Brains and brawn can go hand in hand, or so proves the Cleveland State men's and women's swimming & diving teams—both squads have just scored Scholar All-America Team accolades for their academic prowess in the Spring 2025 semester, as reported by the Vikings' news outlet.
Pulling more than their weight in both the pool and the classroom, the women's team set the bar high with a combined GPA of 3.63, while the men's team wasn’t far behind, clocking in a team GPA of 3.32. This is an impressive feat considering the rigorous demands of collegiate athletics coupled with academic commitments. The women’s team boasted 16 on the Dean's List and seven who reached the heights of the President's List. As for the men, they were no slackers themselves, with 14 on the Dean's List and two on the President's List.
According to the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America, to even be in the running for such honors, teams had to maintain a GPA of 3.00 or higher during the specified semester; an impressive 763 teams across 432 institutions did just that, representing a whopping 18,459 student-athletes who made the grade.
Among individual honorees, Brooke Eichel and Ellie Seiter earned themselves a spot on the illustrious Second Team Scholar All-American list; getting there meant they not only had GPAs to brag about—over 3.5, no less—but also had to be pretty exceptional in the water, with times that brush close to national championship standards or diving skills sharp enough to qualify for a diving zone qualification meet, showing it's possible to juggle acing exams and cutting through water like a knife.
