COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 9, 2020) – Four student-athletes on Northern Arizona University's Swimming and Diving program have been recognized by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association (CSCAA) onto the Scholar All-America Team this past Wednesday.
Jenny Cheetham made a first-team selection, while
Lainie Bell,
Elisa Rodriguez and
Hope Williams all received honorable mentions.
Receiving her first CSCAA Scholar All-American first-team honor, Cheetham comes off of a successful season. Cheetham received four Athlete of the Week awarded by the Western Athletic Conference, ending her conference success with a gold medal on the 1-meter boards at WAC Championships (297.70) and helping her team win their seventh straight conference title. Just a week later, Cheetham earned a qualifying score of 537.80 at NCAA Zones, garnering her first NCAA national bid.
Cheetham was slated to become the third NAU women's diver to compete at the NCAA Championships prior to the cancellation of the championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also finished the season second on NAU's all-time top performance list on the 1-meter, earning 329.80 points at the first Lumberjack Diving Invite on Nov. 22, 2019, just a little under 2.5 points from Taryn Harris' top all-time score of 332.33 set in 2011.
Bell, as a true freshman, worked her way to her first WAC Championship this season. Bell edged out the competition in both the 100 backstroke (54.75) and 200 backstroke (1:56.94). She now holds NAU's second-fastest time in both the 100 and 200 back. She received an honorable mention from the CSCAA.
Also receiving an honorable mention,
Elisa Rodriguez earns her first recognition by the CSCAA. At the conference championships, Rodriguez took first in the 50 freestyle with a 22.81 mark. Rodriguez found her second first-place finish on the final day, finishing the 100 freestyle in 49.24.
As the last honorable mention from the CSCAA, Williams continued the gold medal trend for Northern Arizona at the WAC Championships when she swam her way to first in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:01.75 finish.
The award recognizes students who achieved a grade point average of 3.50 or higher and were invited to compete at their respective national championship.
Wednesday's news comes on the heels of the NAU swimming and diving program receiving yet another CSCAA Scholar All-America Team award last week. The Lumberjacks recorded a team GPA of 3.70, the best any class has seen.
