GRANVILLE, Ohio – Denison University men's and women's swimming & diving continued their offseason of excellence on Wednesday, July 8 when they were recognized with 39 College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-Americans across both genders. The Big Red women's team closed out the 2019-20 campaign with 20 Scholar All-Americans, including 17 first-team honorees, which ranks as the nation's best across all divisions. The men's squad followed with 19 total selections and 14 first-team members. Both teams combined for 31 first-team selections, which is good for second-most in the nation.
In addition to Denison's 39 Scholar All-American's, both the men's program and the women's program received the Scholar All-America team award. The women's team boasted a cumulative grade point average of 3.65 while the men's squad posted a cumulative GPA of 3.52. During head coach
Gregg Parini's 33 seasons leading the swimming & diving program, the women's team has been named to the Scholar All-America team every year since his arrival in Granville while the men's team has been awarded the prestigious honor 32 times.
The Denison women's swimming & diving team enjoyed another title-worthy season in 2019-20 after they claimed their 10
th North Coast Athletic Conference Championship in February and were set to bring 19 swimmers and divers to the 2020 NCAA Division III Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina. This year's Scholar All-America first-team honors from the women's squad were awarded to
Mia Chiappe,
Naomi Clayton,
Caroline Colville,
Tara Culibrk,
Maddie Hopkins,
Erica Hsu,
Casey Kirby,
KT Kustritz,
Angela Le,
Kate Mesaros,
Michaela Morrison,
Gabriella Nutter,
Hannah Rusinko,
Savannah Sargent,
Keely Tierney,
Zoe Whelan, and
Natalie Zaravella.
Kaila Byerly,
Bridget Horton, and
Grace Kacmarek rounded out the women's squad with second-team selections.
The Big Red men's swimming & diving team closed out their 2019-20 season with a second-place finish at the 2020 NCAC Championship and were primed to compete for their third-straight NCAA Division III national title with a squad of 18 in Greensboro, N.C. in March. Scholar All-America first-team honors from the men's squad went to
Michael Arpasi,
James Baker,
Eric Chimes,
PJ Desmet,
Lukas Gately,
Eric Gerlach,
Drake Horton,
Piotr Kurleto,
Richie Kurlich,
Matt McHugh,
Liam Picozzi,
John Stauffer,
Bebe Wang, and
Dayen Wilson.
Francis Biagioli,
Jacob Edwards,
Patrick Madden,
Chas Sigloh, and
Kyle Verstandig all followed with spots on the second-team.
Last month,
four Denison swimmers were named to the prestigious CoSIDA Academic All-America® teams, with all four earning first-team status. In addition to their first-team selections,
Bebe Wang and
KT Kustritz were also announced as the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team Members of the Year for the Men's and Women's At-Large divisions. Wang rounded out his DU career as a five-time national champion and a 15-time All-American. In April, he received the North Coast Athletic Conference Male Scholar-Athlete Award from Denison and he was also recently awarded a $10,000 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship to help further his education. This is the second-straight year that Wang was named the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year.
Drake Horton was also named an Academic All-America® for the second-consecutive season, this time landing on the first-team.
Kustritz made her first-team debut as a five-time national champion and 27-time All-American as she leaves Denison as one of the most decorated and accomplished student-athletes in school history, across all sports. She is the national record-holder in the 100 breaststroke and is a 22-time North Coast Athletic Conference Champion. Kustritz qualified for the 2020 US Olympic Trials in the 100 breaststroke and currently owns seven Denison varsity records.
Natalie Zaravella joined Kustritz on the Academic All-America® first-team after garnering third-team honors in 2019. Denison is currently one of 17 Division III institutions that have celebrated 100 or more Academic All-America® selections.
The Scholar All American award is presented to college and university swimmers and divers, who have achieved both academic and athletic excellence over the semester/quarter and were invited to their respective NCAA/NAIA/NJCAA (National) Swimming and Diving Championships. In order to be selected, student-athletes must have achieved a minimum grade point average of 3.50 or higher and were invited to compete in their respective national championship. For second-team status, the athlete must have achieved an individual "B" time standard or competed in their respective NCAA diving qualification meet. They also must have achieved a minimum grade point average of 3.50.
