BATON ROUGE — LSU swimming assistant coach Heather Johnston accepted the top assistant coaching position at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., announced Wildcat head coach Jimmy Tierney on Thursday.
LSU head coach Jeff Cavana will begin a nation-wide search for Johnston’s replacement immediately.
“Heather will definitely be missed,” said LSU head coach Jeff Cavana. “She was a vital part of our staff and it’s very difficult to find a female assistant coach with the amount of experience and background that she’s has. She did an excellent job for us while she was here and we wish her the best of luck at Northwestern.”
Johnston heads to Northwestern after spending the last season with both the LSU men’s and women’s swimming teams. Prior to that, she spent a year at the University of California at Berkeley as a volunteer assistant with the women’s program. Johnston also served as an assistant coach with the men’s and women’s program’s at Arizona State (1998-99), the women’s program at Oregon State (1995-98), and the men’s and women’s programs at Wisconsin-Stevens Point (1992-94).
The LSU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will begin the 2001-02 dual-match season on Friday, September 28, at 3 p.m., as the Tigers and Lady Tigers compete in the Purple and Gold Intrasquad meet.