14 Panthers named to MVC Scholar-Athlete Team

2/23/2022 3:47:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving

2022 Scholar Athlete Team

CEDAR FALLS, IA- The Missouri Valley Conference named 14 athletes from the Northern Iowa Swim and Dive team to the Scholar-Athlete team following the completion of the 2021-22 conference season.

Scholar-Athlete honors require athletes to have completed at least one year and maintain either a 3.3 grade-point average and obtain all-conference honors, achieve a 3.5 grade-point average and finish top-16 in an individual event at the conference championships, or maintain a 3.8 grade-point average and participate in the MVC championship (including non-scorers).

Northern Iowa's Scholar-Athletes included Seniors Rachelle Houlette and Courtney Schaeffer. Schaeffer competed in the 50 and 100 Freestyle as well as the 100 Back and is majoring in Movement and Exercise Science. Houlette is majoring in Public Health and Education with an emphasis in Wellness and Fitness. She recorded season bests at the MVC Championship in the 200 Fly and the 200 Free and a new personal best of 5:04.73 in the 500 Free race.

UNI has seven juniors named to the Scholar-Athlete team. 3-meter diving champion, Taylor Hogan, was named and also placed third on the 1-meter boards. Hogan is a Communication Sciences and Disorders major with a minor in Biology. Joining Hogan is Kassidy Lovig, majoring in Anthropology and Public Health, who raced in the 200 Free, 500 Free, and 1650 Free. Elementary Education major, Rachel Studer, represented UNI in the 400 IM and recorded a season-best of 4:46.41. Casey Summers, recorded a personal best in the 50 Free (24.28) and a season-best in the 100 Free and 100 Fly to finish out her season. Summers majors in Movement and Exercise Science and has a minor in Psychology. Lastly, Payton Hall, majoring in Biology, was named to the Scholar-Athlete team after competing in three final races, the 100 Back, 200 Back, and the 200 IM. Hall placed ninth in the 100 Back with a new personal best swim of 56.26.

Rounding out the Panthers named to the Scholar-Athlete team are seven sophomores. Lily Ernst placed fifth in the 200 Fly with a new school record of 2:02.97 and seventh in the 400 IM. Ernst is majoring in Social Work with a minor in Mental Health and holds a 4.0 GPA. Amber Finke, a Biology major with Pre-Professional Physical THerapy, also holds a 4.0 GPA and was named to the Scholar-Athlete team after placing third in both the 100 and 200 Backstroke as well as seventh in the 200 IM. Taylor Short, a Psychology and Criminology double major earned a spot on the Scholar-Athlete team after competing in the 50, 100, and 200 Freestyle races. Sociology major, Scout Bergwall, placed 14th in the 100 Back finals and also competed in the 200 Back and 100 Fly. Clare Christensen recorded personal bests in each of her races, the 50 Free and 100 Free and placed 15th in the 50 Free in 23.95. Christensen majors in Exercise Science with a Pre-Professional in Physical Therapy. Mia Savicevic, a Public Health major, joins the Scholar-Athlete team after competing in the 100 and 200 Breastroke and the 200 IM. FInalizing the sophomores is Early Childhood Education major, Natalia Verastegui who competed in the 100 Free and placed 13th in the 200 Free.

The Missouri Valley Conference also recognized Finke as the Elite 17 award winner. The Elite 17 Award is given to a student-athlete with the highest accumulative grade-point average competing at the finals site of their respective sport.