Thirty-Two Razorback Student-Athletes Honored

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Thirty-two University of Arkansas student-athletes were selected to the Southeastern Conference Winter Academic Honor Roll, the league office announced today.

Razorback swimming and diving paced the selections with 17 student-athletes honored.  Seven Razorback gymnasts earned selection to the list along with five members of the women’s basketball team and three from the men’s basketball team.

To be selected, a student-athlete must have a grade-point-average of 3.00 or above for either the previous two semesters or as a cumulative GPA.  Student-athletes must have been on the varsity team for at least two seasons and they must have completed 24 semester or 36 quarter hours of credit toward a degree.

Swimming and diving’s 17 members led all eligible winter sports at Arkansas and had one of the largest lists in women’s swimming and diving within the league.

In February, women’s swimming and diving was recognized for its achievements in the classroom when the Razorbacks were named a 2014 College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-American Team after posting a 3.50 team GPA in the fall semester.

Arkansas swimming and diving also excels in the pool. At the 2015 SEC Championships, the Razorbacks clocked 35 ‘B’ cut times, set six program records and 26 personal records over the course of five days. On the year, more than 50 personal records were broken and more than 80 ‘B’ cut times were attained.

The Razorbacks were represented by seven swimmers at the 2015 NCAA Championships: seniors Nikki Daniels and Susanna White, juniors Anna Mayfield, Maddie Monroe, Rachel Stoehr and Nina Drolc and freshman Chelsea Tatlow. Tatlow was the first freshman in seven years to qualify for the NCAAs in an individual event while Daniels earned her second-career All-American honor with an honorable mention title in the 100 breaststroke.

It is the second-straight season that the Razorback gymnastic program placed seven athletes on the SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll, as seniors Stephani Canizaro and Cailee Ellsworth, juniors Sydnie Dillard, Heather Elswick and Erin Freier and sophomores Samantha Nelson and All-American Amanda Wellick were honored. It is a team-best third selection to the SEC Winter Honor Roll for Canizaro, while Dillard, Elswick and Freier earn their second selection. This year’s spot on the SEC Winter Honor Roll is the first for Ellsworth, Nelson and Wellick. Nelson and Wellick each represented Arkansas on the SEC Academic All-Freshman team last year.

The Razorback women’s basketball team played to an 18-win season, a ninth-place finish in the SEC and the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Razorbacks’ first dip into the Big Dance since 2013.

Along the way head coach Jimmy Dykes guided the Razorbacks to wins over three ranked opponents, the first time since the 2011-12 season Arkansas defeated at least two Associated Press Top 25 programs. In addition, Dykes and the Razorbacks navigated their way through one of the toughest schedules in the country, ranked No. 6 by the NCAA, and was one of just two programs in the Big Five Conferences to start league play facing three AP Top 15 teams in their first four games.

In its fourth season under head coach Mike Anderson, the Razorback men’s basketball team put together the sixth-most wins in the program’s storied 92-year history while making the 30th NCAA Tournament appearance, but the first since 2008, defeating Wofford to advance to the third round. The Razorbacks accomplished several feats for the first time since the glory days of the 1990’s, using Anderson’s #Fastest40 style to lead the SEC in scoring (77.4), assists (16.1), assist/turnover ratio (1.35), turnover margin (+3.8), offensive rebounds (13.1) and steals (7.7).

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Arkansas Student-Athletes on the 2015 SEC Winter Honor Roll