Gardner-Webb Swim Teams Post Top 10 GPA's to Earn CSCAA Fall Scholar All-America Team Honors
March 07, 2014 | Swimming
Boiling Springs, N.C. - The CSCAA Fall Scholar All-America Teams were released on Thursday and both Gardner-Webb's women's and men's swim teams appeared among the nation's top academic performers.
Coming off a record-breaking week at 2014 CCSA Swimming & Diving Championships, the good news continued to pour in for Gardner-Webb Swimming.
On the women's side, GWU posted another Top 10 GPA, combining for the eighth-highest GPA among NCAA Division I institutions with a grade point average of 3.47.
The honor continues a tradition of academic success. Gardner-Webb's women's swimming program has performed consistently in the classroom since its inception in 1999, as Thursday's CSCAA release marks the tenth Top 10 GPA in the team's history. The Runnin' Bulldogs led Division I Women's Swimming three consecutive semesters, spanning from the Fall of 2009 through the Fall of 2010.
Senior captain Faith Kempf (Sterling, Kansas) has been instrumental in the team's recent swimming and academic successes. To her, the honor serves as a testament to Gardner-Webb's indelible work ethic.
"I'm proud to be a part of an amazing team that not only works hard in the pool, but in the classroom as well," said Kempf. "To see our hard work pay off at Conference, and now in academics, is a wonderful testimony."
The Runnin' Bulldog men recorded Division I's fourth-highest GPA at 3.38, its highest finish since leading NCAA Division I with a 3.33 GPA in the Fall of 2008. Additionally, the team's 3.38 grade point average marks the highest in program history.
Gardner-Webb's men's swimming team has earned CSCAA Scholar All-America status in each of its seven years, beginning in its inaugural season in 2007-08. In addition to leading Division I Men's Swimming in the Fall of 2008, GWU has finished in the Top 10 in five different semesters during the program's young history.
The most recent academic accomplishment, according to senior captain Cody Meyers (Mobile, Alabama), stems from a team-first emphasis instilled at Gardner-Webb.
"I couldn't be happier that I had the privilege to swim on a team that not only strives to be exemplary in the pool, but in everything they do out of the water as well," said Meyers. "I feel the most fortunate to have swum with men who genuinely cared for each other and competed for something greater for themselves: their brothers on the team."
Head men's and women's swim coach Mike Simpson added his thoughts on Gardner-Webb's 2013-14 season.
"This has been an incredible year," said Simpson. "A fantastic dual meet season, an incredible four-day Conference Championship with 14 team records, and now both teams finished in the Top 10 in the nation in academic performance. This truly was a special group."
Gardner-Webb's offseason training regimen opens this week in preparation for another year competing among the CCSA's best in 2014-15.
