Seven Virginia Swimmers Earn CSCAA Academic Award
Story Links
July 6, 2006
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – University of Virginia swimmers Vanja Rogulj (Zagreb, Croatia/Split), Pat Mellors (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) and Katie Gordon (Winter Park, Fla./Trinity Prep) have earned 2006 College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) First Team Academic All-America honors. Jenny Steiner (Lawrenceville, N.J./Lawrence), Elaine Bennett (Richmond, Va./Douglas Freeman), Anne Dawson (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) and Rory Schmidt (Phoenix, Ariz./Arcadia) each captured honorable mention accolades, while both the Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams garnered CSCAA Academic All-America Team accolades with 3.05 and 3.32 GPA’s, respectively.
Rogulj, a rising fourth-year, and Mellors, a rising third-year, are two of 48 Division I men’s swimmers to earn to earn CSCAA First Team Academic All-America honors. Rogulj picked up three honorable mention All-America certificates at the 2006 NCAA Championships. He was 11th in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke and helped UVa finish 16th in the 200 medley relay. The nine-time All-American swept the 100 and 200 breaststroke at the 2006 ACC Championships for the second consecutive season and also won his third straight 200 breast title. Mellors was recently named to the ACC’s All-Academic Men’s Swimming and Diving Team. He earned All-America honors at NCAAs for the second consecutive season. Mellors finished 13th in the 400 individual medley and helped UVa to a 13th-place performance in the 800 freestyle for a pair of honorable mention All-America certificates. Mellors captured three titles at the ACC Championships as he swept the 200 and 400 individual medley for the second consecutive season and swam a leg on the Cavaliers’ winning 800 free relay. He was also the runner-up in the 200 backstroke.
Gordon, who graduated with a degree in sports medicine, is one of 86 Division I women’s swimmers to earn first-team CSCAA Academic All-America honors. Gordon was just named to the ACC’s All-Academic Women’s Swimming and Diving Team. She captured All-ACC honors as a member of UVa’s winning 800 free relay as well as with a runner-up finish in the 400 I.M. Gordon was also a finalist in the 200 back (sixth) and 500 free (seventh) at ACCs. She competed in the same three events at NCAAs and her best finish was 24th in the 400 I.M.
Bennett and Dawson also joined Gordon on the ACC All-Academic team. Bennett, who graduated in May with a degree in psychology, was also an honorable mention CSCAA All-American in 2005. She was a three-event ACC finalist in 2006. Bennett was sixth in the 200 breaststroke and placed eighth in both the 200 butterfly and 400 I.M. Dawson, a rising second-year, was a finalist in the 200 butterfly at the ACC Championships with a seventh-place performance. She was a consolation finalist in the 100 fly (11th) and 400 I.M. (14th).
Steiner, a rising fourth-year was an honorable mention selection after earning first-team CSCAA Academic All-America accolades in 2005. In 2006, Steiner was a consolation finalist in the 200 breaststroke (11th) and 100 breast (12th). Schmidt, also a rising fourth-year, was a finalist in the 500 freestyle at the ACC Championships with a sixth-place finish and was also 10th in the 1650 free at ACCs.
To earn CSCAA Academic All-American honors, individuals must possess at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA or a 3.50 GPA for either the current academic year or the current semester and qualify to participate in the NCAA, NAIA or NJCAA swimming and diving championships. Schools must earn a minimum of a 2.80 team GPA to be eligible for team CSCAA Academic All-America honors.