UVa Men's Swimming Star Ramirez Earns Honor
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April 19, 2000
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — University of Virginia fourth-year swimmerAustin Ramirez (Brookfield, Wisc./Brookfield Central) has been named to the2000 GTE Academic All-America University Division Men’s At-LargeFall/Winter Second Team as announced on April 18. Ramirez qualified forthe national GTE Fall/Winter Academic All-American At-Large Team by beingvoted to the GTE District III At-Large Team in March.
Ramirez had an outstanding career as a distance freestyle swimmerfor the Cavaliers. He also excelled in the classroom and was the recipientof the men’s swimming team’s Academic Award for the 1999-2000 season.
Ramirez is an 11-time All-American, which ties him with current teammateclassmate Doak Finch for the UVa men’s swimming program’s record for numberof times being named an All-American. He was a three-time All-American atthe 2000 NCAA Championships, helping lead Virginia to a 12th-place finish,the best ever for the Cavaliers. Ramirez, the team MVP in 1997-98, earnedfirst-team All-America honors by virtue of his eighth-place finish in the400-meter freestyle (3:47.76). He was an honorable mention All-American inthe 1500-meter freestyle (13th – 15:12.20) and 800-meter freestyle relay(15th – 7:21.47). At the 2000 ACC Championships, Ramirez was named the ACCMeet’s Most Valuable Swimmer after winning three individual events andcapturing one relay title. He is the third Virginia male swimmer to earnthe award. The ‘Hoos won the ACCs for the second consecutive year. Thetwo-time UVa captain won the 1650 free with a meet record time (15:00.98)and broke the ACC Meet record in the 500 free (4:18.61). The two victoriesmarked the fourth consecutive year that Ramirez has won those two eventsand he became just the second ACC swimmer to accomplish the feat of being afour-time champion in two different events. He also won the 200 free andswam the anchor leg of UVa’s winning 800 free relay. Ramirez concludes hiscareer as an 11-time ACC Champion.
Academics is another area in which Ramirez has excelled during hiscareer. In early March, he was one of eight ACC male scholar-athletesnamed as a recipient of the 2000 Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Award.The scholarships are given to those student-athletes who intend to continuetheir academic work as full-time graduate students. Award winners received$5,000 to be used toward their graduate education. Students receiving theaward performed with distinction both in the classroom and in theirrespective sports, and demonstrated exemplary conduct in the community.
Ramirez is a three-time National Swimming Coaches Association of America(NSCAA) Academic All-American as well as a three-time ACC Academic HonorRoll selection. He was UVa’s Ralph Sampson Award winner in 1998-99 forexcellence in athletics, academics, and leadership. In addition, Ramirezserves as the Vice President of the Captain’s Council (1999-00), is amember of Golden Key Honor Society, and Tau Beta Pi engineering HonorSociety. He is also involved in Teen Station, a tutoring program forunderprivileged children. He recently earned the distinction of beingselected to live on The Lawn in the 2000-01 academic year.