Feb. 7, 2012

CHICAGO - Sophomore Melanie Waszak of the women's swimming team has been named the UICFlames.com Scholar Athlete of the Week for the period ending Feb. 5. Waszak, who maintains a 3.5 cumulative grade-point-average, finished first in three individual events during the Flames' Horizon League road swing last weekend.

In UIC's win over Youngstown State (2/3/12) Waszak marked a season-best in the 200 butterfly and came in first, touching the wall in 2:06.08. She also tied a best of 57.68 seconds, previously set by Kelsey Millin in the 100 fly, claiming first-place honors. Of the 16 events, the Flames came away with 10 wins against the Penguins.

On Saturday at Cleveland State, Waszak came out on top of her competitors to take the win in the 1000 free in 10:27.97, a season-best mark. She also finished second in the 500-yard freestyle, touching the wall in 5:09.51. On the weekend, Waszak competed in seven individual events, recording a combined six top-three finishes.

The UIC men's and women's swimming & diving teams will be idle for the next two weeks, before heading to the 2012 Horizon League Championships in Brown Deer, Wis., Feb. 22-25.

The Scholar-Athlete of the Week Award is the newest addition to the recently re-designed UICFlames.com platform. Nominees must have at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA to be considered for the honor.

Past Scholar-Athletes of the Week:
Jan. 23: Elisa Simonetti, Women's Tennis
Jan. 31: Mariya Denisenko, Women's Indoor Track & Field