After one of the best seasons in program history, two Hillsdale College women's swimming and diving athletes earned special recognition, while the team continued a lengthy and impressive streak as well this week.
Charger freshmen Elise Mason and Megan Clifford each earned recognition from the Collegiate Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America on Wednesday afternoon, receiving Scholar All-American honors for their success in and out of the pool. Mason earned first team recognition from the CSCAA, while Clifford was recognized as a second team honoree. These are rare honors for Hillsdale College women's swimming and diving athletes -- Mason and Clifford are the first Charger recipients of the award since Anika Ellingson and Katherine Heeres were recognized in the 2018-19 season.
To earn first team Scholar All-America honors from the CSCAA, student-athletes must earn a minimum GPA of 3.5 and compete in their division's national championship. Additionally, athletes who carry a 3.5 or higher GPA and achieve a "B" time standard for consideration for the national meet are eligibile for second team Scholar All-America honors.
Mason adds this honor to a list of them from the 2021-22 season, having been named the G-MAC/MEC Swimmer of the Meet, G-MAC Swimmer of the Year and G-MAC Freshman of the year. Mason won three G-MAC/MEC titles and broke G-MAC records in the 1,650 freestyle and 500 freestyle, while also breaking Hillsdale program records in the same events. She qualified to the NCAA DII Championships in the 1,650 freestyle, and also swam the 1,000 freestyle and 500 freestyle at the national championship meet, with a top finish of 21st in the nation in the 1,650 freestyle.
Clifford also had an impressive first season at Hillsdale, winning two G-MAC/MEC event titles in her own right in the 100 butterfly and 200 butterfly, and earning first-team All-G-MAC honors. Her B-cut in the 200 butterfly at the G-MAC/MEC Championships set a G-MAC/MEC meet record and also put her in contention for Scholar All-American honors.
Along with honors for Mason and Clifford, the Chargers also excelled in the classroom as a team, receiving Team Scholar All-American honors for the 15th-straight season. Hillsdale was one of 731 teams to recieve the honor for the 2021-22 season, easily exceeding the minimum threshhold of a combined GPA of 3.0 or higher with a team GPA of 3.53 for the spring semester. Hillsdale was one of 76 NCAA DII women's programs to be recognized with the award, and have earned the honor in every single season of head coach Kurt Kirner's 15-year tenure with the program.
Hillsdale returns to action in October, with several of the team's most accomplished swimmers slated to return and looking to continue Hillsdale's recent run of success as both a team and individually at regional and national levels.
Photos courtesy of Malone Athletics