The University of the Cumberlands (UC) Women’s Swimming team had a stellar year in 2014-15, rounding out the year with a 5th place finish at the NAIA National Championships in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. With numerous wins and many individual awards for UC, the Patriot ladies now have another award to be proud of as they were recognized as a team for their effort outside of the pool.
Swimmers and divers have traditionally been considered excellent students and the numbers tend to back it up. The College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) has designated a record 406 collegiate swimming and diving programs as Scholar All-America Teams this year and UC’s women’s team was named as one of those teams. The recognition comes as a result of the programs’ classroom performance in the past semester. It is the first time in the program’s 30+ year history of the program that more than 600 teams, representing 406 institutions received the designation.
The Patriots were just one of 12 women’s teams in the NAIA to receive the award as they had a cumulative GPA of 3.05 as a team. To be selected as a CSCAA Scholar All-America Team, programs must have achieved a grade point average of 3.00 or higher over the spring semester. Other notable teams in the NAIA that earned the award were Lindsey Wilson, Union College, and SCAD.
CSCAA executive director Joel Shinofield was understandably boastful about his sports’ success. “Academic scandals have clouded college sports the past year,” he explained, “but not only did we have a record number of teams, not one of our programs is subject to APR penalties. This shows that across the board, our coaches and teams’ are serving the mission of their universities and athletic departments. It doesn’t really matter what level teams compete, swimmers and divers devote incredible time and effort into their sport, and it’s evident that that discipline carries over into the classroom.”
Head Coach Eric Skelly commented, “I’m incredibly proud of our women’s program. This makes 10 straight years that our team has been named Academic All-American for both semesters. Their dedication to academics along with our program is fantastic.”
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Find out more about UC Swimming along with other UC athletic programs by visiting www.cumberlandspatriots.com.
