TWO UNLV SWIMMERS EARN SCHOLAR ALL-AMERICA HONORS
Five more Rebels named to the Honorable Mention team
UNLV swimmers Rachel Dixon and David Szele were named Scholar All-America by the College Swim Coaches Association of America (CSCAA), it was announced by the organization on Monday. In addition, a total of five more student-athletes from UNLV were named as Scholar All-America Honorable Mention, two from the women’s squad, and three from the UNLV men. The CSCAA Scholar All-America program is supported by Nike Swim.
Dixon, a native of Las Cruces, N.M. that graduated this past May, swam at the NCAA championships for the second time in three years as an individual in the 50 free. The UNLV record holder in the event, she finished 43rd in the event this year after placing 15th as a sophomore. At the Mountain West Championships in February of this year, she posted two top-eight individual finishes, including runner-up in the 50 free
Szele, a Budapest, Hungary native who was also a senior for the Rebels this past season, earned a pair of Honorable Mention All-American Relay honors, while helping UNLV to tie for its highest-ever finish at the NCAA Championships at 19th. Szele swam the breast legs on both the 200 and 400 medley relays, each of which placed 15th overall. That gave him a total of four HM All-American honors in his career, after swimming on the Rebels’ 400 medley relay and placing 15th in the 100 breast as a junior at the national championships.
Earning Honorable Mention status from the women’s squad was Elena Gavrilova and Jessica Heim. Batka Balint, Joe Riggert and Matt Roe represented the UNLV men in receiving Honorable Mention recognition.
The Scholar All-America award is presented to college and university swimmers and divers who have achieved a cumulative, or term grade point average of 3.5 or higher for the academic term coinciding with their respective NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships and have qualified for and competed at the Championship.
The Honorable Mention Scholar All-America award is presented to college and university swimmers and divers who have achieved a grade point average of 3.5 or higher for the semester, or cumulative average, and have achieved a “B” time standard but did not qualify or compete in their respective national championship.