WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A dozen members of Purdue swimming & diving were recognized for their academic excellence in conjunction with their athletic accomplishments, earning Scholar All-American accolades from the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America.
The CSCAA honors student-athletes that achieved 3.5-plus grade-point averages during the spring semester/quarter, which coincides with swimming & diving's championship season, headlined by the NCAA Championships in March. First-team honorees competed at the NCAA Championships and second-team honorees achieved an individual NCAA provisional qualifying time (B Cut) or competed at their NCAA Diving Zone Championships meet.
Team GPAs also remained strong at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic. The Purdue men and women were recognized as CSCAA Scholar All-America Teams again. The women posted a 3.42 team mark and the men compiled a 3.38 GPA for the spring semester. The women are riding a streak of 12 consecutive semesters with a team GPA of at least 3.40.
The Boilermakers had seven NCAA Championships qualifiers this season and five of those student-athletes in turn earned Scholar All-America accolades for their 3.5-plus GPAs in the spring. All three women's divers that qualified for NCAAs – Maycey Vieta, Maggie Merriman and Sophie McAfee – doubled up as the dual honorees, All-Americans at NCAAs and Scholar All-Americans for their work in the classroom. Sam Bennett and Nick Sherman were also recognized as a Scholar All-Americans by the CSCAA after competing at the national championship meets in Minneapolis.
Unlike Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and Academic All-Big Ten, freshmen are eligible for the CSCAA academic honors. Purdue had eight student-athletes this year earn at least three academic honors – Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (3.7+ GPA for the 2022-23 school year), Academic All-District (4 honorees per team beginning this year), CSCAA Scholar All-America (3.5+ GPA for spring semester) and Academic All-Big Ten (3.0+ cumulative GPA).
QUADRUPLE ACADEMIC HONORS FOR 2022-23
Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Academic All-District, CSCAA Scholar All-America, Academic All-Big Ten
• Maggie Merriman
• Jenna Sonnenberg
• Maycey Vieta
• Andrew Witty
• Skyler Younkin
TRIPLE ACADEMIC HONORS FOR 2022-23 (5 Boilermakers above plus…)
Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, CSCAA Scholar All-America, Academic All-Big Ten
• Sophie McAfee
• Nick Sherman
• Lindsay Turner
Purdue swimming & diving earned 49 Academic All-Big Ten (26 women, 23 men) and 24 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (12 men, 12 women) honors for the 2022-23 school year. Boilermakers at the pool accounted for 74% of Purdue Athletics' Academic All-Big Ten honorees for the winter sports season and 37% of the department's Big Ten Distinguished Scholars for the school year.
Merriman closed out her career as a five-time CSCAA Scholar All-American. Vieta was recognized for the fourth year in a row. Shaw and Simons are the only first-time honorees on Purdue's list this year.
2023 HIGHLIGHTS FOR PURDUE'S CSCAA SCHOLAR ALL-AMERICANS
• Medaled at Big Ten Championships: Maycey Vieta (Big Ten champion on platform), Maggie Merriman (silver on platform), Nick Sherman (silver in 200 IM)
• Scored in All 3 Individual Events at Big Tens: Sam Bennett (All Diving), Sophie McAfee (All Diving), Nick Sherman (200 Free, 200 Breast, 200 IM), Ethan Shaw (200 Fly, 400 IM, 500 Free)
• Eclipsed Team Records: Nick Sherman (200 Free, 200 IM)
• Qualified for World Aquatics Championships: Maycey Vieta (10-Meter for Puerto Rico)
• Swimmers that Competed at the CSCAA National Invitational Championships: Maggie Love, Ethan Shaw
• All 12 Boilermakers scored in an individual event at the Big Ten Championships, with 11 scoring multiple events
The CSCAA honors student-athletes that achieved 3.5-plus grade-point averages during the spring semester/quarter, which coincides with swimming & diving's championship season, headlined by the NCAA Championships in March. First-team honorees competed at the NCAA Championships and second-team honorees achieved an individual NCAA provisional qualifying time (B Cut) or competed at their NCAA Diving Zone Championships meet.
Team GPAs also remained strong at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic. The Purdue men and women were recognized as CSCAA Scholar All-America Teams again. The women posted a 3.42 team mark and the men compiled a 3.38 GPA for the spring semester. The women are riding a streak of 12 consecutive semesters with a team GPA of at least 3.40.
| 2023 SPRING SEMESTER BY THE NUMBERS | |
| WOMEN 4.0 GPAs: 7 3.5+ GPAs: 22 3.0+GPAs: 36 Cumulative Team GPA: 3.51 |
MEN 4.0 GPAs: 5 (3 for the Academic Year) 3.5+ GPAs: 18 3.0+ GPAs: 27 Cumulative Team GPA: 3.39 |
The Boilermakers had seven NCAA Championships qualifiers this season and five of those student-athletes in turn earned Scholar All-America accolades for their 3.5-plus GPAs in the spring. All three women's divers that qualified for NCAAs – Maycey Vieta, Maggie Merriman and Sophie McAfee – doubled up as the dual honorees, All-Americans at NCAAs and Scholar All-Americans for their work in the classroom. Sam Bennett and Nick Sherman were also recognized as a Scholar All-Americans by the CSCAA after competing at the national championship meets in Minneapolis.
| 2023 CSCAA SCHOLAR ALL-AMERICANS (FIRST TEAM) | |
| Boilermaker | Major |
| Sam Bennett | Psychological Sciences |
| Sophie McAfee | Economics |
| Maggie Merriman | Nursing |
| Nick Sherman | Master's in Mechanical Engineering |
| Maycey Vieta | Media & Mass Communication |
| CSCAA SCHOLAR ALL-AMERICANS (SECOND TEAM) | ||
| Boilermaker | B Cut(s) / Zones | Major |
| Maggie Love | 100 Breast | Biomedical Engineering |
| Ethan Shaw | 200 Fly, 400 IM, 500 Free | Supply Chain & Engineering Tech. |
| Kaitlin Simons | 1-Meter & 3-Meter at Zones | Kinesiology |
| Jenna Sonnenberg | 1-Meter & 3-Meter at Zones | Law & Society |
| Lindsay Turner | 200 Fly | Master's in Aviation Technology |
| Andrew Witty | 100 Breast | Mechanical Engineering |
| Skyler Younkin | 200 Fly | Graduate Certificate in Geospatial Information Sciences |
Unlike Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and Academic All-Big Ten, freshmen are eligible for the CSCAA academic honors. Purdue had eight student-athletes this year earn at least three academic honors – Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (3.7+ GPA for the 2022-23 school year), Academic All-District (4 honorees per team beginning this year), CSCAA Scholar All-America (3.5+ GPA for spring semester) and Academic All-Big Ten (3.0+ cumulative GPA).
QUADRUPLE ACADEMIC HONORS FOR 2022-23
Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Academic All-District, CSCAA Scholar All-America, Academic All-Big Ten
• Maggie Merriman
• Jenna Sonnenberg
• Maycey Vieta
• Andrew Witty
• Skyler Younkin
TRIPLE ACADEMIC HONORS FOR 2022-23 (5 Boilermakers above plus…)
Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, CSCAA Scholar All-America, Academic All-Big Ten
• Sophie McAfee
• Nick Sherman
• Lindsay Turner
Purdue swimming & diving earned 49 Academic All-Big Ten (26 women, 23 men) and 24 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (12 men, 12 women) honors for the 2022-23 school year. Boilermakers at the pool accounted for 74% of Purdue Athletics' Academic All-Big Ten honorees for the winter sports season and 37% of the department's Big Ten Distinguished Scholars for the school year.
Merriman closed out her career as a five-time CSCAA Scholar All-American. Vieta was recognized for the fourth year in a row. Shaw and Simons are the only first-time honorees on Purdue's list this year.
2023 HIGHLIGHTS FOR PURDUE'S CSCAA SCHOLAR ALL-AMERICANS
• Medaled at Big Ten Championships: Maycey Vieta (Big Ten champion on platform), Maggie Merriman (silver on platform), Nick Sherman (silver in 200 IM)
• Scored in All 3 Individual Events at Big Tens: Sam Bennett (All Diving), Sophie McAfee (All Diving), Nick Sherman (200 Free, 200 Breast, 200 IM), Ethan Shaw (200 Fly, 400 IM, 500 Free)
• Eclipsed Team Records: Nick Sherman (200 Free, 200 IM)
• Qualified for World Aquatics Championships: Maycey Vieta (10-Meter for Puerto Rico)
• Swimmers that Competed at the CSCAA National Invitational Championships: Maggie Love, Ethan Shaw
• All 12 Boilermakers scored in an individual event at the Big Ten Championships, with 11 scoring multiple events