With the conclusion of the 2014 Summit League Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, the league has announced its Swimming and Diving Academic All-League Teams as voted on by the institution’s faculty athletics representatives and sports information directors. A total of 21 student-athletes, 10 men and 11 women, were named to the team and honored for their combined athletic and academic performances this season.
Denver, the 2014 Men’s and Women’s Summit League Champions, earned a combined league-high seven honorees, four men and three women. IUPUI claimed five selections, three women’s and two men’s selection, while South Dakota State had four representatives, two men and two women.
On the men’s side, the Pioneers led with a quartet of honorees in Kyle Milberg, the 2014 Men’s Swimming Championship MVP and a three-time event champion (100 and 200 back and 100 fly), Ross Edfort, an All-League honoree and four-time Summit League Diver of the Week,Darian Brunetti, an All-League performer and Ryan Holly.
IUPUI and South Dakota State each had a pair of top-three finishers from the championships named to the team. Adam Ferguson and Lennart Kuester represented the Jaguars, while Phil Albu and Ben Bolinske from the Jackrabbits’ first-place 200 free relay team were selected.
Rounding out the men’s Academic All-League squad were South Dakota’s Morgan Barnes, the only men’s student-athlete to boast a perfect 4.00 grade-point average (GPA) and Western Illinois’ JD Furr, an All-League honoree.
For the women, Denver and IUPUI tied for a league-best three selections. Representing the Pioneers were Sam Corea, the 2014 Women’s Swimming Championship MVP, Bridgette McNally and Morgan Mullenix. Corea won three individual league titles, including setting league records in the 100 and 200 back, while McNally had a pair of individual titles with league record times. The Jaguar trio was made up Lexi Laird, Natalie Trout and Jenny Oleksiak, all three posted top-three finishes at the championships.
Omaha and South Dakota State each had a pair of top-three performers from the championships receive honors. For the Mavericks Natalie Renshaw and Jenna Foiles were named to the team and Andrea Budahl and Nicole Grimit for the Jackrabbits.
Eastern Illinois’ Olga Livshits was the lone women’s honoree with a perfect 4.00 GPA.
To be eligible for The Summit League Academic All-League team, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of at least 3.30 (on a 4.0 scale), completed at least one full academic year at the current institution and participated in 50 percent of their team’s competitions. The men’s and women’s swimming and diving all-league teams are made up of the 10 student-athletes receiving the most votes with all ties standing.
| 2014 SUMMIT LEAGUE MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING ACADEMIC ALL-LEAGUE TEAM | |||||
| Name | School | Yr. | Event | GPA | Major |
| Phil Albu | South Dakota State | Sr. | Swimmer | 3.96 | Computer Science |
| Morgan Barnes | South Dakota | So. | Swimmer | 4.00 | Mathematics |
| Ben Bolinske | South Dakota State | So. | Swimmer | 3.526 | Pharmacy |
| Darian Brunetti | Denver | Jr. | Swimmer | 3.44 | Film |
| Ross Edfort | Denver | Jr. | Diver | 3.37 | Emergent Digital Practices |
| Adam Ferguson | IUPUI | Jr. | Swimmer | 3.622 | Sports Management |
| JD Furr | Western Illinois | So. | Swimmer | 3.599 | Clinical Laboratory Science |
| Ryan Holly | Denver | Sr. | Swimmer | 3.95 | Microbiology |
| Lennart Kuester | IUPUI | R-Fr. | Swimmer | 3.395 | Pre-Business |
| Kyle Milberg | Denver | Sr. | Swimmer | 3.93 | Chemistry |
| 2014 SUMMIT LEAGUE WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING ACADEMIC ALL-LEAGUE TEAM | |||||
| Name | School | Yr. | Event | GPA | Major |
| Andrea Budahl | South Dakota State | Sr. | Swimmer | 3.794 | Early Childhood Education |
| Sam Corea | Denver | Jr. | Swimmer | 3.6 | English |
| Jenna Foiles | Omaha | Jr. | Swimmer | 3.974 | Graphic Design |
| Nicole Grimit | South Dakota State | Jr. | Swimmer | 3.962 | Consumer Affairs |
| Lexi Laird | IUPUI | Jr. | Swimmer | 3.311 | Accounting/Finance |
| Olga Livshits | Eastern Illinois | Sr. | Swimmer | 4.00 | Chemist/Business |
| Bridgette McNally | Denver | Jr. | Swimmer | 3.71 | Microbiology |
| Morgan Mullenix | Denver | So. | Swimmer | 3.73 | Strategic Communications |
| Jenny Oleksiak | IUPUI | So. | Diver | 3.618 | Journalism |
| Natalie Renshaw | Omaha | So. | Swimmer | 3.88 | Community Health |
| Natalie Trout | IUPUI | Jr. | Swimmer | 3.963 | Exercise Science |
ABOUT THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
In its fourth decade of Division I athletics, The Summit League offers 19 championship sports and has a combined enrollment of over 120,000 at eight institutions, including three located in top 60 U.S. metro populations and two land-grant universities. Member institutions include: Denver (University of Denver), Fort Wayne (Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne), IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis), North Dakota State University, Omaha (University of Nebraska Omaha), the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University and Western Illinois University. Previously known as the Mid-Continent Conference, The Summit League rebranded in 2007 and has since produced eight NCAA Champions, 62 All-Americans and 50 Academic All-America selections.