The following are press releases from the Colorado College Athletics Website and the Mount Holyoke Athletics Website, respectively. 547 swimming and diving teams from 354 colleges and universities were named CSCSAA Scholar All-American Teams this year, 40 more teams than from the previous fall semester.
Men
The Colorado College swimming and diving teams once again demonstrated their excellence in the classroom by earning Team Scholar All-America honors from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) for the 2015 fall semester.
The CC men posted the highest team grade-point average (3.63) nationally among NCAA Division III schools and the second-highest across all three NCAA divisions, just behind Division II Urbana University at 3.64. CC’s men also topped the Division III field during the 2014 fall semester. The women, meanwhile, had the sixth-highest GPA in Division III at 3.62 and the teams’ combined GPA of 3.625 is by far the highest in the country, regardless of division.
The Tigers were one of four women’s teams recognized from the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and one of two on the men’s side.
“We put a high value on academic performance with our team and our athletes do a tremendous job of balancing their scholarly and athletic pursuits,” Colorado College head coach Anne Goodman James said. “I am so proud of them for keeping the student in student-athlete.”
The award is presented twice annually to intercollegiate swimming and diving squads that achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Founded in 1922, the CSCAA is the nation’s oldest professional organization of college coaches. Its mission is to serve and provide leadership for the advancement of the sport of swimming and diving at the collegiate level.
| Men –NCAA Division III | Women – NCAA Division III | |
| 1. Colorado College – 3.63 | 1. Mount Holyoke – 3.71 | |
| 2. Principia – 3.60 | 2. Beloit – 3.69 | |
| 2. MIT – 3.60 | 3. Ripon – 3.67 | |
| 4. Emory – 3.56 | 4. Connecticut College – 3.66 | |
| 5. Bard – 3.55 | 5. Skidmore – 3.64 | |
| 6. Pomona-Pitzer – 3.45 | 6. Colorado College – 3.62 | |
| 7. McDaniel – 3.43 | 7. McDaniel – 3.61 | |
| 8. Vassar – 3.41 | 7. Smith – 3.61 | |
| 7. Widener – 3.61 |
Women
SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – The Mount Holyoke College swimming and diving team was recently honored for its outstanding work in the classroom by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). The Lyons concluded the Fall 2015 semester with the top grade point average among all teams recognized in Division III – women or men – boasting a mark of 3.71. In total, 547 teams were recognized across Division’s I, II, III and NAIA. From Division III, 130 women’s teams and 89 men’s squads were honored.
In order to qualify, teams must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for the semester. Mount Holyoke’s mark of 3.71 was among the top in program history, besting the overall GPA of some of the best teams in the nation. Among those that the Lyons finished higher included Division I’s Boise State women (3.64), Harvard men (3.47), Division II Maryville women (3.63) and the Limestone men (3.47).
Against its Division III rivals, the Lyons bested the MIT men (3.69), the Beloit College women (3.69) and the Colorado College men (3.64). Last spring, the Lyons were 10th in the nation with a GPA of 3.62.
Mount Holyoke was also one of six NEWMAC schools to be honored for the fall, in addition to Clark University (women & men), MIT (women & men), Springfield (women & men), Wheaton (women & men) and Wellesley.
Under the direction of longtime head coach Dave Allen, the Lyons are currently 6-2 in dual meet action. MHC also finished third this season at both the Hamilton Invitational in December and last week’s Seven Sisters Championship. Highlighting the Seven Sisters meet was senior captain Cathleen Pruden(Raleigh, N.C./Ravenscroft School) – a multiple CSCAA Scholar All-American – who was the only swimmer to win four individual events.