GRAND FORKS, N.D. - The University of North Dakota men's swimming team received College Swimming Coaches Association (CSCAA) All-American Team honors after finishing the 2010 spring semester with a 3.10 team GPA.
The Fighting Sioux ranked 37th among the nations top 60 schools that competed at the NCAA Division I level last year.
The CSCAA selects and honors teams as Scholar All-American Teams twice a year, once after each semester (fall and spring). To earn CSCAA Scholar All-American Team honors, a swimming and diving team must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA for the semester being recognized.
"This is a great accomplishment for our team," head coach Steven Parsons said. "Our competition schedule goes through both the fall and the spring semester. It says a lot about our student-athletes to be able to juggle the long schedule, the training, and the travel all while maintaining their academics."
UND enjoyed an outstanding academic year in 2009-10.
Thirteen of UND's 18 teams achieved at least a 3.0 GPA, including all ten women's teams. During the spring 2010 semester alone, 14 of UND's 18 teams achieved a 3.0. Three of the remaining four teams had at least a 2.88, including two that had a 2.9.
At UND's Academic Awards Night in February, 257 student-athletes - more than 60 percent of UND's student-athlete population - were honored for achieving either a grade point average of at least 3.0 during the 2009 fall semester or a cumulative 3.0 GPA through the fall 2009 semester.
Both the men's and women's track and field teams were honored by the USTFCCCA as all-academic teams. The women's program boasted the sixth-best GPA in the nation.
The UND women's basketball team boasted the 10th-highest GPA among Division I women's basketball teams last season and was named to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll.
Additionally, UND was home to both 2009-10 Great West Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Brandon Hellevang (football) and Casie Hanson (softball) were named the male and female recipients, respectively.
In addition to the numerous individual and team accolades achieved by UND student-athletes, the athletics academic services department received several enhancements during the past year. The George and Arlene Schubert Athletics Academic Center was dedicated in September 2009 and Amanda Voigt was hired as the department's first full-time academic services coordinator in July 2010. Voigt joined director Amanda Neubauer on the full-time athletics academic services staff.
For a complete list of all of the 2010 Scholar All-American Teams visit www.cscaa.org.
- Go Sioux -
