Members of the Hope College swimming and diving teams have been honored for academic excellence during the 2000- 01 school year by the College Swimming Coaches Association.
The women's program is being honored as a team for the tenth consecutive year having achieved a cumulative 3.45 grade point average on a 4.0 scale. Hope's GPA ranked tenth among all NCAA Division III colleges.
In addition, five swimmers were designated Academic All- Americans by the coaches association. To be eligible, the student-athlete needed to have qualified for the NCAA Division III national championships and maintained at least a 3.5 grade point average.
Hope swimmers honored were Kelly Parker of Battle Creek, Mich. (Lakeview HS), Hannah Rapson of Iowa City, Ia. (City HS), Michelle Smith of Olympia, Wash. (Home School), Betsy VandenBerg of Beverly Hills (Southfield Christian HS), Scott Vroegindewey of Kalamazoo (Portage Central HS).
The Hope teams are coached by John Patnott. Both teams finished second in their respective Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) standings last year. The men's team went on to finish fourth in the nation at the NCAA Division III national championships while the women's team placed 14th.