CSU's Sikatzki, Oakland's Nowicki Headed to NCAA Championships
ATLANTA – Cleveland State junior Philipp Sikatzki (Leipzig, Germany) and Oakland freshman Devon Nowicki (Lake Orion, Mich.) will both compete at the 2016 NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships, which run March 23-26 at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center.
Sikatzki earned NCAA "B" cut times in the 100 butterfly and the 100 backstroke. His time of 45.90 in the 100 fly was the 11th fastest time in the country this year, while his time of 46.41 in the 100 backstroke was the 29th best in the nation this season.
Both times are school records and were set at the Horizon League Championship at the Oakland Aquatics Center.
Sikatzki helped CSU to a runner-up finish at this year's Horizon League championship and was named the Swimmer of the Meet and the Athlete of the Year. The junior, who holds a 3.91 grade-point average in pre-medicine and health sciences, won three individual events, setting League records and NCAA "B" cuts in the 100 free, 100 fly and 100 back. He also helped the 200 medley relay team to a win with an NCAA "B" cut time, while also helping the 400 medley relay team to a runner-up finish.
Sikatzki is the first swimmer for CSU to earn an invitation to the NCAA Championship since Jakub Dobies in 2009. Dobies, who was making his third straight appearance at nationals, became the first swimming All-American in CSU history with a 13th place finish in the 100 breaststroke.
Nowicki received an invitation to swim the 100 breaststroke after recording a time of 52.48 at last month’s Horizon League Championships, good for 18th in the country. The freshman will also compete in the 200 breaststroke, an event he ranks 31st in with a time of 1:55.66. He could become the first Oakland swimmer to score in the Division I meet since 2009.
At the League Championship, Nowicki was tabbed the Freshman of the Year in the Horizon League, setting two individuals records in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes to go along with three relay records.
A total of 270 participants (235 swimmers and 35 divers) will compete in this year's NCAA Championship. Student-athletes qualified for the swimming portion of the championships by meeting the established minimum time for the events in which they entered.
In NCAA swimming and diving, athletes and relay teams who make the championship final (top eight) are considered first-team All-Americans, while athletes and relay teams that qualify for the consolation final (determines places 9-16) are considered honorable mention All-Americans.
ESPN3 will stream finals sessions Friday and Saturday live. Additionally, ESPNU will air a 90-minute show at 7:30 p.m. ET, Wednesday, April 6.
