NORFOLK, Va. – A record five Colorado State swimmers & divers earned College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) 2015 Scholar All-America honors on Wednesday.
Katie Kicklighter, Mary Kate Hardy, Tess Simpson, Erin Taylor and Emily Williams each earned honorable mention status.
The CSCAA annually honors the top student-athletes who excel both in the pool and in the classroom. In order to be eligible, one much hold a 3.50 GPA in addition to either achieving an NCAA B-cut time standard (swimmers) or qualifying for NCAA Zones (divers).
In total, 110 Division I women’s programs had at least one honoree, with CSU being one of 44 with at least five selections. It marks the third year in a row that a CSU individual has been recognized, with Melissa Bollig earning honorable mention status a year ago, and Breann Fuller and Kelly Matthews being recognized in 2013.
The announcement comes one day after the entire swimming & diving team was praised for its academic success. The Rams earned a 3.41 team GPA during the spring semester and were named to the CSCAA 2015 Spring Scholar All-America Team. It was the 11th time since 2009 that the team has been recognized by the award, which is released twice annually.
As a true freshman, Kicklighter placed eighth at the Mountain West Championships with a time of 22.95 in the 50 Freestyle. The time was the fifth-best in school history, and met NCAA B-cut standards. Also that weekend, senior Tess Simpson earned an NCAA B-cut time, doing so in the 100 Breaststroke. In her final collegiate meet, she touched the wall at 1:02.37, placing sixth at the Championships and posting the second-best time in school history.
On the boards, CSU was once again phenomenal, out-scoring its diving counterparts in eight of nine dual meets. Despite injuries to two Zones qualifiers from a year ago, the Rams were just as impressive, qualifying all four divers for NCAA Zones, including the three recognized by the CSCAA.
Swimming news courtesy of Colorado State University Swimming & Diving.
