TicketsJuly 25, 2011
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati swimming and diving teams both earned Scholar All-America status from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) with the men's team listed among the top teams nationally.
The men's squad ranked No. 4 nationally with a 3.38 GPA, trailing only Denver (3.44), Boston College (3.40) and Harvard.
The UC women ranked No. 21 with a 3.44 GPA, leading all BIG EAST schools. Ball State led the women's rankings with a 3.60 team GPA.
To qualify as a CSCAA Scholar All-American squad, teams must post a GPA of 3.0 or higher for the previous semester.
A pair of individuals, senior Stephen Cunningham and junior Josefin Wede, earned CSCAA Honorable Mention Scholar All-American Awards.
Cunningham, who carried a 3.62 GPA in his environmental studies major, qualified for two A finals at the BIG EAST Championship. He swam a personal best of 15:34.46, the seventh-fastest time in school history, in the 1,650 freestyle to place fifth. Cunningham took sixth place in the men's 500-yard freestyle with his personal best and NCAA B time of 4:26.65, the fifth-fastest time in school history. He was named UC's 2011 Jimmy Nippert Award Winner as the top graduating senior and was also won the 2011 BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award for swimming.
Wede, a biological sciences major with a 3.95 GPA, set a school-record and NCAA B time of 1:02.96 in the 100 breaststroke at the BIG EAST Conference meet, placing 10th overall. She qualified for three A Finals at the BIG EAST Championships in the 200 IM (2:03.30) and 200 breaststroke (2:16.22), placing sixth and eighth, respectively. Wede also broke the school record in the 200 breaststroke at the Miami Invitational, clocking 2:15.68.
The Honorable Mention Scholar All American award is presented to college and university swimmers and divers, who have achieved a grade point average of 3.5 or higher, for the semester or cumulative average, and have achieved a "B" time standard, but have not qualified to compete in their respective national championship. The award is presented in the semester of the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships (Winter/Spring).
To view the complete listing on CSCAA Scholar All-America teams, visit: http://www.cscaa.org