Danielle Galyer Recieves Elite 90 Award for Second Consecutive Year

INDIANAPOLIS – For the second consecutive season, Kentucky senior Danielle Galyer was presented with the Elite 90 award at the 2017 Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, recognizing her commitment to both athletics and academics. 

The award is presented annually to one student-athlete from each of the NCAA’s 90 championship sports. Receiving the award for the second time herself, the award is the fifth consecutive Elite 90 (previously Elite 89) award for any Kentucky team.  Previous UK winners include Chelsea Oswald (track and field, 2012-13), Sam Malone (men’s basketball, 2013-14) and Aldila Sutjiadi (women’s tennis, 2014-15 & 2015-16).

Throughout her four-year career as a Wildcat, Galyer has maintained a flawless 4.0 GPA double majoring in psychology and political science. Upon graduation, Galyer plans to further her education by attending law school.

The Elite 90, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s championships.

Eligible student-athletes are sophomores or above who have participated in their sport for at least two years with their school. They must be an active member of the team, traveling and a designated member of the squad size at the championship. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed.

The award represents just a sampling of the impact Galyer has made on the program.  In both her sophomore and junior campaigns, she was honored as the Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and she was also named to the SEC Community Service Team last season.  A member of the USA National Team, Galyer became the first swimmer in Kentucky history to earn a national title when she won the 200 back in a school-record time of 1:49.71 last season, the sixth-fastest swim in American swimming history.

Galyer is currently competing in her fourth and final NCAA Championships, and has already earned All-America First Team honors in the 800 free relay after swimming the third leg of UK’s record-breaking lineup that finished sixth overall on Wednesday evening.  She will compete in tonight’s B final of the 400 medley relay having swum the first leg in UK’s record-breaking 3:32.12 performance in the morning’s preliminary session. The defending NCAA champion in the 200 back, she’ll look to defend her title in the event on Saturday.

For more information on the Elite 90 award winners, log on to NCAA.com/elite-90.

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