BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Four members of the Bridgewater State University men's swimming & diving program have been selected to the 2022-2023 Academic All-District® One Division III Men's Swimming & Diving Team by the College Sports Communicators (CSC).

Earning the honor from Bridgewater State are senior Thomas Scalese (Chelmsford, Mass.), juniors Cooper Castellone (South Windsor, Conn.) and Luc Durand (Marblehead, Mass.), and sophomore Chase Simao (Stonington, Conn.).

The Bears accounted for four of the eight student-athletes from the Little East Conference (LEC) named to the Academic All-District® One Division III Men's Swimming & Diving Team.

The 2022-2023 Academic All-District® Men’s Swimming & Diving Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances in the pool and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes swimming & diving honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.

To be eligible for all-academic honors, a student-athlete must be a significant contributor, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his current institution and be nominated by his sports information director. A student-athlete must have also competed in at least 50% of the team's contests for the 2022-2023 season.

Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First, second and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced in mid-March.

Scalese, who hails from Chelmsford, Massachusetts, is a communication studies major with a 3.83 grade point average. A native of South Windsor, Connecticut, Castellone is majoring in aviation science and checks in with a 3.83 GPA. Durand, who calls Marblehead, Massachusetts home, currently sports a 3.82 GPA while majoring in physical education. A Stonington, Connecticut product, Simao is majoring in computer science while maintaining a 3.94 GPA.

Scalese, Castellone, Durand and Simao helped the BSU men's swimming & diving team capture the program's second straight Little East title earlier this month.

Scalese placed fourth in the 200 individual medley and sixth in both the 100 IM and 400 IM at the LEC Championships. Castellone earned All-Little East First Team honors in the 50 breaststroke, 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, 400 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay as well as second team accolades in the 800 freestyle relay and 200 medley relay. Durand garnered All-LEC Second Team accolades in the 200 butterfly, 500 freestyle and 200 medley relay while also placing third in the 200 freestyle. Simao found his way onto the All-Little East Team with a second-place performance in the 200 IM. He also finished third at the championships in the 400 IM.

The BSU swimming and divings teams had a total of 119 event performances at the Little East Championships. Out of the 119 performances (swimming and diving), 115 of them (97%) were season-best times or marks.

2022-2023 CSC Academic All-District® Division III Men's Swimming & Diving Teams (PDF)