The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Quartet named CSC Academic All-District Women’s Swim & Dive
04.03.2024 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Grace Cooper, Hailey Hernandez, Bridget O’Neil and Emma Sticklen are finalists for Academic All-America honors.
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Women's Swimming & Diving had four student-athletes named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Women's Swimming & Diving team, the organization announced on this week. Grace Cooper, Hailey Hernandez, Bridget O'Neil and Emma Sticklen were honored with the award that recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances at the pool and in the classroom.
Cooper, a native of Oswego, Ill., is a senior who carries a 3.61 grade point average in advertising. At the 2024 NCAA Championships, she earned All-American honors in the 200 free relay and 200 medley relay, while also earning honorable mention All-American accolades in the 50 free and 400 free relay. She won Big 12 Conference title in the 50 free and helped the Longhorns to conference crowns in the 200 free relay and 200 medley relay. This year, she established the Texas record in the 50 free with a swim of 21.66 at the Texas Invitational, while also taking part in the 200 free relay program-record time of 1:26.31 at the national meet.
Hernandez, a junior from Southlake, Texas, has a 3.60 grade point average in exercise science. She earned All-American honors at the national meet after winning silver on 1-meter (326.20) and bronze on 3-meter (342.15). Hernandez earned Big 12 Championship Diver of the Meet honors after winning gold on 1-meter (358.35) and placing fourth on 3-meter (363.65) at the Big 12 Championship. She also won gold with O'Neil and Jordan Skilken in the first-ever Team Diving event (376.20).
O'Neil, who hails from Southlake, Texas, is a senior majoring speech & language pathology and carries a 3.98 grade point average. She placed fifth on both 1-meter (295.50) and 3-meter (319.90) at the NCAA Championships. At the Big 12 Championship, she won gold in the Team Diving event with Hernandez and Skilken while also claiming the bronze on 3-meter (366.80) and finishing fourth on 1-meter (324.75). A four-time Big 12 Diver of the Week honoree this season, she earned four victories on 1-meter and two runner-up finishes during the regular season and added four wins on 3-meter and one runner-up result.
Sticklen, a 2023 third-team Academic All-American, is a senior from Katy, Texas who holds a 3.73 grade point average in exercise science. She won her second-straight national title in the 200-yard butterfly at the 2024 NCAA Championships and broke her own program record in the 100 fly with a silver-medal swim of 49.70. All told, Sticklen earned All-American honors in the 100 fly, 200 fly, 200 free relay, 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay and honorable mention All-American accolades in the 200 IM. She won the Big 12 title in the 100 fly and helped the Longhorns to conference victories in the 200 free relay, 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay.
To be considered for the Academic All-District teams, student-athletes must have a 3.50 cumulative GPA, competed in at least 50 percent of the team's events and have competed at the school for a full calendar year.
The 2023-24 Academic All-District Swimming & Diving Teams, selected by the College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances in the pool and in the classroom. Academic All-District honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America honorees will be announced in April.
