CSUEB swim team racks up All-America awards at NCAA championships
Four All-Americans pose after taking fourth place in the 400 freestyle relay at the NCAA championships. (Photo: Tenaya Davis)
- April 2, 2014
Cal State East Bay swimming accumulated an impressive list of accolades and records during the 2013-14 season, the fourth under current Head Coach Ben Loorz. The season culminated at the 2014 NCAA Championships with a 15th place team finish and all six Pioneers whom qualified earning All-America honors.
Caitlin DeNise, Alyssa Tenney, Brittany Rojo, and Madison Hauanio earned first-team All-America honors qualifying for the championship finals in the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays. Their best finish came in the 400 freestyle relay when the team placed fourth in the nation. DeNise became the first Pioneer since the early 1990s to earn individual All-America honors with a seventh-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly.
Both medley relay teams earned All-America Honorable Mention status after qualifying for the consolation final of the NCAA Championships. Kamaehu Alboro and Makila Schuck swam the backstroke and breaststroke legs, respectively, on those squads. Rojo, DeNise, and Hauanio each earned individual All-America Honorable Mention honors.
In total the Pioneers finished the regular season with 23 individuals and five relays recording at least an NCAA Provisional qualifying time. In addition, DeNise recorded an automatic qualifying time with her lifetime best of 54.78 seconds in the 100 butterfly set at the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference (PCSC) Championships. It was one of DeNise’s three podium finishes at the PCSC Championship meet. With victories in the 200 individual medley and 100 freestyle, she was the first Pioneer to earn PCSC titles since East Bay joined the conference. Cal State East Bay finished runner-up at the PCSC Championships with DeNise earning Female Swimmer of the Meet honors.
The Pioneers broke 15 school records with many reset multiple times throughout the season. The squad was also successful in the classroom, boasting a 3.17 team grade point average in the fall. Hannah Cutts, Miriam Lowe, and Hannah Shimizu are Honorable Mention Individual Academic All-Americans after maintaining a 3.5 or better GPA and recording an NCAA “B” cut time during the 2013-14 season. Schuck and Tenney earned Individual Academic All-America honors with 3.5 or better GPA’s and participating in the NCAA National Championship meet.