One Third of Division II Schools Earn Academic Honors

Forty Division II college swimming and diving teams - twenty-eight women's and a dozen men's teams - were named as Academic All-American teams for the Spring 2008 semester, the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) announced today. 

“We are absolutely delighted with the performance of our Division III student-athletes,” commented Coach Sean Tedesco of the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy, who chairs the CSCAA's Academic All-American committee.

With nearly 40% of  women's and over 20% of men's teams meeting the standard, Division II swimming offers a balance between both academic excellence and athletics achievement.  According to the NCAA, almost none of the 80,000 Division II student-athletes receive full cholarships, but most receive some form of financial aid.  "This healthy partnership is the essence of Division II," in a statement from the NCAA, "where student-athletes are valued for their athletics contribution and for being an important part of the overall student body.

The Ouachita Baptist University women's team, coached by Jim Dann edged the University of Tampa for the nation's top GPA with a standard of 3.55, just 0.02 ahead of Tampa.  Bentley (coached by Mary Kay Samko) and Doug Grooms' Missouri Institute of Science and Technology (formerly the University of Missouri-Rolla), led all men's programs with 3.20 GPA's respectively.

A total of 69 Division II student-athletes – 43 women and 26 men – met the stringent academic and athletic requirements – a GPA of 3.500 or better and qualifying for the NCAA championships – to earn individual Academic All-American honors. An additional thirty swimmers earned Honorable Mention honors for GPA's fo 3.50 or higher with a NCAA Consideration time.  .

A complete listing of the Division II Academic All-American teams and individuals may be found below.

Division II Women's Team Awards
3.55	Ouachita Baptist University	Jim Dann
3.53	University of Tampa	Ed Brennan
3.45	Shippensburg University of PA	Tim Verge
3.44	University of Indianapolis	Gary Kinkead
3.41	Drury University	Brian Reynolds
3.41	University of Alaska	Scott Lemley
3.40	Washington an Lee University	Kami Gardner
3.39	Truman State University	Mark Gole
3.38	University of Bridgeport	Bradford S. Flood
3.37	Grand Valley State University	Andy Boyce
3.37	The University of Findlay	Wayne Norris
3.36	Bentley	Mary Kay Samko
3.34	Minnesota State-Moorhead	Todd Peters
3.33	Lewis University	Stephen Thompson
3.33	South Dakota	Jason Mahowald
3.33	Wingate University	Kirk Sanocki
3.26	Hillsdale College	Kurt Kirner
3.24	Kutztown University	Tim Flannery
3.23	College of Saint Rose	Keith Murray
3.23	Henderson State University	Coak Matthews
3.23	St. Cloud State University	Jeff Hegle
3.22	Rollins College	Rich Morris
3.16	Millersville	Kyle Almoney
3.15	Clarion University	Mark VanDyke
3.11	C.W. Post/Long Island	Maureen Travers
3.11	California University of PA	Ed Denny
3.04	University of Alaska	Scott Lemley
3.03	Incarnate Word	Phillip Davis
Division II Men's Team Awards
3.20	Bentley	Mary Kay Samko
3.20	Missouri S&T	Doug Grooms
3.16	Rollins College	Rich Morris
3.12	Truman State University	Mark Gole
3.10	Lewis University	Stephen Thompson
3.09	Drury University	Brian Reynolds
3.08	The University of Findlay	Wayne Norris
3.07	St. Cloud State University	Jeff Hegle
3.06	University of Indianapolis	Gary Kinkead
3.05	Ouachita Baptist University	JIm Dann
3.03	Catawba College	Graham
3.00	South Dakota	Jason Mahowald
Division II Women's Academic All-American
4.00	Susanna Ashley	University of Tampa
4.00	Stephanie Branham	University of Tampa
4.00	Rebekah Moody	Wingate University
4.00	Nicole Moody	Wingate University
4.00	Mariel Andersson	C.W. Post/Long Island
4.00	Lindsay Hatteberg	The University of Findlay
4.00	Lauren Vickroy	Ouachita Baptist University
4.00	Kelsey Ward	Drury University
4.00	Kelsey Berkeland	St. Cloud State University
4.00	Kelly Vieau	St. Cloud State University
4.00	Katie Patterson	Ouachita Baptist University
4.00	Ellie Miller	University of Indianapolis
3.95	Deirdre Mikolajcik	Lewis University
3.94	Lesley Muray	Incarnate Word
3.94	Isabela Tafur	University of Indianapolis
3.87	Hannah Hudson	University of Tampa
3.86	Abbey Musch	Drury University
3.82	Jena Gardone	Clarion University
3.80	Jill Johnson	Henderson State University
3.79	Lara Golesorkhi	Wingate University
3.77	Jamie Maloney	Clarion University
3.76	Ivana Klaric	C.W. Post/Long Island
3.75	Virginia Saras	Clarion University
3.75	Ann Gusewelle	Minnesota State-Moorhead
3.75	Brittany Norton	Ouachita Baptist University
3.74	Paulina Alexander	Incarnate Word
3.70	Eunate Alcantarilla-Garro	Drury University
3.70	Valerie Crosby	University of Indianapolis
3.66	Aimee Pry	Drury University
3.66	Alisha Blaydes	St. Cloud State University
3.65	Teagan Riggs	Clarion University
3.65	Heidi Halfhill	Drury University
3.64	Sarah Watson	Ouachita Baptist University
3.63	Nicole Horn	Henderson State University
3.63	Karena King	Minnesota State-Moorhead
3.63	Summer Morris	Ouachita Baptist University
3.60	Tara Greiger	Henderson State University
3.59	Ester Bosch	California University of PA
3.58	Maria Vlashchenko	Wingate University
3.57	Megan Chambers	Drury University
3.55	Jenny Rocchio	Ouachita Baptist University
3.54	Trina May	Ouachita Baptist University
3.51	Kendra Willis	St. Cloud State University
Division II Women's Academic All-American - Honorable Mention
4.00	Aleksandra Byczynska	University of Bridgeport
4.00	Alexandar Henges	Lewis University
4.00	Caitlin Digney	St. Cloud State University
4.00	Jennifer Jenkins	University of Tampa
4.00	Kathryn Mohrmann	University of Alaska
4.00	Sari Cattoni	Clarion University
3.93	Alena Gorlanova	University of Bridgeport
3.93	Stephanie White-Olson	Lewis University
3.87	Elizabeth Lopez	St. Cloud State University
3.84	Jen Jorgenson	Ouachita Baptist University
3.77	Sarah Youngren	University of Alaska
3.75	Kathryn Niemi	University of Alaska
3.75	Rebecca George	University of Alaska
3.68	Jessica Looney	Bryant University
3.64	Sarah Youngren	University of Alaska
3.63	Amanda Hartman	University of Alaska
3.62	Hilary Carlisle	University of Alaska
3.58	Samantha Zinsli	University of Alaska
3.54	Miriah Phelps	University of Alaska
3.52	Kelsey Lubbers	University of Tampa
3.50	Raluca Duma	University of Bridgeport
Division II Men's Academic All-American
4.00	Tyler Furrer	University of Tampa
4.00	Michael Verdi	University of Tampa
3.82	Roman Dagesh	University of Tampa
3.80	John Mark McLain	Ouachita Baptist University
3.79	Vicente Condorelli	Ouachita Baptist University
3.77	Daniel Karkoska	Ouachita Baptist University
3.77	Nic Genrich	Drury University
3.75	Hal Eubanks	Ouachita Baptist University
3.71	Radu Badalac	Ouachita Baptist University
3.69	Gerrit Thomsen	Drury University
3.67	Patrick Murray	University of Tampa
3.67	James Kane	Clarion University
3.66	Mason Norman	Wingate University
3.66	Chad Damitz	University of Indianapolis
3.61	Don Smith	Henderson State University
3.60	Rich Eckert	Clarion University
3.57	James Riddle	Ouachita Baptist University
3.54	Ethan Weiss	Drury University
3.54	Carl Adam Brown	Lewis University
3.53	Sean Fitzgerald	St. Cloud State University
3.53	Daniel Hernandez	University of Tampa
3.52	Aliaksandr Yatsko	Incarnate Word
3.51	Mitchell Snyder	Drury University
3.50	Keegan Hoey	University of Indianapolis
3.50	Michael Cohen	Clarion University
3.50	Grant Beahan	Henderson State University
Division II Men's Academic All-American - Honorable Mention
3.79	Jason Purdy	Ouachita Baptist University
3.60	Adam Olszeski	Lewis University
3.59	John Mertler	The University of Findlay
3.58	Kyle Johnson	The University of Findlay
3.58	Sean Reeves	Incarnate Word
3.57	Matthew Dugan	Wingate University
3.52	Paul LaPorta	University of Tampa
3.50	Patrik Drakes	Catawba College
3.50	Matt Bold	Henderson State University