Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame
Gailon E. Jacobs
- Induction:
- 1994
- Class:
- 1989
No swimmer has ever been as successful as Gail Jacobs and list of her accomplishments is truly phenomenal. The Most Valuable Swimmer of the Lehigh swim team for all four years of her career, Jacobs was named East Coast Conference Most Valuable Swimmer in 1986, ‘87 and ‘88. She set 10 Lehigh records and five ECC records.
On campus she was recognized as one of the best female athletes at Lehigh, taking home the Freshman Athlete of the Year Award in 1986 and the Senior Athlete of the Year award in 1989. She also received the Mary O. Hurley Award recognizing sportsmanship, leadership and scholarship in 1987, appeared in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” in 1987, and received the ECAC Athletic and Academic Achievement Award in 1989. Jacobs also received the Southside Boosters Award for athletic excellence all four years she was at Lehigh.
Jacobs was also successful out of the pool as she made the Dean's List in 1988, received the Class of 1904 Scholarship in 1988 and the Alumni Association's Undergraduate Merit Award in 1989.
“It's exciting,” Jacobs said. “I am pleasantly surprised because when I was an athlete, they didn't have anything like this so it wasn’t anything to strive for. So it's an honor to be selected.”
After graduation, Jacobs served as an assistant swim coach at Lehigh from 1988-89 and as a counselor in the Office of Admissions before becoming a college advisor and head swim coach of St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island. Jacobs also earned her master's degree in social relations from Lehigh in 1993.
On campus she was recognized as one of the best female athletes at Lehigh, taking home the Freshman Athlete of the Year Award in 1986 and the Senior Athlete of the Year award in 1989. She also received the Mary O. Hurley Award recognizing sportsmanship, leadership and scholarship in 1987, appeared in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” in 1987, and received the ECAC Athletic and Academic Achievement Award in 1989. Jacobs also received the Southside Boosters Award for athletic excellence all four years she was at Lehigh.
Jacobs was also successful out of the pool as she made the Dean's List in 1988, received the Class of 1904 Scholarship in 1988 and the Alumni Association's Undergraduate Merit Award in 1989.
“It's exciting,” Jacobs said. “I am pleasantly surprised because when I was an athlete, they didn't have anything like this so it wasn’t anything to strive for. So it's an honor to be selected.”
After graduation, Jacobs served as an assistant swim coach at Lehigh from 1988-89 and as a counselor in the Office of Admissions before becoming a college advisor and head swim coach of St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island. Jacobs also earned her master's degree in social relations from Lehigh in 1993.
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