IWU’s Bicek Earns Academic All-American Honor

17 June, 2004

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Illinois Wesleyan University senior swimmer Erin Bicek has been elected to the third team of the College Division Academic All-America women’s at-large squad.

At-large athletes are chosen from among the sports of swimming, golf, tennis, ice hockey and gymnastics.

Bicek (Downers Grove, North HS), a 10-time honorable mention All-American in her swimming career, graduated from IWU magna cum laude in May with a 3.84 grade-point average as a nursing major. She is a member of Phi Kappa Phi and Alpha Lambda Delta scholastic honoraries and the Alpha Tau Delta and Sigma Theta Tau nursing honoraries.

Bicek, who was the Titans’ most valuable swimmer as a junior and senior, won four individual events and was chosen as the "Women's Most Valuable Swimmer" in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin swim championships, helping the IWU women's team finish second.

At the 2004 CCIW meet, Bicek won the 200 and 400 individual medley and the 100 and 200 breaststroke events and swam legs on the winning 400 and 800 free relay teams. She earned honorable mention All-America at the NCAA Division III national meet as she finished in the top 16 with three relay teams.

Bicek is the third Illinois Wesleyan female athlete to earn Academic All-America status in the 2003-04 academic year, joining Ann Bernard, who was second team in soccer, and Brynn Hasse, who was on the third team for softball.

Her selection brings to 100 the total number of Academic All-America berths earned by IWU student-athletes since the program began in 1970, a total eclipsed by only six other schools, including Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. To be considered for the Academic All-America squads, players must be of at least sophomore standing, have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 (of 4.0), and be a starter or first-line reserve. The teams are chosen by a voting board representing the 1,800 members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

CONTACT: Stew Salowitz, 309-556-3206