Seidt, Howard named Scholar-Athletes of the Year



Photo: Kentucky Athletics | Alabama Athletics

Athens, Ga. - The Southeastern Conference announced the 2019 Swimming & Diving Scholar-Athletes of the Year in conjunction with the 2019 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships.

Robert Howard of Alabama was selected as the 2019 SEC Men's Swimming & Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Howard is a senior from Alexander City, Ala., majoring in accounting with a 4.0 grade point average. He is ranked third in the nation in the 100 free (41.94), sixth in the 50 free (19.23) and 14th in the 200 free (1:33.60). Howard owns the top spot in the SEC in both the 50 free and 100 free, while ranking sixth in the conference in the 200 free. Along with his teammates Laurent Bams & Luke Kaliszak, he is the only SEC student-athlete to earn a place on the men's CoSIDA Academic All-America Men's At-Large First Team in 2018. Howard is a nine-time All-American and a three-time First-Team CSCAA Scholar All-American (2016, 2017 and 2018). He has been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll twice (2017 and 2018) along with the President's List (4.0 GPA).

Asia Seidt of Kentucky was chosen as the 2019 Women's Swimming & Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Seidt is a junior from Louisville, Ky., majoring in kinesiology/education with a 4.0 grade point average. She is ranked second in the nation in the 200 backstroke (1:49.35), fourth in the 200 IM (1:54.37) and fifth in the 100 backstroke (51.25). Amongst SEC student-athletes, Seidt is first in the 200 backstroke, second in the 100 backstroke and 200 IM, and 17th in the 200 butterfly (1:58.99). She earned a spot at the 2019 World University World Games and the 2018-19 USA Swimming National Team, marking her second year on each team. Seidt is the two-time defending SEC Champion in the 200 backstroke, the first-ever Wildcat swimmer to win back-to-back titles in a single event, and the defending SEC Champion in the 100 backstroke with a school-record time of 50.86. She is also the defending NCAA silver medalist in the 200 backstroke, with a school-record time of 1:49.24. Seidt is a five-time NCAA First Team All-American. She was voted to the 2018 CoSIDA Academic All-America Women's At-Large Third Team, the 2018 University of Kentucky Female Athlete of the Year and the 2017 SEC Female Freshman of the Year. Seidt is the recipient of the University of Kentucky Athletic Scholarship, as well as the 2017 and 2018 University of Kentucky Swim Team Scholarship Award.