FIU Women’s Swimming and Diving team earn academic honor

By Brett Shweky/Sports Director

 

The FIU women’s swimming and diving team was recently named a College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-American team. This marks the ninth-consecutive-semester the Panthers have been selected to CSCAA Scholar All-American team.

FIU landed themselves in an exclusive group, being one of the few universities to achieve a grade point average of 3.0-or-higher during the 2017 Spring semester. The Panthers were able to set a 3.35 team GPA.

Under Head Coach Randy Horner, the Panthers have received the academic honor a total of 13 times. Coach Horner explained that his current and past athletes are hard-working and disciplined, translating well in their sport and also in the classroom.

“In this sport, you have be a dedicated athlete and be able to remained focused and committed. These skills don’t just turn off from the pool to the classroom,” Coach Horner said. “My staff and I recruit athletes that are focused, driven and someone who will put an emphasis on academics.

Last season, FIU was also able to secure the Conference USA championship for the third-straight-season. The Panthers also recorded the fourth-highest point total in C-USA Championship history. The team was able to claim 14 of the 21 total titles during the four-day conference championship and managed to accumulate a 922.5-point result.

In total, the Panthers received 41 medals, with 14 of them being gold, and also were able to set 10 new school records. Coach Horner was even named the C-USA Coach of the Year for the third and the fourth-straight time in his career.

FIU even saw an increase of athletes competing in the NCAA championships in Indianapolis, Indiana. C-USA Diver of the Year Rebecca Quesnel, who became the program’s first ever First-Team All-American, finished third in the platform during the championship meet. The Panthers posted 16 points in the championship and finished 32nd overall, making it the first time FIU had placed in NCAA Championship.

Coach Horner discussed that FIU’s goals for this upcoming season are to become more recognized on the national level.

“Our goals now are to be more powerful on the national stage,” Horner said. “Hopefully the conference titles will just become a check point along the way to get that goal accomplished.”

FIU will start the 2017-2018 campaign on September 30th as the team hosts the University of Miami at the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Center.

Be the first to comment on "FIU Women’s Swimming and Diving team earn academic honor"

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


*