2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships
- Wednesday, March 18 – Saturday, March 21, 2026
- McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, GA
- Defending Champions: Virginia (5x)
- Championship Central
- Preview Index
- Psych Sheet
- Live Stream
- Live Results
- Live Recaps
The 2026 Elite Scholar Athlete award winner is Erin Gemmell from Texas. The junior holds a 4.0 GPA and is a Plan II Honors major.
Formerly known as the Elite 90 award, the award is given every year to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average who competes at the respective NCAA Championships in the sport. Eligibility requires that athletes must have been a member of their team for at least two years and be an active participant at the championship competition.
Gemmell has made all three NCAAs so far for Texas. As a freshman, Gemmell was 10th in the 200 freestyle with a 1:43.05. She also swam in prelims of the 100 free and 500 free as well as on two relays for the Longhorns.
She returned to NCAAs as a sophomore, finishing 7th in the 200 free with a 1:43.52. She also was 17th in the 100 free and 37th in the 500 free and swam on two relays for Texas, including their 4th place 800 free relay.
So far in Atlanta, Gemmell is highlighted by a 2nd place finish in the 800 free relay where she split a 1:41.63 anchor leg. She also finished 12th in the 200 free with a 1:42.92 and 14th in the 100 free with a 47.43. She anchored the Texas 200 medley relay with a 21.76 to help them to a 7th place finish.
I read the “II” as a “B” and was like…can’t be, she’s in Texas.
While I get the political point you’re trying to make… Plan II Honor’s at Univ. of Texas is one of the most competitive and stringent majors there is at the university. Not only is it extremely difficult to get into but it is beyond difficult to hold a 4.0 (especially with their grading system.) So what she has accomplished combined with being a student athlete is beyond amazing and for you to try to trivialize it by making a personal political statement is offensive
Lol
theyll surely turn this into a discussion of her experience swimming with ledecky on a relay
Student – Athlete
They do still exist.
Another Emma Webber and Jack Aikins
wtf is a plan II honors major?
It’s actually pretty prestigious and very hard to get into.
The Plan II Honors Program at UT Austin is a selective, interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts major within the College of Liberal Arts, known for its challenging core curriculum, small discussion-based classes, and a senior thesis. It provides a broad liberal arts education while allowing students to pursue other majors, and is distinct from Liberal Arts Honors (LAH) because it is a major itself, not just a program. The program emphasizes critical thinking, writing, and research, and is designed for high-achieving students seeking a deep, broad education
So a super hard liberal arts degree?
A lot of people do this degree + premed or business.
If you can’t look it up, clearly you wouldn’t be accepted.
Let’s go Erin!! Well deserved. I think it’s so amazing that she is able to swim fast and do amazing in school as well. Mad respect
That is the very definition of the award…for all winners every year!