Scholar All-America Team members include (front row, from left): Rachel Phillips, Lily Phillips, Megan Orrange and Alexandria Visconte; (back row): Michelina Bautz, Kaitlyn Burns, Alexandra Mecca, Noah Wisniewski, Aaron Burkett, with Cleo McDermott on his shoulders, Alexander Wright and Matt Dunn.
Success out of the water has landed Scholar All-America honors for SUNY Fredonia men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 swim teams.
The College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) has designated the Blue Devil squads among 763 teams from over 430 institutions honored for academic achievement as Scholar All-America Teams for the Spring 2025 semester.
The consistency with which we've earned these honors from the CSCAA just goes to show how much hard work they put in day in and day out, in their studies as well as in the pool." - Head Coach Bill Bradley
鈥淥ur program is intentionally designed to promote our student athletes' success, and my staff and I do everything we can to teach them the skills they need to excel in their studies,鈥 said Head Swimming and Diving Coach Bill Bradley.
鈥淏ut really, our team is made up of swimmers who are ambitious and have a great work ethic. The consistency with which we've earned these honors from the CSCAA just goes to show how much hard work they put in day in and day out, in their studies as well as in the pool,鈥 added Mr. Bradley, a 2018 alumnus and Dunkirk, NY, native. He swam on the 200- and 400-meter school record relay teams while a student.
The women鈥檚 team compiled an overall GPA of 3.5; the men鈥檚 team posted a 3.07 GPA. SUNY Fredonia was one of only six SUNY schools in NCAA Division III receiving CSCAA team honors. An overall GPA of 3.00 or higher is required for team honors.
Members of the women鈥檚 team are:
Michelina Bautz (breaststroke, freestyle), junior, Childhood Education, Hamburg, NY; Kaitlyn Burns (distance), sophomore, Adolescence Education: History, Grand Island, NY; Cleo McDermott (distance), junior, Medical Laboratory Science, East Rochester, NY; Alexandra Mecca (distance), junior, Communication Disorders and Sciences, Rome, NY; Megan Orrange (freestyle), senior, Communication Disorders and Sciences, North Tonawanda, NY;
Also, Lily Phillips (intermediate), first-year, Visual Arts and New Media, Eden, NY; Rachel Phillips (backstroke, freestyle), first-year; Adolescence Education: English, Eden, NY; ; and Alexandria Visconte (distance), junior, Communication Disorders and Sciences, Penfield, NY.
Members of the men鈥檚 team are:
Aaron Burkett (distance), junior, Computer Science, Blasdell, NY; Gabriel DeFoe (freestyle), first-year; Environmental Science, New Paltz, NY; Matthew Dunn (individual medley), first-year; Sound Recording Technology; Dunkirk, NY; Noah Wisniewski (freestyle), senior, Computer Science, Niagara Falls, NY; and Alexander Wright (butterfly), junior, Adolescence Education: Mathematics, Perry, NY.
Academic success is a hallmark of these student-athletes. The women have earned CSCAA scholar honors every semester since the fall of 2022, while the men were recognized in the fall 2023 and Spring 2024 semesters.
The CSCAA advances the sport of swimming and diving with coaches at the epicenter of leadership, advocacy and professional development.
