CHARLOTTE, N.C. – After another historic season both in and out of the pool, the FGCU Swimming and Diving team continued to rack up postseason accolades as Elise Haan was named the CCSA Women's Swimmer of the Year and Lani Cabrera earned Women's Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year recognition, league officials announced late last week.

Haan becomes the third consecutive Eagle to take home Swimmer of the Year honors after FGCU Hall of Famer Emma Svensson won the award in 2013 and Kira Toussaint took it home in 2014. The conference did not announce a winner a season ago. Additionally, Cabrera becomes FGCU's first Scholar-Athlete of the Year as she shares the award with Georgia Southern's Christina Moran.

"It's great for the program to win two postseason awards like this," said FGCU head coach Neal Studd. "I'm so happy for both girls as they worked so hard and completely deserve the recognition. Elise swam lifetime bests this year and dominated the conference. She has a bright future. For Lani, I've seen her mature into a great leader and person. We'll miss her presence next season."

Haan (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) turned in arguably the most successful freshman season in program history as she was not only crowned CCSA Champion in three individual and four relay events, but also capped off the season as a point scorer at the NCAA Championships.

The Naples native finished first at the conference championships in the 200 free (1:46.20), 100 back (52.08) and 200 back (1:54.76) while also contributing to relay wins in the 200 medley (1:37.66), 400 medley (3:33.92), 400 free (3:18.49) and 800 free (7:13.83). Additionally, her times in the 100 back (51.65), 200 free, 400 medley relay and 800 free relay were good for the CSAA all-time records. At the NCAA meet in Atlanta, she finished 16th in the 100 back and registered points for the Green and Blue for the third straight season. She also placed tied for 28th in the 200 back after finishing just .04 seconds off her personal-best time from the conference championships.

Throughout the season, Haan won a total of 17 individual events, including a perfect 9-0 mark in the 100 back entering the NCAA Championships. She was named the CCSA Swimmer of the Week on four occasions and, along with teammate Fanny Teijonsalo (Espoo, Finland/Makelanrinteen Lukio), was named Co-Most Outstanding Female Swimmer of the CCSA Championship and Co-Most Outstanding Female Freshman Performer.

Cabrera (Bridgetown, Barbados/St. Ursula's Secondary School) excelled both in the pool and the classroom this season and capped off a tremendous career at FGCU as conference champion in one individual and one relay event.

The Barbados native defended her title in both the 500 free (4:47.53) and 800 free relay (7:13.83) at the CCSA Championships while also finishing runner-up in the 1650 free (16:43.03). She set the FGCU record in the all three distance relay events with respective times of 4:47.43, 9:59.27 and 16:35.50, and also contributed to the top mark in the 800 free relay. Additionally, her times in the 500 free and 800 free relay were good for the CCSA all-time records. Cabrera recorded eight individual wins and did not finish worse than fourth in a distance freestyle event all season. She was also named the CCSA Swimmer of the Week on Nov. 10 following a pair of wins and a runner-up finish against FSU.

A four-time CCSA All-Academic Team selection, Cabrera graduated with a 3.66 GPA as a communications major with a concentration in public relations. She was a four-time member of the Dean's List for having a GPA of 3.5 or higher and was also named to the President's List with a 4.0 GPA during the fall of 2012. Additionally, Cabrera was a member of the FGCU Athletic Director's Honor Roll every semester since stepping foot on campus in 2012 and was a Student-Athlete Academic Honors Luncheon Recipient each of the last three years. Earlier this spring, she was named the FGCU Scholar-Athlete of the Month.

The two award winners will stay busy this summer as they prepare for a number of worldwide swimming championships. Cabrera will compete in the Mayaguez International Open, Bahamas National Championships and Caribbean Islands Championships during June and July, while Haan will prepare for the USA Olympic Trials held in Omaha, Neb., from June 26 through July 3.

FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-date coverage of FGCU women's swimming and diving, follow us on Twitter @FGCU_WSWIM and visit www.FGCUAthletics.com where full recaps and results will be available.
                                                                       
HEAD COACH NEAL STUDD
Neal Studd has garnered six CCSA Coach of the Year awards, won seven CCSA Championships (2009-13, 2015-16) and guided the Eagles to a 32-1 (.970) CCSA all-time record since FGCU started its program in 2007. In just five years of postseason eligibility, Studd has coached NCAA Championship Meet qualifiers and competitors each of the four years, with 2015 yielding the best results to date as the Eagles finished a mid-major best 26th and produced four CSCAA All-America honorees.
 
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