Gimenez of Florida Southern Voted 2015-16 SSC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year
MELBOURNE, Fla. - Florida Southern men's swimmer Diego Gimenez has been selected as the 2015-16 Sunshine State Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. His honor marks the fourth time a Moccasin athlete has been named the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year since the award was created in 1995-96.
Gimenez was chosen from a pool of nominees in a vote conducted among the conference's Athletic Directors, Senior Woman Administrators, Athletic Communication Directors, and Faculty Athletic Representatives from each of the nine member institutions. Criteria considered in selecting the winner were: first, scholarly excellence; second, athletic performance; and third, involvement within the school and community.
With a 3.92 grade-point average in computer science, Gimenez was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team. The Burgos, Spain native repeats as a College Swimming Coaches Association of America Scholar All-American. Gimenez was also selected Academic All-District and will earn SSC Spring Commissioner's Honor Roll for a third consecutive year.
In the pool, Gimenez helped Florida Southern to its fourth consecutive SSC championship and a third place finish at the NCAA Division-II National Championship. He swam as the anchor on the Moccasins' national champion 200 Medley Relay team that set a Florida Southern school record. Gimenez also set a school record in the 50 Freestyle while swimming first on FSC's 200 Freestyle Relay team.
Gimenez earned a total of six All-American awards in 2016: 100 Backstroke, 200 Medley Relay, 200 Freestyle Relay, 400 Freestyle Relay and was an Honorable Mention All-American in the 100 Freestyle and 800 Freestyle Relay.
During his time at Florida Southern, Gimenez has volunteered as a timekeeper at swim meets in the Lakeland area. He has also worked with the Hollis Cancer Center Promise Run for the Lakeland Regional Medical Center.
Gimenez joins fellow swimmer Robbie Swam (2013-14), tennis athlete Ryan Dunne (2002-03) and basketball player Shanaka Weerasooriya (1995-96) as Florida Southern athletes to win the award. Gimenez and Swam are the only swimmers to secure the award. Weerasooriya is the first ever SSC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year honoree.
Complete Listing: SSC Scholar-Athletes of the Year