Five Swimmers Named to 2021 Scholar-Athlete Team

LITTLE ROCK - Five members of the Little Rock swimming and diving team were placed on the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Scholar-Athlete Team in recognition of their efforts both in the pool and in the classroom, as announced by the league this Thursday. The Trojans honored by the league include senior Palmer Ristroph, junior Lea Zengerling, and sophomores Fernanda Gamez, Annya Grom, and Brianna Ridings.

Scholar-Athlete honors require athletes to have completed at least one year at their current institution and maintain either a 3.3 grade-point average and obtain all-conference honors, a 3.5 grade-point average and a top-16 finish in an individual event at the conference championships, or a 3.8 grade-point average and participation in the MVC Championships as a member of the conference team.

The MVC had 63 student-athletes on the scholar-athlete team this season for swimming and diving, a fair decrease from last year due to the cap on the amount of athletes that could participate as a member of the conference team. This season, eight of those scholar-athletes had a perfect 4.00 GPA, with Zengerling representing Little Rock in that category with an unblemished record.

Zengerling also posted a top-8 finish in the 500 freestyle to earn a MVC All-Conference honorable mention on top of her straight-A efforts in the classroom. 

Ristroph boasts a grade-point average of 3.96, also garnering an All-Conference honorable mention to cap off her successful career as a Trojan.

The trio of sophomores show off impressive marks in the classroom as well, with a 3.93 for Grom, 3.90 for Gamez, and 3.86 for Ridings. On top of their academic success, Grom was the sole Trojan to earn MVC All-Conference Honors, while Gamez and Ridings were both finalists for Little Rock at the championships this year.

For the latest information on Little Rock Swimming and Diving, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockSwim on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

#LittleRocksTeam