Coach Brian Schrader talks swimming at a recent practice.
The University of Denver men’s swimming and diving team topped all NCAA Division I programs to earn the Scholar All-America Team honor for the 2010–11 academic year.
The College Swimming Coaches Association of America gives the honor each year to a team with the highest cumulative GPA. Sixteen DU swimmers and divers also were honored by the association as honorable mention Scholar All-Americans.
“It has been a fun year for our program and I couldn’t think of a better way to close out the 2010–11 year than with this acknowledgement,” says head coach Brian Schrader. “Our men were ranked No. 1 for the entire year academically in Division I, and our women finished in the top-25. It says a lot about how well and how hard our kids work in the classroom.”
The Pioneers bested all Division I men’s teams with a 3.44 team GPA, finishing .04 ahead of Boston College and Harvard. The women’s team tied for 24th with East Carolina University and the University of Arkansas with a 3.43 team GPA.
“We had a record number of kids for our program receive academic All-American honors, and I think our team takes a tremendous amount of pride in being great students and swimming fast,” Schrader says.