2023-24 CSC Women's Swimming Academic All-District honorees
It was another banner year in and out of the pool for the Hillsdale College women's swimming and diving team in the 2023-24 season, as the Chargers added another All-American honor at the NCAA DII Championships in March and finished in the top two at the G-MAC/MEC meet for the sixth consecutive season.
In the classroom, the Chargers have excelled as well, earning Scholar All-American team honors for the 17th straight season earlier in the winter, and now, receiving the maximum number of College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honorees for 2024, the CSC announced this afternoon.
Four Hillsdale swimmers -- Caroline Holmes, Phoebe Johnston, Elise Mason and Sarah Pataniczek -- received recognition from CSC as part of the Academic All-District program. In order to be considered for CSC Academic All-District honors, an athlete must be either a starter or a meaningful contributor, and carry a 3.5 or better cumulative GPA. Three of the swimmers -- Holmes, Mason and Johnston -- are repeat honorees for the Chargers.
Combined, the four swimmers have been a part of two G-MAC/MEC Championships in their time in college, won 18 total G-MAC/MEC event titles, and led the Chargers to some of their best seasons in program history. Mason in particular is a three-time NCAA DII Championships competitor, a 2022-23 All-American, and a two-time CSCAA Scholar All-American. The group proudly represented the Chargers this season, helping the program to a winning dual meet record, a runner-up finish at the G-MAC/MEC Championships as a team, and had one of their own compete at the NCAA DII Championships in Mason, who set Chargers records in both the 500 and 1,000 freestyle and took 17th in the nation in the 1,650 freestyle.
All three seniors are on track to graduate with honors this spring, while Mason is set to return for a fourth season in the fall.