CHARLOTTE, N.C. (TheCCSA.com) – Florida Gulf Coast freshman Elise Haan (Naples, Fla.) has been named the 2016 CCSA Women’s Swimmer of the Year, while Gardner-Webb’s Nathan Lile (Waynesville, N.C.) is the Men’s Swimmer of the Year. Emma Weisel (Lawrenceville, Ga.) of Georgia Southern is the Women’s Diver of the Year and Ryan McIntire (Neptune Beach, Fla.) of Florida Atlantic is the Men’s Diver of the Year. FGCU’s Lani Cabrera (Bridgetown, Barbados) and Christina Moran (Johns Creek, Ga.) of Georgia Southern were crowned CCSA Women’s Co-Scholar-Athletes of the Year, while Lile claimed the honor on the men’s side.
Haan shined for the Eagles in an impressive freshman campaign, winning the 100 free, 100 back and 200 back while also contributing to relay wins in the 200 medley, 400 medley, 400 free and 800 free at the 2016 CCSA Championship. She set all-time records in the 200 free (1:46.20), 100 back (51.65), 400 medley and 800 free relays at this year’s championship. Haan represented the CCSA at the NCAA Championships and finished 16th in the 100 back and tied for 28th in the 200 back. The Naples, Fla. native won a total of 17 individual events in the 2015-16 season, including a perfect 9-0 mark in the 100 back entering the NCAA meet. Haan was also named CCSA Swimmer of the Week on four occasions this past season.
Lile was nothing short of impressive in his senior year as he set all-time records in the 50 free (19.54), 100 fly (46.52) and the 100 free (43.05). He also set the CCSA Championship meet record in the 100 back (47.15) at this year’s championship. Lile was also a member of three Gardner-Webb’s victorious relay teams in the 200 medley relay, 200 free relay and the 400 free relay at the championship meet. Lile, an NCAA qualifier, entered the season with a 4.0 GPA while majoring in Computer Science and Philosophy and was the recipient of this year’s NCAA Elite 90 award.
Weisel swept first place in both diving events in this year’s championship. With a score of 300.40, she set the CCSA Championship meet record in the 1-meter dive, besting the previous record of 291.05 set a year earlier. In the 3-meter dive, Weisel won the event with a final score of 294.90 to earn 32 points for the Eagles. In the regular season, the Lawrenceville, Ga. native’s highest 1-meter dive score was 217.27 and achieved the No. 1 score in the conference at 290.32 off the 3-meter board.
McIntire also swept both diving titles and was voted the Most Outstanding Diver of the CCSA Championship meet. The senior shattered the all-time 1-meter dive record with a score of 349.00 and set the championship meet record off the 3-meter board with a score of 348.35. McIntire was voted Diver of the Week four times this past season.
Cabrera won the conference championship in the 500 free and finished runner-up in the 1650 free, while also contributing to FGCU’s 800 free relay win. She set FGCU records in the 500 free (4:47.43), 1000 free (9:59.27), 1650 free (16:35.50) and the 800 free relay (7:13.83) this season. Her mark in the 500 free was also good for the CCSA record. Cabrera, a communications major, entered the 2015-16 season with a GPA of 3.65 and is a three-time member of the Dean’s List (3.5+ GPA) and a one-time member of the President’s List (4.0 GPA).
Moran currently owns two individual school records in four relay events: 200 Free Relay, 400 Free Relay, 200 Medley Relay, and 400 Medley Relay. She has also been an eight-time All-CCSA selection. Moran has accumulated more than 90 hours of volunteer hours within the campus community. The senior entered the season with a 3.76 GPA and is majoring in Recreation with an emphasis in Therapeutic Recreation.
Also nominated for Women’s Swimmer of the Year: Amy Taylor (North Florida) and Mykala Arnold (Georgia Southern).
Also nominated for Men’s Swimmer of the Year: Leo Endres (UMBC), Reed Mathews (ODU) and Mattieu Burtez (Florida Atlantic).
Also nominated for Men’s Diver of the Year: Elijah Wright (UMBC) and Cory Moreno (ODU).
Also nominated for Women’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year: April Niccolai (Gardner-Webb), Kendall Hough (Liberty), Kat Costin (Campbell), Alexandra van Doresten (UNC Asheville).
Also nominated for Men’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Andrew Schrantz (UMBC), Reed Mathews (ODU) and Matthieu Burtez (Florida Atlantic).
Swimming news courtesy of CCSA.
