Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Swimming and Diving lands six on MVC Scholar-Athlete team
03/22/2011 | 12:00:00 | Swimming & Diving
March 22, 2011
By Dana Ingraham
SIUSalukis.com
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Following Southern Illinois' third-place finish at the 2011 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, five Saluki swimmers and one diver have been named to the Swimming & Diving Scholar-Athlete Team.
Scholar-Athlete honors require athletes to have completed at least one year at their institution and maintain either a 3.2 GPA and obtain all-conference honors, achieve a 3.5 GPA and finish in the top-16 in an individual event at the conference championships, or maintain a 3.8 GPA and participate in the MVC championships.
A total of 41 student-athletes qualified for the Valley's 2011 Scholar-Athlete team, with five student-athletes averaging a perfect 4.00 GPA.
Jessica Anderson, Michelle Bell, Kristin Geppert, Melissa Larocque, Marcela Teixeira and Jill Weckbach represent Southern Illinois in receiving this honor, as the MVC office made the official announcement over the weekend. The student-athletes achieved impressive accomplishments in the pool and in the classroom during the 2010-11 season.
Anderson, a sophomore from Hartland, Wis., holds a perfect 4.00 GPA in journalism. At this year's conference championships, she swam a new personal-best time in the 200 IM for a sixth-place finish in the B final.
Bell, a sophomore diver from Bridgeton, Mo., has a 3.415 GPA in physical therapy. She finished in the top-three eight times this season, en route to a fourth-place overall finish in the three-meter dive at the MVC Championships. Bell was also named All-MVC Honorable Mention this year.
Geppert, a junior from Norderstedt, Germany, maintains a 3.975 GPA as an English major. She earned Scholar-Athlete honors for the second consecutive year and is also a two-time First Team All-Conference honoree. Geppert was a conference champion in the 100 and 200 breaststroke this season, posting new personal-best times in each event.
Larocque, a sophomore from Valleyfield, Quebec, holds a 3.795 GPA in elementary education. She was an All-MVC Honorable Mention selection in 2010 and competed at every meet on the Salukis' schedule this season.
Teixeira, SIU's lone senior from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, holds a 3.642 GPA, majoring in business. She earned First Team All-Conference and Scholar Athlete honors for the third consecutive season. Teixeira came away from the 2011 MVC Championships with third place in the 100 breast and fourth place in the 200 breast.
Weckbach, a junior from Quincy, Ill., has a 3.415 GPA in art education. Having earned All-MVC Honorable Mention accolades this season, she was also an MVC Scholar-Athlete in 2010. Weckbach captured a fourth-place finish in the 100 free at this year's championships with a new career-best time.
Click here to view the release from the Missouri Valley Conference.
Players Mentioned
