Oregon native Alex Marks named to CSCAA Scholar All-America team

LAKE FOREST, IL (07/23/2013)(readMedia)-- Lake Forest College seniors Becky Shaak (Vienna, Va./James Madison), Alex Marks (Oregon, Ill./Oregon), and Sam Gardner (Breckenridge, Colo./Summit); junior Garr Punnett (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall), and sophomores Kelsie Miller (Missoula, Mont./Sentinel) and Sarah Pekar (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect) were recognized by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America for their academic and athletic accomplishments in 2013. The Forester women's swimming & diving team also earned accolades for their performance in the classroom.

Shaak earned CSCAA Scholar All-America honors for the second straight season by posting at least a 3.50 grade point average in the spring and competing in the NCAA Division III Championships. She placed fourth in the country in the 1650-freestyle and ninth in the 500-freestyle in her fourth consecutive appearance at the national meet.

Marks, Gardner, Punnett, Miller, and Pekar were named Honorable Mention Scholar All-America after recording a GPA of 3.50 and posting times or diving scores that made them eligible for selection to the national meet. However, they were not chosen to compete in the NCAA Championships.

The 19 members of the Lake Forest College women's swimming and diving team combined for a 3.13 grade point average in the spring to earn Scholar All-America honors as a team. The squad also received the honor in the fall with a grade point average of 3.11.