L-R Men's Swimming Sports Highest GPA In NCAA Division II For Spring Semester
July 11, 2012
Lenoir-Rhyne ranks behind only Yale in grade point average for all schools in Division I and II.
 Junior Alec Reitzel earned honorable mention Scholar All-America honors and was part of the L-R Men's Swimming Team which had the highest grade point average (3.57) among NCAA Division II schools. |
New Orleans, La. - The Lenoir-Rhyne University Men's Swimming Team had the highest grade point average for all NCAA Division II schools for the spring semester with a 3.57 and earned Team Scholar All-America honors by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA).
For collegiate men's squads, Lenoir-Rhyne ranked second only to Yale (3.62) for all Division I and II schools.
The Lenoir-Rhyne Women's Swimming Team garnered scholar All-America accolades as well with a 3.38 grade point average, 12th-best in the nation.
The Team Scholar All-America award is presented to college and university swimming & diving teams that have achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
In addition, L-R freshman Chelsea Kyle (Knoxville, Tenn.) was named a Scholar All-American. Kyle, a pre-nursing major who carries a 3.74 grade point average, became the first NCAA Division II All-American in school history for women's swimming.
Kyle finished sixth in the women's 200-yard butterfly finals at the 2012 NCAA D-II Swimming & Diving National Championships in March in Mansfield, Texas, and is the current L-R record-holder in four events.
Kyle also became Lenoir-Rhyne's first-ever Bluegrass Mountain Conference Champion with her first-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly this past February in Charlotte, N.C. Kyle picked up all-league accolades in the 100-yard butterfly as well.
The Scholar All-American award is presented to college and university swimmers and divers, who have achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher, for the semester or cumulative average, and have qualified for their respective national championship.
Four Lenoir-Rhyne swimmers earned honorable mention Scholar All-America accolades as well: senior Lindsay Atkin (Hickory, N.C.), freshman Kyle Hites (Lenoir, N.C.), junior Alec Reitzel (Hickory, N.C.) and freshman Chris Tilque (Charlotte, N.C.).
Atkin, who graduated in May with an undergraduate degree in health & exercise science, earned all-league honors this year in the women's 200-yard breaststroke.
Atkin finished her collegiate career with five relay records and three individual records.
Hites (3.82, Spanish) also earned all-league honors in the men's 200-yard breaststroke in 2012 and holds program marks in three individual and three relay events.
Reitzel (3.53, management) and Tilque (3.97, history) have a combined six individual and eight relay records for Lenoir-Rhyne.
The Honorable Mention Scholar All-American award is presented to college and university swimmers and divers, who have achieved a grade point average of 3.5 or higher, for the semester or cumulative average, and have achieved a "B" time standard, but have not qualified to compete in their respective national championship.
The L-R Women's Swimming Team just finished its fifth year of competition on the intercollegiate level while the men's squad started prior to the 2010-11 school year. Both teams are coached by Paul Schiffel.
The awards are presented in the semester of the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships.
To see a complete listing, go to www.cscaa.org.
