WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Salem College swim program earned its first-ever distinction from the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) on Thursday morning when it was named as a Scholar All-America Team for the Fall 2023 semester.
Salem was one of 783 teams and 461 institutions—which represent a combined 18,716 student-athletes—to be selected for its academic prowess during the Fall 2023 semester. The Spirits were one of four teams from the Independent South Swim Conference, along with Piedmont, Southern Virginia and William Peace, to be represented among the 182 NCAA Division III programs as a Scholar All-America Team. In order to qualify for this recognition from the CSCAA, teams had to exhibit exceptional grade point averages during the Fall 2023 semester.
At the conclusion of the Fall 2023 semester there were eight members of the Spirits swimming unit who had their grades submitted for this distinction from the CSCAA, including Rama Alsakhita, Madison Fullerton, Marabeth Huffman, Daja Jones, Julie McGhee, Omega Pinnix, Adalyn Raney and Sara Vargas. Those eight combined for a 3.2 GPA for the Fall 2023 semester under head coach Vavina Lapham.
Three of the aforementioned Salem student-athletes—Alsakhita, Fullerton and Huffman—also represented the Spirits on the Dean's List by maintaining at least a 3.5 GPA in a minimum of 12 courses. Alsakhita, Fullerton and Huffman capped off a semester in which they recorded straight A's.
"Success doesn't come from what you do occasionally, it comes from what you do consistently," said Lapham. "I am unbelievably proud of our team performance in and out of the water. Our team has taken the 'Be Remarkable' campaign at Salem College to heart and this is just another example of our efforts as a team."
NCAA DIVISION III PROGRAMS (by highest GPA)
GPA | Team | Head Coach | Participants |
4.00 | Cabrini | Cindy Ikeler | 2 |
3.98 | Caltech | Andy Brabson | 19 |
3.87 | Manchester | Roger Karns | 11 |
3.84 | Washington College (MD) | Philip Quick | 10 |
3.83 | Oberlin | Alex De La Pena | 21 |
3.82 | Moravian | Matt Easterday | 4 |
3.82 | Pomona-Pitzer | Jean-Paul Gowdy | 29 |
3.79 | Marywood | Shana Keeler | 4 |
3.78 | Lake Forest | Vadim Tashlitsky | 16 |
3.78 | Mount Holyoke | David Allen | 35 |
3.77 | WashU | Brad Shively | 33 |
3.76 | Amherst | Connor Beaulieu | 22 |
3.76 | Olivet | Erik Richardson | 7 |
3.76 | Piedmont | Teddy Guyer | 19 |
3.74 | Simmons | Michael Prout, Jr. | 15 |
3.73 | Austin College | Dan Snow | 8 |
3.73 | Case Western Reserve | Doug Milliken | 45 |
3.72 | Augustana (IL) | Dan Lloyd | 28 |
3.71 | Bates | Peter Casares | 25 |
3.71 | Colorado College | Anne Goodman James | 26 |
3.71 | Conn College | Melinda Williams | 26 |
3.71 | Juniata | Kyle Russell | 9 |
3.7 | Brandeis | Nicole Carter | 14 |
3.7 | Goucher | Thomas Till | 13 |
3.7 | Swarthmore | Karin Colby | 23 |
3.7 | Wesleyan | Vanessa Williamson | 30 |
3.69 | Macalester | Kyllian Griffin | 27 |
3.69 | Saint Norberts | Ryan Goggans | 23 |
3.69 | St. Kate's | Nicole Hempler | 23 |
3.68 | Rowan | Elise Fisher | 19 |
3.68 | Vassar | Lisl Prater-Lee | 18 |
3.68 | Wellesley | Bonnie Dix | 24 |
3.67 | Alma | Chris Hamstra | 12 |
3.67 | Carleton | Andy Clark | 30 |
3.67 | Hamline | Alex Card | 8 |
3.67 | Johns Hopkins | Scott Armstrong | 21 |
3.67 | Kean | Chris Swenson | 18 |
3.67 | Whitman | Jenn Blomme | 20 |
3.66 | Stevens | Adam Schneider | 18 |
3.66 | Tufts | Adam Hoyt | 30 |
3.65 | Carnegie Mellon | Matthew Kinney | 41 |
3.65 | Chicago | Jason Weber | 31 |
3.65 | John Carroll | Tanner Barton | 22 |
3.65 | Kenyon | Jess Book | 43 |
3.65 | NYU | Trevor Miele | 28 |
3.65 | Smith | Devin Javens | 19 |
3.65 | WPI | Paul Bennett | 22 |
3.64 | Birmingham Southern | Toby Wilcox | 21 |
3.64 | Redlands | Craig Mallery | 14 |
3.64 | Southwestern | Jon Duncan | 23 |
3.64 | Williams | Steven Kuster | 30 |
3.63 | Clark | Paul E. Phillips | 21 |
3.62 | DePauw | Tracy Menzel | 23 |
3.62 | Grinnell | Matt Hedman | 31 |
3.62 | Lynchburg | Bradley Dunn | 28 |
3.62 | Occidental | Haley Meryl | 18 |
3.62 | Trinity U | Cathleen Pruden | 23 |
3.61 | California Lutheran | Barry Schreifels | 20 |
3.61 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps | Charles Griffiths | 35 |
3.61 | Wheaton (MA) | Elizabeth Bernardy | 26 |
3.6 | Colby | Tom Burton | 26 |
3.6 | MIT | Meg French | 28 |
3.6 | RIT | Phil Baretela | 30 |
3.6 | Washington & Lee | Kami Gardner | 31 |
3.59 | Drew | Richard Munson | 18 |
3.59 | Emory | Jon Howell | 42 |
3.59 | Ithaca | Michael Blakely-Armitage | 33 |
3.59 | King's (PA) | Kelly O'Keane | 2 |
3.59 | Saint Benedict | Mandy Wolvert | 23 |
3.59 | Skidmore | Jill Greenleaf | 26 |
3.59 | UW-La Crosse | Steven Mohs | 43 |
3.59 | Wittenberg | Samantha Benedict | 8 |
3.58 | Virginia Wesleyan | Hans Kristian Ramkvist | 19 |
3.58 | Westfield State | Matthew Nodell | 9 |
3.57 | Asbury | Graham Duncan | 15 |
3.57 | Eastern Connecticut | Sarit Gluz | 26 |
3.57 | Hamilton | John Geissinger | 35 |
3.56 | Elizabethtown | Jessica Lane | 17 |
3.56 | Gustavus | Jon Carlson | 45 |
3.56 | UW-Eau Claire | Annie Ryder | 38 |
3.55 | Pacific U | Beth Whittle | 12 |
3.54 | Babson | Eric Thurston | 20 |
3.53 | Berry | Astrid Escobar | 14 |
3.53 | William Peace | Brad Shannon | 7 |
3.51 | Bridgewater | Gwynn Harrison | 21 |
3.51 | Penn State-Behrend | Jennifer Wallace | 25 |
3.51 | Saint Vincent | Josh Gurekovich | 14 |
3.51 | Salisbury | Nate Parsley | 27 |
3.5 | Calvin | Dan Gelderloos | 43 |
3.5 | Gettysburg | Greg Brown | 28 |
3.5 | Nebraska Wesleyan | Kyle Hunt | 20 |
3.5 | New England | Rick Hayes | 22 |
3.49 | Albion | Rob Brownell | 17 |
3.49 | Millikin | Ed Pacey | 13 |
3.49 | St. Olaf | Robert Hauck | 26 |
3.47 | Catholic | Tyler Ziegler | 29 |
3.47 | Hope | Jake Taber | 37 |
3.47 | Saint Joseph (CT) | Alex Albert | 16 |
3.47 | Springfield | John Taffe | 24 |
3.47 | Washington & Jefferson | Matt Rochna | 7 |
3.47 | Wheaton (IL) | Jacob Ayers | 18 |
3.46 | Widener | Mark Yankovich | 17 |
3.46 | Wooster | Rob Harrington | 31 |
3.45 | Denison | Gregg Parini | 40 |
3.45 | TCNJ | Jennifer Harnett | 19 |
3.44 | Ursinus | Mark Feinberg | 13 |
3.44 | Whittier | Michael Jafari | 16 |
3.44 | Willamette | Brent Summers | 24 |
3.43 | Illinois Wesleyan | Teresa Fish | 17 |
3.43 | McMurry | Mark Jedow | 9 |
3.42 | Roger Williams | Matt Emmert | 23 |
3.41 | Beloit | Andrew Lind | 17 |
3.41 | Hood | Chris Gibeau | 14 |
3.41 | Husson | Lauren Hoffman | 16 |
3.41 | Kalamazoo | Logan LaBerge | 15 |
3.41 | Puget Sound | Jay Daniels | 16 |
3.41 | Union (NY) | Molly Chamberlain | 20 |
3.4 | Chatham | James Koval | 9 |
3.4 | Franklin & Marshall | Joseph Acquaviva | 23 |
3.4 | Gallaudet | Brian Bennett | 11 |
3.4 | Scranton | Chris Brown | 34 |
3.4 | Sewanee | Mark Fino | 18 |
3.39 | Allegheny | Jerry Diamond | 6 |
3.39 | Coast Guard | John Westkott | 27 |
3.39 | Marymount | Chris Natoli | 13 |
3.39 | Plymouth State | Anne Barbeau | 12 |
3.39 | Rochester | Emily Wylam | 30 |
3.39 | Trinity (CT) | Hannah Hagy | 31 |
3.38 | Baldwin-Wallace | Laura Wolff-Demaline | 23 |
3.38 | Chapman | Juliet Suess | 43 |
3.38 | Franklin | Andrew Hendricks | 21 |
3.38 | Hendrix | Tony Marleneanu | 16 |
3.38 | Southern Virginia | Jennifer Moore | 11 |
3.37 | Dickinson | Anthony Pompei | 15 |
3.37 | Mount Union | Eric Mojock | 22 |
3.36 | William Smith | R.C. Weston | 23 |
3.35 | St. Lawrence | Rachel Curtiss | 16 |
3.35 | Susquehanna | Rachel Drosdick-Sigafoos | 16 |
3.33 | Simpson (IA) | Adam Cvetich | 12 |
3.32 | Anderson | Emma Furnish | 12 |
3.32 | SUNY Oswego | Mike Holman | 18 |
3.31 | Alfred State | Zach Healy | 12 |
3.31 | Carthage | Seith Weidman | 28 |
3.31 | Misericordia | Alexander Taylor | 22 |
3.31 | North Central | Nora Schroedter | 10 |
3.31 | SUNY Geneseo | Paul Dotterweich | 29 |
3.31 | Transylvania | Dave Doolin | 24 |
3.31 | Westminster | Pat Smith | 16 |
3.29 | Minnesota-Morris | David Molesworth | 17 |
3.29 | St. Mary's (MD) | Casey Brandt | 16 |
3.29 | William Paterson | Edward Gurka | 11 |
3.28 | MSOE | Joel Rollings | 9 |
3.28 | Norwich | Jennifer Cournoyer | 20 |
3.28 | Pacific Lutheran | Andrew Lum | 15 |
3.27 | Luther | Aaron Zander | 35 |
3.27 | RPI | Shannon OBrien | 29 |
3.25 | SUNY Oneonta | Chris Schuler | 22 |
3.24 | Bridgewater State | Michael Caruso | 25 |
3.24 | Hartwick | Dale Rothenberger | 15 |
3.24 | Monmouth (IL) | Jake Dacus | 8 |
3.24 | Ozarks | David DeGeus | 13 |
3.23 | Alfred | Brian Striker | 16 |
3.23 | Centre | Dean Brownley | 36 |
3.23 | Grove City | David Fritz | 27 |
3.23 | Loras | Nick Wyllie | 15 |
3.2 | Salem | Vavina Lapham | 8 |
3.19 | SUNY Cortland | Brian Tobin | 23 |
3.18 | Carroll | Guy Gniotczynski | 17 |
3.18 | Lawrence | Andrew Fleek | 18 |
3.17 | Lycoming | Andrew Dragunas | 9 |
3.17 | UW-Whitewater | Elise Knoche | 25 |
3.17 | York (PA) | Birkir Jonsson | 10 |
3.16 | Mary Washington | Justin Anderson | 29 |
3.16 | Stevenson | Clarke Nyman | 21 |
3.15 | Ohio Northern | Austin Veltman | 17 |
3.15 | SUNY Fredonia | Bill Bradley | 11 |
3.09 | Western Connecticut | Jill Cook | 6 |
3.05 | Illinois Tech | Kate Chronic | 10 |
3.05 | UMass Dartmouth | Heidi Cortright | 4 |
3.04 | Coe | Joe Tristan | 12 |
3.01 | Hollins | Mallary Meyer | 9 |
3 | Baruch | Charles Lampasso | 12 |