CLEVELAND, Ohio – Six members of the Cleveland State University men's and women's swimming & diving teams were recently named Scholar All-Americans by the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA).
Freshmen Matt Akers and Dominik Niedzialek, junior Jared Stergar, sophomore Tyler Stevenson and junior Jason van der Touw from the men's team and junior Molly McNamara on the women's side all earned Honorable Mention awards from the CSCAA.
Van der Touw earned postseason honors from the CSCAA for the third consecutive season, with his first two coming in junior college, while McNamara was recognized with this honor for the second straight season.
Cleveland State's six honorees were tied for the most by a school in the Horizon League.
Akers, who had a 3.62 grade point average this past spring, qualified for the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships in his debut collegiate season. He contributed a pair of top-four finishes at the HL Championships, including runner-up in the 1-meter event, and was the top-finishing rookie in both disciplines.
Niedzialek, who posted a 3.73 GPA in his first year in college, contributed a trio of top-three individual finishes at his debut League Championships. He broke the school record in the 200 backstroke and had NCAA 'B' cuts in both backstroke events.
Stergar, who finished with a 3.93 GPA this past spring, notched three second-place finishes at the League meet and hit 'B' standards in all three of those events. He accomplished that feat despite being seeded outside the top 10 in both the 200 IM and 200 breaststroke.
Stevenson, who had a 3.68 GPA this past spring, reached a NCAA qualifying standard while finishing fourth in the 100 breaststroke at the League meet. Stevenson also contributed top-eight finishes in his other two individual events—the 200 IM and 200 breaststroke.
Van der Touw, who had a 3.55 GPA in his first year at CSU, was third in both the 100 and 200 freestyle at the HL Championships, surpassing the NCAA standard in the latter. He also swam on three relays at the League meet, including the 800 free relay squad that broke the school record.
McNamara posted a 4.00 GPA during the spring semester and has a 3.96 cumulative mark. She was named the Horizon League Women's Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Year, becoming the first Viking to win that honor in over a decade. She also previously was named the Female Scholar-Athlete of the 2017-18 Winter Season by the League.
To earn an Honorable Mention award, a student-athlete must have achieved at least a 3.50 grade point average (cumulative or in the spring semester) and achieve a 'B' time standard in an individual event (or, for divers, compete at their respective NCAA Zone Championship).