Emory University won its first NCAA Division III national team championship. The title culminates a seven-year streak in which the Eagles improved their finish each year at the national championships. Emory was 12th in 1999, followed by seventh -place, fourth, third, third (again), and second at the subsequent NCAA national championships.

Emory had 13 individuals earn All-America honors resulting in 33 All-America certificates. Samantha White won the national championship in the 500-yard freestyle event. White also helped Emory win the national title in the 800-yard freestyle relay, a first in school history in any relay event. Alongside White on the 800 freestyle relay were Leigh Campbell, Holly Hinz and Dana Inserra.

Emory, with 18 qualifiers, had the largest squad at the national championship. All 18 scored by placing in the top 16 in an individual or relay event.

Emory won the University Athletic Association title for the seventh consecutive year and the 13th time in 15 years. The consecutive streak is the longest in UAA history. Individual honors included:

Lauren Bernstein
Freshman Lauren Bernstein earned All-America honors at the NCAA championships after swimming a leg on the 400-yard medley relay team that placed seventh. Bernstein was 14th on the team out of 39 competitors in points scored in dual and championship meets.

Leigh Campbell
Senior Leigh Campbell earned All-America honors in four events at the NCAA championships. Campbell is one of five swimmers in school history to earn three or more All-America honors in individual events in the same year at the national meet, and the fourth to do it at the national meet in two different years. Campbell swam a leg on the national championship 800-yard freestyle relay team. Campbell finished third, fourth and seventh respectively in the 500-, 1650-, and 200-yard freestyle events, This is the fourth consecutive year that Campbell has made All-America in the 1650-yard freestyle event. Campbell is the first individual in Emory history to earn All-America honors in the same individual event all four years. Her career All-America awards total 16, which is the second most in school history. Campbell was the conference champion in the 1650-yard freestyle event. Campbell won the team's Most Competitive Performer award. Campbell was fifth on the team out of 39 competitors in points scored in dual and championship meets.

Ellen Flader
Flader, a freshman, earned All- America honors at the NCAA national championships as a member of the 200-yard medley relay team that finished in fourth place. Flader earned All-America honorable mention with a ninth-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke at the national championships. For her achievements Flader was chosen as the team's Rookie of the Year. Flader was eighth on the team out of 39 competitors in points scored in dual and championship meets.

Sarah Gardiner
Gardiner, a junior, was seventh in the 200-yard backstroke at the NCAA national championships to earn All-America recognition in the event for the second consecutive year. She received All-America honorable mention in the 100-yard backstroke event, finishing 16th. Gardiner is the third-fastest individual in school history in the 200 backstroke. Gardiner was 10th on the team out of 39 competitors in points scored in dual and championship meets.

Samantha Gillen
Junior Samantha Gillen attained All-America status by swimming a leg on the 400-yard medley relay that finished seventh at the NCAA national championships. At the conference championships, Gillen was a member of the championship 200-yard medley and second-place 400-yard medley relay teams. She finished in second and third place, respectively, in the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard individual medley at the conference championships. Gillen was ninth on the team out of 39 competitors in points scored in dual and championship meets.

Karyn Henderson
At the NCAA national championships, junior Karyn Henderson earned an All-America certificate by placing fifth in the 400-yard individual medley event. She received All-American honorable mention for the 200-yard individual medley event, where she finished 11th. Henderson finished second at the conference championships in the 400-yard individual medley. Henderson was 15th on the team out of 39 competitors in points scored in dual and championship meets.

Holly Hinz
Hinz, a junior, earned three All-America awards at the NCAA national championships. Hinz swam a leg on the 800-yard freestyle relay unit that won the national title. Hinz finished third in the 400-yard individual medley and eighth in the 500-yard freestyle event to attain All-America status in both events. Hinz is the seventh-fastest individual in Emory history in the 400-yard individual medley. Hinz was named the national Swimmer of the Week by CollegeSwimming.com on November 5, 2004, for her performance the previous week. She has a career total of six All-America certificates. Hinz was seventh on the team out of 39 competitors in points scored in dual and championship meets.

Dana Inserra
Inserra, a senior, earned six All-America honors -- two individual and four relay events -- at the NCAA national championships. Inserra tied the school record for most All-America awards earned in one year. She placed fifth in both the 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard butterfly events at the national championships. Inserra was one of four swimmers that won the national championship on Emory's 800-yard freestyle relay. Inserra has a career total of 10 All-America certificates, which is the ninth highest in Emory history. Inserra was second on the team out of 39 competitors in points scored in dual and championship meets.

Hillary Lane
For the third year in a row senior Hillary Lane earned five All-America citations, at the national championships. She has 17 career All-America certificates, the most in school history. Lane placed sixth in the 50-yard freestyle at the NCAA national championships. Lane is the fastest individual in school history in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle events. She was a member of the All-American 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays and the 200- and 400-yard medley relays. Lane won two individual and two relay events, at the conference championships.. She placed first in the 50- and 100- yard freestyle events and swam a leg on the first-place 200-yard medley and 200-yard freestyle relay teams. Lane was named the national Swimmer of the Week by CollegeSwimming.com on October 18, 2004 for her performance the previous week. Lane was the first on the team out of 39 competitors in points scored in dual and championship meets.

Jamie Lawler
Sophomore Jamie Lawler earned three All-America awards at the NCAA national championships. She was a member of the All-America 200- and 400-yard medley relays and 200-yard freestyle relay. At the conference championships Lawler finished third in the 100-yard backstroke event. Lawler is the fastest individual in Emory history in the 100-yard backstroke. Lawler was fourth on the team out of 39 competitors in points scored in dual and championship meets.

Sarah Nicholson
At the national championships, Nicholson swam on the All-America 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays. The sophomore was a member of the conference champion 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard medley relays and swam a leg on the second-place 400-yard medley relay team. Nicholson was named the national Swimmer of the Week by CollegeSwimming.com on October 27, 2004, for her performance the previous week. Nicholson was third on the team out of 39 competitors in points scored in dual and championship meets.

Alexis Smith
Smith earned her second career All-America honor in the 400-yard individual medley, where she finished fourth at the national championships. The sophomore received All-America honorable mention recognition in the 200-yard individual medley by finishing 10th in the nation. In school history, Smith is the sixth- and ninth- fastest individual respectively in the 200- and 400-yard individual medley events.

Samantha White
Samantha White won two NCAA national championships this season, one in the 500-yard freestyle event, and another as a member of the 800-yard freestyle relay. White became the eighth individual in school history to win a national championship and the second to win at least two in the same year. For the meet, she earned All-America honors in four events, three of them as an individual. By doing so, White became the fourth swimmer in school history to have at least three individual All-America honors at more than one NCAA national meet. The four All-America citations raised her career total to nine, which ranks 10th in school history. In addition to winning the 500 free, White was the national runner-up in the 1,650-yard freestyle event and finished fifth in the 200-yard freestyle. She scored 61 points at the national meet, accounting for 15 percent of her team's score, even though she was one of 18 competitors for Emory. White was honored as the squad's Most Valuable Performer. At the conference championships, she won the 200- and 500-yard freestyle events and swam a leg on the first-place 800-yard freestyle relay unit. For the season, White was sixth on the team out of 39 competitors in points scored in dual and championship meets.

Written by Alexcis Brown, Emory sports information assistant.