Women’s Swimming
Eleven Irish swimmers make All-ACC Academic Team
Observer Sports Staff | Monday, April 19, 2021
This week, 11 members of the Notre Dame Swimming and Diving Team earned the honor of joining the 2020-21 All-ACC Academic Team. With the women’s team placing 29th at the NCAA Championship and the men’s team placing 24th, the wins keep piling up for the Irish swim program.
The 11 swimmers honored were as follows: sophomore Coleen Gillilan, junior Madeline LaPorte, junior Bayley Stewart, junior Luciana Thomas, junior Josh Bottelberghe, sophomore Alec DeLong, senior Sadler McKeen, freshman Liam Smith and sophomore Cason Wilburn. On the diving side, senior Kelly Straub and junior Annie Wiese were selected.
The 11 selections tie Notre Dame for fourth overall in the ACC. With a focus on academic rigor, Notre Dame strives to have its student-athletes succeed as much in the classroom as in the competition pool. With that being said, Coach Mike Litzinger’s Team has seven repeat winners and four first-time All-ACC Academic selections. Second-time winners are Gillilan, Stewart, Thomas, Straub, Wiese, Bottelberghe and McKeen.
The selection for the All-ACC Academic Team comes from a combination of GPA and athletic achievement. The academic achievements can stem from an All-American selection, selection to All-ACC, being chosen as ACC Swimmer or Diver of the Week, or competing in the A-Final of the ACC Championship.
The range of academics interests is diverse on the team. Gillilan and Bottelberghe are studying computer science. LaPorte and Stewart are majoring in Neuroscience & Behavior. Straub is on the Science Pre-Professional track. Thomas and Wiese are both studying political science. DeLong, Mckeen and Smith are taking courses in finance. Lastly, Wilburn is enrolled in the College of Engineering, focusing on environmental engineering.
Notre Dame swimming and diving will look to continue their excellence both in and out of the pool next year.
