PHILADELPHIA – A pair of Ursinus women's swimmers were named to the PhillySIDA women's swimming Academic All-Area team on Monday afternoon. Senior Sophie Lear and sophomore Melissa Leonard earned spots on the team that selected 10 student-athletes.
To be nominated, student-athletes need to have at least a 3.00 cumulative GPA and have completed at least one full year of classes at their current institution. The team is voted on by the sports information offices of 30 area institutions from the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
A biology major, Lear capped off her decorated Ursinus swimming career in dominant fashion over the 2021-22 season. She qualified for the NCAA Championship meet for the second time in her career and earned All-American honors in both the 50 and 100 freestyle races. Lear garnered her second career Centennial Conference Most Outstanding Women's Swimmer award at the conference championships back in February and was also named the Centennial Conference Women's Swimming Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Lear won three individual gold medals and two relay golds at the 2022 Centennial Championships, finishing off her collegiate career by going undefeated in individual events at the conference meet. She set the program and Centennial Conference record in the 50 freestyle during the championship meet. For her career, Lear registered 12 gold medals at the Centennial Championship meet.
Leonard had a breakout first season in the pool after not being able to compete in her first season of 2020-21. She won all three of her freestyle individual events (200 free, 500 free, and 1650 free) at the Centennial Championship meet and became the fourth Bear to win the Rookie Outstanding Performer accolade. A mathematics major, Leonard also was named Centennial Conference women's swimmer of the week back in January and was one of seven women's swimmers from Ursinus to earn a spot on the Centennial Conference Winter Academic Honor Roll.
Below is the full team:
2021-22 PhillySIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AREA WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING TEAM
Student-Athlete School Cl. Major(s) Hometown
Ann Carozza West Chester Sr. Special Education PreK-12 West Chester, Pa.
Keeley Durkin West Chester So. Pre-Physical Therapy Brookhaven, Ga.
Sophie Lear Ursinus Sr. Biology Lancaster, Pa.
Melissa Leonard Ursinus So. Mathematics Dallas, Pa.
Gaby Ma Swarthmore Jr. Neuroscience Redwood City, Calif.
Kelly Montesi Villanova Sr. Nursing Greenwich, Conn.
Lera Nasedkina Drexel Sr. Product Design Foster City, Calif.
Milly Routledge Villanova Gr. MS in Counseling North Ascot, UK
Lia Thomas Penn Sr. Economics Austin, Texas
Nicole Welch Villanova Sr. Environmental Science an Geography Beverly, Mass.
Performer of the Year: Lia Thomas, Penn