AUSTIN, Texas— The Colorado Mesa University Mavericks placed a national-leading four athletes on the 2024-25 NCAA Division II Women's Swimming & Diving Academic All-America
® teams as selected by the College Sports Communicators and announced on Tuesday.
Sophia Bains led the group as a first team honoree while
Kiara Borchardt and
Ada Qunell were both second team and repeat honorees.
Kenya Meyer was a third team selection.
The Mavericks were the only Division II program with four selections, the maximum number an institution was allowed to nominate for the prestigious awards that recognized the top student-athletes in the country following a vote of CSC members from around the nation.
National Champion Virginia, Stanford, Tennessee also had four picks on the Division I teams. MIT was the only NCAA Division III institution with four picks while Keiser University landed four NAIA selections.
CMU's women also led Division II with four honorees last year and had three selections in 2022-23, the first year that swimming & diving had a standalone recognition program. In previous years, swimmers and divers were grouped into the At-Large sports category.
The men's Academic All-America teams will be announced on Wednesday.
For more information regarding the Academic All-America® program, visit https://academicallamerica.com/.
Bains, a senior from Colorado Springs, Colorado, holds a 3.94 GPA and is majoring in political science. She qualified for her third straight NCAA Division II Championship final in the 400-yard individual medley this season, placing sixth. Bains earned CSCAA All-America honors in all four of her events at the NCAA Championships and won seven total honors throughout her 3-year career with the Mavs after transferring from Carson-Newman. She also swept the RMAC titles in both the 200 and 400 individual medley events this season.
Borchardt, a junior from Eagle River, Alaska, holds a 3.84 GPA and is majoring in exercise science. She was named as a First Team Academic All-American® by the CSC after being tabbed as the 2023-24 RMAC Women's Swimming & Diving Academic Athlete of the Year. She helped the Mavs successfully defend their NCAA title in the 400 Medley Relay and earned her seventh, eighth and ninth career all-America honors this season. She also won three RMAC titles, including the 100 Fly individual crown this season, and is now an 8-time RMAC Champion.
Qunell, a junior from Whitefish, Montana, sports a 3.88 GPA and is majoring in exercise science. She was also a Second Team CSC Academic All-American® last year.
Qunell won her fourth NCAA Division II title as the anchor leg on the Mavs' 400 Medley Relay team this year and helped the Mavs place amongst the nation's top four in all four of her relay events this year, raising her career all-America total to 13. She also won four RMAC titles this year and is an 11-time RMAC Champion in her three years with the Mavs.
Meyer, a junior diver from Bozeman, Montana, was picked as this season's RMAC Academic Athlete of the Year and holds a 3.87 GPA while majoring in exercise science. She was also tabbed as the RMAC Women's Diver of the Year after earning CSCAA All-America honors with a seventh place finish in the 3-meter event at the national championships.
Meyer also won both the 1 and 3-meter events at the RMAC Championships, and set a CMU school, El Pomar Natatorium and RMAC Championship record of 541.70 points on the 3-meter. She also received RMAC Women's Diver of the Meet honors at the RMAC Championships for the third straight year, winning this year's award outright after sharing with teammates in the previous two years. She has four gold and two silver medals in her six career RMAC Championship events.
