April 17, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State swimming and diving team not only had a successful season in the water, but inside the classroom the team excelled as well. The `Birds were honored as an Academic All-American Team for the Fall 2005 semester by the College Swim Coaches Association of America.
In Fall, 2005, 290 teams met the criteria. In order to qualify for this award the GPA for the entire team must average a 2.8 on a 4.0 scale. There are three categories recognized by the Association commendable (2.8 or better), Excellent (3.0 or better) and Superior (3.25 or better). Illinois State ranged in the excellent category for the team's overall cumulative GPA of 3.10.
Head coach Steve Paska was proud of his team's achievement.
"We had an outstanding Fall semester," said Paska. "The girls definitely have something to be proud of. Our cumulative GPA was the fourth-highest in the 20 years I have been here. This team is committed academically and they show the discipline to define the term student-athlete."
Kaitlin Schneider, Katie Finan, Allison Fishbein, Rebekah Layman, Tracy Deyell and Brittany Armstrong all achieved a 4.0 semester GPA contributing to the teams Academic All-American honor. Other contributions included 23 members of the team who were on the AFNI Honor Roll for the Fall 2005 semester by earning a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
"We have just scratched the surface," said Paska. " If everything falls into place this team has the potential to retain the highest GPA yet. It will definitely be a challenge, but I know they can reach it. They meet expectations and perform outstanding in the pool and in the classroom."
