The Nebraska swimming and diving team posted a program-record 3.747 GPA in the spring semester to earn Scholar All-America Team recognition from the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA).
Nebraska’s previous best semester academically for the swimming and diving team came with a 3.632 GPA in the spring of 2017. Academic success is nothing new to the Husker swimmers and divers, who have produced 38 consecutive semesters with better than a cumulative 3.0 GPA since Coach Pablo Morales‘ arrival at Nebraska in 2001. The Huskers also own an active streak of 16 consecutive semesters with better than a 3.2 semester GPA.
The Huskers carry a streak of 12 straight semesters as a CSCAA Scholar All-America Team. During that span, Nebraska has posted better than a 3.3 GPA in every semester.
Nebraska’s team success in the classroom includes many outstanding individual performances academically, including 11 Huskers who earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar awards when the conference announced its annual honors on Wednesday, July 1. The 11 swimmers and divers were among an overall record 100 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars across all of Nebraska’s athletic programs in 2019-20.
Three All-Americans in competition highlighted Nebraska’s collection of academic standouts. The most decorated diver in Nebraska history, four-time All-American Abi Knapton earned her third straight Big Ten Distinguished Scholar award. The senior psychology major from Omaha is also a three-time first-team CSCAA Scholar All-American.
Sophomore diver Sara Troyer added the first Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honor of her career. A CSCAA All-American on the one-meter and three-meter dives for the Huskers in 2020, the child, youth and family studies major from Goshen, Ind., was an honorable-mention CSCAA All-America scholar as a freshman in 2019.
A third All-America performer in the pool, Audrey Coffey claimed the first Big Ten Distinguished Scholar award of her career as a nutrition and health sciences major. Coffey, a sophomore from Naperville, Ill., earned first-team CSCAA All-America honors in the 1,650-yard freestyle in 2020.
Nebraska’s other top performers academically in 2019-20 included swimmers Taylor Acheson, Gabby Baratta, Sutton Marvin, Izzie Murray, Jessica Pentlarge, Rachel Powers, Lindsey Stalheim and diver Grace Tiernon.
To be eligible for selection, students must be a recipient of Academic All-Big Ten recognition in the previous academic year, must have been enrolled full-time at the institution for the entire previous academic year (two semesters or three quarters) and earned a minimum GPA of 3.70 or better during the previous academic year (excluding any summer grades).
Nebraska’s academic success continued to reach new heights in 2019-20, including a department-wide record graduation rate and an all-time NCAA-leading 340 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans across all sports.
2020 Nebraska Big Ten Distinguished Scholars
Women’s Swimming & Diving (11)
Taylor Acheson (Sophomore, Marketing)
Gabby Baratta (Junior, English)
Audrey Coffey (Sophomore, Nutrition & Health Sciences)
Abigail Knapton (Senior, Psychology)
Sutton Marvin (Junior, Sociology)
Izzie Murray (Junior, Environmental Studies/Fisheries & Wildlife)
Jessica Pentlarge (Junior, Nutrition & Health Sciences)
Rachel Powers (Junior, Elementary Education)
Lindsey Stalheim (Senior, Nutrition & Health Sciences)
Grace Tiernon (Junior, Mathematics)
Sara Troyer (Sophomore, Child, Youth & Family Studies)
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