UofL swimmer, nursing student receives ACC scholarship

UofL swimmer and nursing student Andrea Cottrell has been recognized for excellence in the pool and in the classroom.

Cottrell and fellow UofL swimmer Grigory Tarasevich are among 54 student athletes to receive the 2017 Weaver-James-Corrigan Award from the Atlantic Coast Conference, which provides recipients $5,000 scholarships. The ACC awards the scholarship to student athletes who have achieved success in the classroom and their respective sport while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community.

The students will be honored at the annual Cone Health ACC Postgraduate Scholarship Luncheon presented by ESPN on April 12.

Receiving the scholarship took Cottrell by surprise.

“It’s really going to help me tremendously with financial peace of mind to continue my nursing studies,” she said. “I’ve always been an athletic person and it’s nice to be recognized for my academics.”

Being part of a team as a swimmer has prepared Cottrell to work as part of a team of health care providers once she enters the workforce. She found her calling while in high school when her brother’s premature infant was being treated in the neonatal intensive care unit.

“One of the nurses was my friend’s mom, and she helped me understand everything and showed me what she does,” Cottrell said. “It really opened my eyes that it was something I would enjoy doing.”

Cottrell, a dual major in nursing and exercise science, is a breaststroke specialist and team captain originally from Reynoldsburg, Ohio.

A member of the USA National Team, she was named a two time ACC Swimmer of the Week and College Swimming's National Swimmer of the Week. This year, she is a four-time medalist at the ACC Championships. At the United States Olympic Trials, she was a two-time finalist.

March 13, 2017