WESTON, Mass. -- The Simmons University women's swimming & diving team had 19 student-athletes named to the 2018-19 All New England Intercollegiate Swimming & Diving Association Fall All-Academic Team, it was announced today by NEISDA.
The Fall All-Academic Team is comprised of swimmers and divers from 22 member teams, who have earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or better in the respective semester, regardless of school year, and be a team member in good standing for the season.
Since the All NEISDA Academic Team's inception in 2016, the Sharks' total of honorees has been the highest of any member institution in each of the last four years. Simmons Swimming & Diving also boasted three student-athletes with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
The following competitors were named to the squad for the Sharks. Seniors Charlotte Rivard (Norwood, Mass.), Kara Smith (Eastham, Mass.) and Cassie Vietas (Tampa, Fla.) all earn the honor for the third year in a row. Seniors Laura Simpson (Perkiomenville, Pa.) and Jason Erichsen (Banks, Ore.) along with juniors Alex Berg-Pappert (Geneva, N.Y.), Aine Scholand (Albuquerque, N.M.) and Devon Tice (Framingham, Mass.) and sophomores Elizabeth Bartlett (Richmond, Mass.), Anna Leedham (Lowell, Mass.), Sara Manjikian (Belmont, Mass.), Maria Soraghan (East Hampstead, N.H.) and Olivia Walz (Natick, Mass.) were all tapped for the second straight year. Senior Kerry Fleming (Northampton, Mass.), juniors Laura List (Bedford, Mass.) and Cristina Samaniego (Avon, Conn.), sophomore Annie Lam (Natick, Mass.) and first years Savana Silva (Groveland, Mass.) and Sarah Singleton (Mission Hills, Calif.) were all recognized for the first time.
Simmons was honored earlier this week by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America as a Scholar All-America team after posting the seventh-highest GPA in NCAA Division III with a mark of 3.66 as a team.
The Sharks are currently 10-2 on the season and have posted double-digit dual meet victories for the sixth straight season. The team will defend its Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship in addition to its New England Intercollegiate Swimming & Diving Association crown over the next five weeks. Simmons returns to the water on Saturday, January 26 when it hosts Mount Holyoke College at 12:00 p.m. at the Holmes Sports Center Natatorium on the Simmons campus in Boston, Mass.