GREENWOOD, Ind. – Illinois State swimming and diving's Rachel Root has been named a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District At-Large selection for the second year in a row. Root will now advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot, where first-, second- and third-team honorees will be selected later this month.
A native of Monroe, Wisconsin, Root was named to the all-district team for the second year in a row. A standout member of Illinois State's swimming and diving team for the past four years, Root is equally strong in the classroom, where she owns a perfect 4.0 grade-point average (GPA) as a communication sciences and disorders major.
In the pool, Root is a three-time All-Missouri Valley Conference First-Team selection. She owns Illinois State records in the 50-, 100- and 200-yard backstroke events, and was a member of the record-setting 400-yard medley relay team. Root is a two-time MVC Swimmer of the Week selection and earned the DeDe Woytowych Endowed Scholarship for the 2016-17 season.
In the classroom, Root is a three-time MVC Scholar-Athlete First-Team pick. She's been named to the MVC and AFNI academic honor rolls, as well as Illinois State's dean's list, in each possible semester and year. Root is a two-time MVC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award winner and has been a nominee for Illinois State's Linda Herman Female Scholar Athlete of the Year the past two years. She has previously been named the MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week and won the Valley's Elite 18 Award, recognizing the individual with the highest GPA competing at a league championship, in 2015.
Nominees for CoSIDA Academic All-District and All-America honors must be a starter or important reserve, with at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale), at his or her institution. Nominees must have completed one full calendar year at his/her current institution and reached sophomore athletic eligibility.
Swimming and diving is included in CoSIDA's Academic All-America At-Large program, which includes the following sports: women's beach volleyball, women's bowling, women's crew/rowing, men's and women's fencing, women's field hockey, men's and women's golf, men's and women's gymnastics, men's and women's ice hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's rifle, men's and women's skiing, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, men's volleyball, men's and women's water polo and men's wrestling.
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