Austin, TX – After an incredible season and helping lead the Patriots to a third place finish at the 2026 NAIA National Championships, swimmers Sarah Zoellner and Ugne Takuseviciute have earned CSC Academic All-America® honors, officials announced Tuesday.  It marks the fourth time that UC has had multiple swimmers garner this honor in the same year.

Zoellner becomes just the fourth Patriot swimmer to garner CSC honors multiple times.  The Bowling Green, KY continued to be a steady force for UC throughout the season highlighted by a plethora of honors including being a five-time NAIA All-American, the Mid-South Conference Swimmer of the Year, and a six-time MSC All-Conference honoree. Zoellner clocked a 2:06.53 in the 200 fly to earn a third-place finish at nationals.  Additionally, the junior was part of four All-American relays for the Patriots, including anchoring both the 200 and 400 free relays.  At the MSC Championships, Zoellner won all three of her individual events, including finishing atop the podium in both the 200 back and the 200 fly on the final day to clinch Swimmer of the Year honors.  Her 200 back time of 2:03.63 as well as her 55.49 in the fly ranks fourth in program history. In total, Zoellner has six times that rank top-10 in program history.  Zoellner is majoring in Biology at UC.
 
Takuseviciute earned her first CSC Academic All-America honors after a stellar sophomore campaign.  The Siauliai, Lithuania native was a five-time NAIA All-American and a six-time MSC All-Conference selection.  Takuseviciute was of UC's most consistent swimmers throughout the season and her time of 1:52.63 in the 200 free earned a fifth place finish at nationals.  The sophomore was also part of a quartet of Cumberlands relays, including UC's 800 free relay that clocked a 7:34.51 to break the school record and place fourth at nationals.  Takuseviciute also won the consolation final of the 500 free, posting a career-best time of 5:04.77.  At the conference championships, Takuseviciute took top honors in the 200 free (1:54.00) and placed third in the 100 free (52.72).  The sophomore has posted career-best times in three events and holds the third fastest 200 free in program history.  Takuseviciute is majoring in Business Administration at UC.
 
The CSC NAIA Women's Swimming & Diving Academic All-America® program features ten student-athletes that have an average GPA of 3.87.
 
Cumberlands captured their 14^th straight Mid-South Conference championship and finished third at the NAIA National Championship, which is tied for their best finish in program history.
 
For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics. Please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter- @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram- @UCPatriots, TikTok- @ucpatriots, Youtube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.