Paige Madden named ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Senior Paige Madden was named the ACC Women’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the Virginia men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams had 21 student-athletes named to the All-ACC Academic teams.

Madden earned her second consecutive ACC Women’s Scholar-Athlete Award. An ACC Postgraduate Scholarship Award winner, Madden was recently named a Honda Sports Award Finalist for swimming & diving. Madden is a two-time ACC Swimmer of the Year and of the Meet. She led Virginia to its first-ever NCAA Championship title in 2021 after capturing three individual races and one relay title, the most of any swimmer at the meet. She holds 14 CSCAA All-America honors and is a 13-time ACC Champion. Recently, she was named the 2021 Weaver-James-Corrigan ACC Postgraduate Scholarship Award recipient.

Madden is one of 12 Cavaliers to be named to the women’s 2021 All-ACC Academic Team. She joins sophomore Lexi Cuomo (Clifton, Va.), sophomore Maddie Donohoe (Annandale, Va.), sophomore Kate Douglass (Pelham, N.Y.), senior Caroline Gmelich (Rumson, N.J.), freshman Abby Harter (Broadlands, Va.), freshman Anna Keating (Vienna, Va.), junior Julia Menkhaus (Charlotte, N.C.), junior Jessica Nava (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), sophomore Ella Nelson (Nashville, Tenn.), senior Kyla Valls (Miami, Fla.) and Alex Walsh (Nashville, Tenn.).

The men’s team had nine student-athletes named to the 2021 All-ACC Academic Team with senior Keefer Barnum (Louisville, Ky.), freshman Matt Brownstead (Port Matilda, Pa.), freshman Will Cole (Prospect, Ky.), sophomore Sean Conway (Round Hill, Va.), sophomore Max Edwards (Winston-Salem, N.C.), junior Justin Grender (Cincinnati, Ohio), sophomore August Lamb (Charlottesville, Va.), senior Matt Otto (Newark, Del.) and sophomore Jack Wright (Wexford, Pa.) earning the honor.

The ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards were established in September of 2007 to be awarded annually to the top junior or senior student-athlete in their respective sports. Candidates for the awards must have maintained a 3.0 grade point average for their careers, as well as a 3.0 for each of the last two semesters.

Minimum academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one’s academic career. Athletic achievements during the most recent season are also considered in selecting the All-ACC Academic Team.

The ACC Honor Roll, which recognizes all conference student-athletes with a grade point average of 3.0 for the current academic year, will be released in July.