(Notre Dame Athletic Director Dusty Gunn contributed to this article)
Baseball
Seniors: Lane Cannon and Evan Cheney
The Fighting Irish baseball team and coaches came into the 2020 season with great anticipation. Led by a new head coach, Gatlyn Simmons, and assistants, the team was energized and full of excitement.
The Irish had been working hard in the weight room and during conditioning during "Irish Dawn" early-morning workouts, led by seniors Lane Cannon and Evan Cheney.
The team won their only game of the season decisively 11-1 over Meigs County.
"Lane and Evan are great leaders, ball players, and men," Simmons said. "I have all the confidence in the world that this season was going to be a great one. We had the tools, environment, and guys to have something very special."
Soccer
Seniors: Freddie Ellis, Charles Hoang, Andreas Lee, Reeve Mullinax, Trey Patterson, Kevin Perez, Ryan Signiski, Alex Turley, Lane Widerker
The soccer team was transitioning from preseason conditioning to in-season training and were off to a good start. They went 1-2 in their only three games of the season, with 1-0 losses to Soddy-Daisy and Howard and a 2-0 victory over East Hamilton.
Captains Freddie Ellis, Reeve Mullinax, and Lane Widerker provided good leadership to a young team, and assisted in keeping the younger players motivated and locked in during the difficult preseason workouts. The team had been making good progress by staying focused and getting stronger at every opportunity.
Softball
Seniors: McKinsey Eaves, Isabella Gearinger, Lilly Schafluetzel, Avery Sheppard
The softball team was in the process of rebuilding, and was making huge strides during the preseason led by its four seniors, as they guided a young team and helped develop its four freshman players.
Eaves, Gearinger, and Sheppard were all four-year starters, while Schafluetzel was a two-year starter after playing tennis as a junior. Sheppard will be continuing her softball career next year at Thomas University.
Notre Dame has been developing its softball program in recent years, and the coaches and administration are very proud of the seniors that have stuck with it and always had a positive attitude.
The Chattanoogan Senior Spotlight series highlights local prep seniors whose seasons have been canceled due to the unprecedented situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are associated with a high school spring sports team and would like your seniors featured, please encourage the coach to reach out to me at kevin.llewallyn@gmail.com. Also, share this article and others like it from this series on social media using #ChattanooganSeniorSpotlight.