October 13, 2008
(release courtesy of Dave Blanchard, Luther College sports information director)

DECORAH, IOWA . . .The College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) has presented both the Luther College men's and women's swimming and diving teams all-academic team awards. One hundred and fifteen Division III college swimming and diving teams - 70 women's teams and 45 men's - were honored for academic success for the 2008 spring semester.

To earn this honor, a team must have a combined grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale, that includes the entire roster. Last year, the women's team had 21 members and the men's team had 27.

The women's team was ranked sixth with a GPA of 3.503 and was one of six schools that posted a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. The men's team ranked 33rd in the nation with a GPA of 3.110.

Individual all-academic awards were also presented to five members of the women's swimming team. To earn this prestigious award, an athlete must qualify for the NCAA championships, and have a GPA of 3.500 or better. A total of 85 Division III student-athletes – 43 women and 42 men – met the stringent academic and athletic requirements. Eight women and six men had perfect 4.00 grade point averages. Two of the eight women were from Luther College, senior Elissa Schmidt (Claremont, Minn./Owatonna) and freshman Rachel Bruns (Albany, Minn.).

Also earning academic All-American honors was junior Amy Schneider (East Dubuque, Ill./Dubuque [Iowa] Wahlert) with a GPA of 3.925; senior Valerie Hoops (Freeport, Ill.) with a GPA of 3.908; and freshman Addison Choi (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) with a GPA of 3.750. All five of the Luther swimmers were ranked in the top-21 of this impressive list.

"I am extremely proud of the efforts our athletes have put forth not only in the pool, but more importantly, their efforts in the classroom," stated head coach Lance Huber. "We firmly believe that the hard work and efforts our athletes apply to both settings, will carry over into their professional lives."

Luther College is a four-year liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and is located in Decorah, Iowa. The Norse compete in 10 men's and nine women's intercollegiate sports.

As a member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) since 1922, the men have won 144 conference championships. In 1982 the IIAC expanded its championship sponsorship to include women's sports. During this time span, the women have won 56 team titles. Combined, Luther is the first school in the Iowa Conference to capture 200 league titles.

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