July 6, 2004
ATLANTA – The College Swimming Coaches Athletic Association (CSCAA) announced the 2004 Academic All-America teams and final team rankings for team grade point averages for the winter/spring semester on Tuesday afternoon. The Georgia Tech women’s swimming and diving team finished No. 6 in the nation with a team GPA of 3.50, while the men tallied a 20th-place finish with an overall GPA of 3.04.
“We are very proud of our men’s and women’s team,” said head coach Seth Baron. “Our athletes take as much pride in their academic success as they do in the athletic success. It goes to show that hard work in the classroom and in the pool will pay off. The members of our team are very proud of what they accomplished this past season.”
The CSCAA standards for All-American are participants in the NCAA Championships and a GPA of 3.50 or higher. The honorable mention candidates are swimmers with NCAA ‘B’ cut times that did not qualify for the NCAA Championships, but also obtained a minimum 3.50 GPA to warrant recognition.
Tech was the only squad in the top 10, academically, that scored points at the Women’s NCAA Championships, finishing in 33rd-place with seven points. Sophomore Ashley Kracke earned CSCAA Academic All-America honorable mention honors for the Yellow Jackets with a 3.83 GPA and NCAA ‘B’ qualifying standard in the 200-yard backstroke (2:01.69) at the ACC Championships.
Junior Matt Figh and sophomore Jason Howard represented the men’s swimming and diving team on the CSCAA Academic honorable mention honors for the Yellow Jackets.
Figh posted NCAA ‘B’ cut times in the 200 (1:37.70) and 500 (4:24.01) freestyle events at the ACC Championships and finished the spring semester with a 3.51 GPA. He matched a Tech record in the 200 free, set by Shilo Ayalon in ’03.
Howard tallied a NCAA ‘B’ cut standard in the 200 free with a time of 1:38.74 at the ACC Championships, earning Academic honors for a 3.52 GPA in the spring.
