By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- The Willamette University men's and women's swimming teams have earned Scholar All-America honors from the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) following their successful efforts in the classroom during the 2020 fall semester. It was the 13th consecutive semester that both of Willamette's teams have received the award.

Nationwide, 450 colleges and universities in NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, the NAIA, and the NJCAA qualified for Scholar All-America recognition.

Willamette is a member of NCAA Division III. The Bearcats also compete in the Northwest Conference. In Division III, a total of 177 women's teams and 134 men's teams earned Scholar All-America status last fall. Six NWC women's teams and three NWC men's teams attained Scholar All-America honors.

"I'm incredibly amazed and proud of the academic success our teams have continued to show. Fall semester was different from anything we've seen before with hybrid and fully online courses. All of our swimmers did a fantastic job of adapting to their new learning environment and continuing to work hard for their classroom success. I continue to be impressed with how resilient and dedicated our swimmers are when it comes to their studies. I'm honored to be able to coach this phenomenal group of hardworking student-athletes."
-- Willamette Head Coach Brent Summers

The Scholar All-America honor went to programs that earned team grade point averages of 3.0 or higher during the semester. The Willamette women's team achieved a 3.73 combined GPA during the fall, while the Bearcat men's team registered a 3.49 combined GPA during the semester.