Dame are from traveling abroad with Notre Dame groups to Jerusalem, Ireland, and Spain. The summer after my freshman year, I studied abroad in Jerusalem for three weeks. A few of the highlights were taking a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, camping in the desert and seeing Petra in Jordan, and generally learning more about the history of Israel-Palestine. My Ireland study abroad was short, but I loved Galway and the Cliffs of Moher. Traveling to Spain with the team was incredible. I loved traveling with 50+ friends and getting to play against teams from all over the world. There are a lot of great stories from the trip, but one of my favorite parts was going to Nuria in the Pyrenees. It was a ski resort in the winter, but we were there during the summer, so there were several incredible hikes and views.
5. Last week you were drafted by the New York Lizards of Major League Lacrosse. How excited are you to be able to play at the professional level (and to get a chance to play against old teammates like Carlson Milikin)?
I’m incredibly excited to have the opportunity to play professionally. No one anticipated that the season would end like it did this year, so I’m really glad that my lacrosse career did not end in March. It’s a blessing to be able to keep playing. I wish that Carlson were a d-mid on the Lizards, but it’ll be awesome to get a chance to play against him and a few other former teammates.
6. The team often posts information on your many internships and opportunities. Have you chosen what you will do now that you’ve graduated as a double-Domer?
I have accepted a job in New York City as an analyst at a hedge fund, Point72 Asset Management. I really liked my experience there as an intern the summer after my junior year and am looking forward to learning a lot more about investing.
7. Looking back at your time at Notre Dame, what was your favorite game experience?
There are two games that stick out to me from my time at ND. It’s hard to beat winning the ACC Championship at UVA my junior year. However, defeating Maryland in overtime in Loftus last year was probably the most exciting game that I’ve been a part of. It was cool to have the crowd so close to the field. When we won, the place went nuts.
8. What Notre Dame practice experience will you miss the most?
I will definitely miss playing Eliminator with the other defensemen the day before games. We’re a competitive bunch, so it always got pretty heated. More than anything, though, I’ll just miss playing Notre Dame 6 v 6 defense. You had to be dialed in both mentally and physically, so I’m going to miss that feeling when six guys are playing as one.
9. What was your favorite thing about Notre Dame?
Definitely the people. I had coaches and professors who cared about more than just how I was doing on the field or in the classroom. Most importantly, I became friends with people both on and off the team who I believe will be lifelong friends. They pushed me to be a better teammate and a better person.
Thank you Charlie Trense (SO, @NDlacrosse & Notre Dame Christian Athlete) for sharing your journey last night at Iron Sharpens Iron! pic.twitter.com/zw3hsaHn8l
Thank you, Charlie, for speaking with us! Best wishes in your new career in New York and with the New York Lizards where we all look forward to watching you play.
