WESTON, Mass. -- The Simmons University women's swimming & diving team boasted 20 student-athletes named to the 2018-19 New England Intercollegiate Swimming & Diving Association Spring All-Academic Team, it was announced by NEISDA.
The Spring 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. The 2018-19 academic year represents the first time that NEISDA has honored student-athletes following both the fall and spring semesters.
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 and were also tabbed following the fall semester. Seniors Charlotte Rivard (Norwood, Mass.), Kara Smith (Eastham, Mass.) and Cassie Vietas (Tampa, Fla.) all earned 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 along with first year Leah Danforth (Peterborough, N.H.), who was tapped following the spring semester.
Simmons was honored earlier this year 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 recorded a 3.65 GPA as a team for the spring academic session, while a pair of student-athletes turned in a perfect 4.0 for the spring.
Simmons finished the season with an 11-2 record in dual meet competition to establish double-digit victories in each of the last six campaigns, while winning its 15th straight Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship and the NEISDA crown for the second consecutive season. The Sharks placed 34th in its second straight appearance at the NCAA Division III National Championship on March 21-24 in Greensboro, N.C. Head Coach Mindy Williams was named the Coach of the Year by both NEISDA and GNAC again, while Scholand was named the GNAC Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Year and Singleton was chosen the GNAC Rookie of the Year.