May 4, 2016 INDIANAPOLIS -- Four of UIC's best and brightest student-athletes were named to the 2016 Horizon League Winter All-Academic teams, the conference announced Wednesday, May 4. The four Flames come from the men's swimming and diving, women's swimming and diving and women's track and field squads.
Senior men's diver Mark Ciesielski earned a spot on the All-Academic team after posting a 3.84 grade-point average as a biological sciences major. The Wheaton, Ill., native placed first out of 13 divers in both the one and three-meter dives at the UIC Diving Invitational. Ciesielski, who claimed three top-10 finishes, recorded NCAA qualifying scores on three different occasions, and he was one of three Flames to compete at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships.
Two members of the women's swimming program also claimed spots on the Winter All-Academic team. Junior Erin Sivak, an urban education major, registered a team-high 3.96 GPA. In the pool, Sivak posted UIC's best time of the season in the 100 backstroke and was a key member of the 200 and 400 medley relay teams. She placed 13th in the 100 backstroke at the Horizon League Championships with a top time of 57.88.
Sivak's teammate, senior Danel Voorhees, also earned a spot on the women's swimming and diving All-Academic team. The Dunlap, Ill., native secured a 3.69 GPA in UIC's prestigious kinesiology program. In one of her best races of the season, Voorhees swam fifth in the 100 butterfly at the Horizon League Championships with a time of 56.03. She tallied a total of five top-five finishes with a first-place showing in the 100 butterfly at Cleveland State on January 15.
The fourth Flame to be recognized is Emma Preston from women's track and field. Preston, a senior who studies electrical engineering, notched a 3.68 GPA. The East Peoria, Ill., native was a member of UIC's distance-medley-relay team that ran second at the 2016 Horizon League Indoor Championships in a time of 12:26.07. Preston ran the final leg and helped the Flames surge from sixth to second with a strong kick in the final 400 meters. In April, she was the recipient of the Aileen S. Andrew Award, established in 1997 in memory of Dr. Victor Andrew and his wife, Aileen. The mission of the Andrew Foundation is to emphasize the important balance between academics and athletics.
The quartet honored Wednesday joins three Flames – Haley Kittle (WSOC), Thomas Villamil (MSOC) and Nicole Johnson (VB) – who were named as 2015 Fall All-Academic teams. A total of 75 student-athletes from 10 Horizon League institutions were honored for the winter in balloting by the conference's faculty athletics representatives and sports information directors. To be eligible for Academic All-Horizon League consideration, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve, must have completed one year at the member school and passed 24 semester-hour or 36 quarter-hour credits and must have a cumulative grade-point-average of 3.20 or higher (based on a 4.00 scale).
2016 Winter Academic All-League Honorees
Women's Swimming & Diving
Erin Sivak (3.96, Urban Education)
Danel Voorhees (3.69, Kinesiology)
Men's Swimming & Diving
Mark Ciesielski (3.84, Biological Sciences)
Women's Track & Field
Emma Preston (3.68, Electrical Engineering)
