Story by NU Athletic Communication
Lincoln - Gena Jorgenson became the first swimmer in Nebraska history to earn All-America status in the pool and in the classroom, when she captured Academic All-America accolades from the College Sports Communicators on Tuesday, April 22.
Jorgenson, a junior from Aberdeen, South Dakota, was named to the CSC Academic All-America third team after swimming to first-team All-America honors in the 1,650-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive season.
She finished sixth at the 2025 NCAA Championships in Federal Way, Wash., with a school-record time of 15:49.99 on March 22.
Exactly one month later, Jorgenson became the first Husker swimmer since Lindsay Helferich (2nd Team, 2019) to be named a CSC Academic All-American. The only other Husker swimmer to claim CSC Academic All-America honors is Kaitlin Arntz (3rd Team, 2010), while a pair of Nebraska divers (Courtney Jensen, 2000; Abigail Knapton, 2021) have also earned the honor. Knapton was also a six-time All-American in the diving well for the Huskers.
Jorgenson, who earned first-team All-America honors by taking eighth in the 1,650 free in a then-school-record time of 15:55.71 at the 2024 NCAA Championships, carries better than a 3.9 GPA as a biological sciences major at Nebraska. The two-time CSCAA Scholar All-American (2023, 2024) is a two-time CSC Academic All-District selection (2024, 2025). She is also a two-time Academic All-Big Ten choice (2024, 2025) and was a 2024 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.
Jorgenson becomes the fourth Husker female student-athlete this season to earn CSC Academic All-America honors, joining volleyball players Lexi Rodriguez (1st team), Bergen Reilly (1st team) and Merritt Beason (2nd team). The University of Nebraska has produced 366 NCAA Division I Academic All-Americans across all sports, all time.