After announcing on Tuesday that Mike Litzinger would be taking over as the head coach of a newly-combined Notre Dame program, the Irish have made their second splash in as many days. Today they announced that Junior Nationals qualifier Erin Sheehan, a multi-talented 6’0 flier, freestyler, and IMer will join their women’s class of 2020.
Sheehan competes for Upper Arlington High School in Columbus, Ohio, and, this season, she scored two Ohio State High School Division I championships. She won the 100 fly title in 54.25 and teamed up with Anna Linzell, Dakota Elliott, and Katie Trace for gold in the 200 free relay. She also scored a bronze medal in the 200 IM (2:04.69) and a silver in the 400 free relay. Her top times are below:
- 100 fly: 53.93
- 200 fly: 2:01.26
- 50 free: 23.37
- 100 free: 50.97
- 200 IM: 2:03.76
Her best 100 fly time already comes in under the NCAA ‘B’ standard 54.49. That time also would have scored her a spot in this year’s ACC Championships ‘B’ final. Sheehan should also be in the running for a spot on the Irish medley relays. The team’s flier at ACC Championships, junior Danielle Margheret, split 53.90 in her flying-start 100 fly, well within Sheehan’s reach (however, the team was disqualified for a false start). Her 100 free may also make the relay cut, as last year’s team split between 49.92 and 51.09 at ACCs.
“We are thrilled to add Erin to our incoming class,” Litzinger said. “She is a tremendous athlete who will continue to improve in a college setting. Coming from Upper Arlington in Columbus, Erin knows the value of hard work and competitive excellence.”
Other Notre Dame commits for this fall include Reilly Lanigan, Katie Smith, Lauren Heller, Abbie Dolan, Kelly Jacob, Carolyn Kammeyer, and Katie Rentz.
could this possibly be miriam sheehan’s older sister?