Swimming & Diving Earns CSCAA Scholar All-America Honors
Feb 24, 2015 | Women's Swimming and Diving
NEW ORLEANS - Three days after turning more than a few heads with a fourth-place finish at the 2015 American Athletic Conference Championship, the Tulane University swimming and diving team earned national attention for its performance in the classroom as the Green Wave claimed Scholar All-America honors for the Fall 2014 semester from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA).
Honoring teams with cumulative grade point averages of 3.0 or higher, the CSCAA added Tulane to its list of fall honorees after the Green Wave posted a cumulative GPA of 3.54 last semester, which ranks tied for fifth among the 143 teams being recognized. It marked the sixth consecutive season that Tulane earned title of Scholar-America since the program was reinstated for the 2009-10 campaign.
"We are very honored and thankful to be recognized as a Scholar All-American Team by the Collegiate Swimming Coaches Association of America," Tulane head coach Katie Robinson said. "I know these women have worked very, very hard for the accomplishments they have in the classroom. As much as we push them in the water as athletes, we also push them in their studies. We're always asking about how their doing in their classes and that they are prepared for all of their exams. That is definitely a big part of what we are as a team - just being strong in the classroom as well as strong in the water."
A big reason for the Green Wave's academic success during the fall was perfect 4.0 performances by senior Claire Schelske, junior Holly Grender and sophomores Jonna Frantz and Joy Jason. In addition, 10 other members of the Tulane team posted GPAs of 3.5 or better as senior Rachel Schneider tallied a 3.934 mark followed by juniors Elizabeth Cook and Roni Meyer with identical 3.868 clips, senior Morgan Evans (3.692), junior Lauren Arnold (3.688), freshman Emma Lincoln (3.608), freshman Kaitlin Simpson (3.597), senior Amy Needham (3.585), senior Laura Turpen (3.578) and junior Maren Kjell (3.511).
"It's something that our team has taken full responsibility of and they do such a great job," Robinson added. "I am so blessed to have the opportunity to work with these intelligent young women. We had a total of seven straight-A students this past semester which really gave us a great GPA, hence the award we received. It just goes to show how dedicated these student-athletes are to their studies. They truly are student-athletes by every definition of the term.
"A big thank you goes out to [Tulane Director of Academic Services Center for Student-Athletes] Caltha [Seymour] and her ASC staff, specifically Micahla Williams, in helping our women reach their goals in the academic realm."
Tulane capped the 2014-15 regular season over the weekend at The American Championship, finishing with 494.5 points. The Green Wave's point total was the second-most scored by the program in a conference meet and stands second only to the 729 in 2005 when Tulane claimed the Conference USA title.
Along the way, Grender set Tulane individual records in the 200 IM, 400 IM, 200 free and 200 back while joining forces with Simpson, sophomore Ellie Sills and Lincoln to establish a program record in the 800 free relay. Junior Mia Schachter broke her own school mark in the 100 free and Sills did the same in the 200 fly. The quartet of freshman Tirol Palmer, Schachter, Sills and Lincoln, meanwhile, set the Green Wave record in the 400 medley relay.
While the regular-season came to an end on Saturday with the conclusion of The American Championship, two Green Wave individuals, however, have a chance to continue the 2014-15 season as Arnold has already qualified for the Zone Diving Meet while Schachter will have to wait in order to find out if her B-Cut time in the 100 free is good enough for the NCAA Championship.
Players Mentioned
