Gamecocks Place 21 on CSCAA Scholar All-America Team
June 22, 2016
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The University of South Carolina Swimming & Diving programs placed 21 student-athletes on the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America list on Wednesday. Of the 21 selections, 11 of the Gamecocks were honored with First-Team Scholar All-America laurels.
Emma Barksdale, Cody Bekemeyer, Lauren Lamendola, Kevin Leithold, Akaram Mahmoud, Fynn Minuth, Allyson Nied, Tomas Peribonio, Julia Vincent, Nils Wich-Glasen and Taylor Worrell received CSCAA First Team honors on Wednesday. Jeremiah Bohon, Jonathan Boland, Marissa DelGado, Kersten Dirrane, Ashleigh Ferguson, Mikaela Lujan, Heather Merritt, Marisa Rasnick, Marissa Roth, Meredith Vay were honorable mention selections.
In order to qualify as a CSCAA First-Team Scholar All-American, a student-athlete must finish the 2016 spring semester with a GPA of 3.50 or higher and qualify for the NCAA Championships. To receive honorable mention status, a student-athlete must post a 3.50 or higher GPA while achieving an NCAA `B’ Cut in swimming or qualifying for the NCAA Zone Championships in diving.
The high number of South Carolina student-athletes comes as no surprise after both the men’s and women’s teams were recognized as CSCAA Scholar All-America teams last week. The Gamecock women posted a GPA of 3.73 for the spring semester, which ranked as the highest in the nation. The Carolina men finished with a 3.35 GPA, which ranked 16th in all of NCAA Division I.
For Lamendola, the national academic honor is the second of the season. Earlier this month, the senior was awarded CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
Once arriving at NCAA Championships in March, the Gamecocks excelled, with the men finishing 17th and the women placing 29th. Lamendola, Leithold, Mahmoud, Minuth, Nied, Peribonio, Vincent and Wich-Glasen all left Atlanta with All-America performances, as did Jordan Gotro. Mahmoud finished second in the men’s 1650-yard freestyle, Vincent placed fourth in the women’s 1-meter dive, and Peribonio became the first Gamecock since 1989 to capture four separate All-America awards at one national championship.
Overall, 38 members of the Gamecock squad were honored with a spot on the SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll in April.
The competition continues through the summer for the Gamecocks. Gotro recently completed U.S. Olympic Trials for diving, while 11 current and former Gamecock swimmers will begin their U.S. Olympic Trials on Sunday, June 26. Those athletes are aiming to join Mahmoud (Egypt) and Vincent (South Africa), who have already qualified to represent their nations at the Rio Summer Olympics.
