The men’s and women’s swimming and diving team took home three gold medals at the 2016 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships.
The women’s team earned an 11th place finish, while the men’s team improved by three spots to finish fourth overall.
Anton Lobanov and Thiago Sickert both earned individual national titles at the meet, which lasted from March 9-12. On the second night of competition, Lobanov placed first overall in the men’s 100-yard breaststroke, defending his 2015 NCAA Championship title. Lobanov went on to win yet another individual title in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:53.29 on the final day.
Sickert took first over all in the men’s 200-yard butterfly, an event in which he holds the Sunshine State Conference record. Sickert also earned All-American status in numerous events, including the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard butterfly.
Both Sickert and Lobanov were also members of the men’s 200 yard-freestyle relay, which took third place overall. The team, which consisted of David Van Der Colff, Lobanov, Victor Tarin, and Sickert earned a new NSU record with a time of 1:27.11.
The men’s team improved greatly this season, after earning a losing 2-5 record and placing seventh overall at Nationals last season.
“This year, the group was really strong,” said Sickert. “As a team, we were more of a unit. We worked together better.”
On the women’s team, Emma Wahlstrom earned the best individual finish of the meet, taking third in the women’s 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:48.26. Wahlstrom also earned a top eight finish, after taking seventh overall in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:56.14. Malin Westman finished fourth overall in the women’s 100-yard breaststroke. Westman finished with a time of 1:01.79, setting a new NSU record.
Sickert believes that NSU’s Head Swimming Coach Hollie Bonewit-Cron, and the rest of her staff were instrumental to the team’s success at the meet.
Sickert said, “I think the having the coaches support us was a big part of our success. We have a really great staff around us, supporting us and giving us everything that we need to swim fast. Besides hard work, I think that was the most important part.”
Both teams were highly successful throughout the entire season, earning a 4-1 record for the men’s team and 5-1 record for the women. The Sharks also took second place overall at the Sunshine State Conference Championships earlier this year. Sickert believes that the team’s recent success bodes well for their performance next season.
“[Our recent success] means a lot,” said Sickert. “We’re happy; we’re motivated. We already have some recruits coming in for next season, and with everything on paper, it looks really good. It’s going to be a great year, and hopefully we’ll win. We have very high expectations for next year.”
