Lynn’s Chambers, Florida Southern’s Swan Named D2CCA South Region Scholar-Athletes
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. (Academic News) – On Wednesday, the NCAA Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association announced its CCA Regional Scholar-Athlete awards The Sunshine State Conference (SSC) swept the South Region awards with Florida Southern College’s Robbie Swan winning the men’s award and Lynn University’s Ellen Chambers taking the women’s honor. The SSC swept these awards for the second consecutive year.
For the seventh-straight year the SSC has lead Division II conference in Academic Success Rate (ASR)—the NCAA’s measurement of academic success. Both Swan and Chambers were named the 2013-14 SSC Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year. Chambers was also picked as the conference’s nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year award.
Having a 3.86 grade-point average in business, Swan was named to the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America At-Large First Team after earning a spot on the Academic All-District 5 At-Large First team in 2014. It is his second-straight Academic All-America At-Large accolade.
Swan is a three-time CSCAA Scholar All-American, a four-time member of the SSC Spring Commissioner’s Honor Roll and a two-time NCAA Division II ADA Academic Achievement Award winner. In 2013 he was the NCAA Elite 89 Award winner at the Division II Swimming and Diving National Championships.
In the pool, Swan helped Florida Southern to its second-straight SSC Men’s Swimming Championship and a second-straight national runner-up finish at nationals. He was named SSC Co-Swimmer of the Year along with Saint Leo’s Matheus Assis. Swan was also named to the All-SSC Second Team after finishing ninth in the final individual standings at the SSC Championships.
At the NCAA Championships, the senior earned six All-American finishes including in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay and the 200 freestyle relay events. Swan was the anchor on the national runner-up 400 freestyle relay team. He earned the bronze medal in the 100 freestyle event.
Swan was named the 2014 Pat McFadden Award winner for the second-straight year as the top Florida Southern male student-athlete.
Chambers was a member of the No. 1 Lynn women’s golf team, which won back-to-back national championships in 2013 and 2014. She also helped lead the Fighting Knights to their first-ever SSC Women’s Golf Championship in 2014.
The international relations major held a perfect 4.0 grade-point average and was name the 2014 NCAA Elite 89 Award recipient at the Division II women’s golf championship in May. She was runner-up for the same award in 2013. Chambers was named to the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America At-Large First Team. Most recently, the senior was named the 2014 Lynn University Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Chambers earned the 2014 NCAA Division II South/Southeast Super Regional individual medalist after winning with a three-round score of 218 (+2). She was named 2014 WGCA All-America Honorable Mention and to the WGCA All-South Region team.
Lynn finished the season undefeated against all NCAA Division II opponents and won a Division II record 11 tournaments. The Fighting Knights tied a SSC record with seven consecutive tournament victories during 2014.
A total of 16 student-athletes, a male and female from each of the eight regions, received the accolade. The commissioners from the regions that comprise the Division II basketball alignment selected the regional winners. To be nominated for consideration, a student-athlete must have attained a 3.0 career cumulative grade-point average and possess outstanding athletic credentials.
This award, sponsored by the Division II CCA, provides the opportunity for Division II to highlight the extraordinary achievements of its student-athletes. Division II CCA President and Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, Steve Murray, noted that the award showcases the academic and athletic talent at the NCAA Division II level.
“The CCA Scholar-Athlete Awards highlight the great academic achievements of our student-athletes both on the field and in the classroom,” said Murray.
A male and female Division II CCA Scholar-Athlete will be selected from the 16 regional winners and announced in September.
Below are the 16 Division II CCA Regional Scholar-Athletes.
Women’s Regional Winners
Kasey Barnett (Chico State) – Track & Field – Recreational Admin. (3.96)
Kristen Hixson (Grand Valley St.) – Track & Field – Finance (3.97)
Danielle Williams – (Johnson C. Smith) – Track & Field – Business Admin. (3.88)
Kristen Celsor – (Harding) – Basketball – Communication Services (3.91)
Ellen Chambers – (Lynn) – Golf – International Relations (4.0)
Lauren Battista - (Bentley) – Basketball – Marketing (3.96)
Laura Iwuchukwu – (West Texas A&M) – Volleyball – Elementary Ed. (3.94)
Ashley Sarmiento – (Tusculum) – Volleyball – Mathematics (3.92)
Men’s Regional Winners
Andisheh Bagheri – (Cal-San Diego) – Soccer – Biology (4.0)
Nick Thimesch – (Drury) – Baseball – Biology & Chemistry (3.71)
Dan Altavilla – (Mercyhurst) – Baseball – Sports Med./Physical Therapy (3.7)
Trevor Adams – (Northwest Missouri St.) – Football – Biology (3.94)
Robbie Swan – (Florida Southern) – Swimming – Business (3.86)
Dominykas Milka – (Saint Rose) – Basketball – Accounting (3.65)
Dustin Vaughn – (West Texas A&M) – Football – Biology/Pre Med (3.87)
Robbie Nallenweg – (Wingate) – Football – Biology (3.81)