NCAA qualifier Nikola Acin has announced that he will be transferring to Michigan to use his COVID-19 fifth year of eligibility.
Acin spent his first four years at Purdue. He graduated this spring with an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology.
This past season, Acin was Purdue’s fifth-highest scorer at the Big Ten Championships as he scored 52 individual points. There he finished sixth in the 100 free (42.52), ninth in the 50 free (19.53), and 17th in the 200 free (1:36.79).
He went on to swim in prelims of NCAAs in the 50 and 100 freestyles. He finished 29th in the 100 free (42.47) and 40th in the 50 free (19.54).
Last week, Acin competed at the 2022 World Championships representing Serbia. He swam on Serbia’s men’s 4×100 freestyle relay that finished eighth. Acin split a 49.13 in finals.
In 2021, Acin competed at NCAAs where he swam his best time of 41.81 in the prelims of the 100 freestyle. That swim earned him a spot in the A final where he swam a 42.15 to finish eighth.
Acin’s best SCY (25 yards) times are:
- 50 free: 19.31
- 100 free: 41.81
- 200 free: 1:35.11
- 100 back: 47.29
Acin is a huge pickup for the Wolverines. The Michigan men finished third at the 2022 Big Ten Championships with 1057 points behind Ohio State (1407) and Indiana (1500).
Michigan had no A finalists in the 100 free at 2022 Big Tens, where Acin finished sixth. Acin’s best time in the 100 free would have been the fastest on Michigan’s roster this past season and the only time under the 42 second mark. Acin’s best time in the 50 and 200 freestyles would have been third on Michigan’s roster this past season, and his 100 back would have been fifth.
In addition to scoring individual points at Big Tens, Acin also has the potential to impact the team’s relays. Notably, Acin’s lead off on Purdue’s 400 freestyle relay was over a second faster than Michigan’s lead-off in the same relay. That difference would have moved Michigan ahead of Purdue in the event.
Acin will be earning his master’s degree in movement science/kinesiology. He told SwimSwam he was drawn to Michigan because it “offers one of the best Masters programs for Kinesiology in the country.” He also said he was drawn to the swimming program because “the coaching staff has had a lot of success with swimmers that specialize in my events. Finally, I got to meet a lot of the guys on the team and they were super nice and friendly.”
Not gonna stop them from continuing to slide down the big10
River Wright 42.06 Michigan 100 FR Best time. Acin with a faster time.
Bottom back on top!!! (fire emoji, fire emoji, fire emoji)
at least there should be plenty of open parking spaces near the Michigan swim center….
Missed opportunity not heading to South Bend.
Lots of great opportunities around.
Yeah, paying $75,000 to head to South Bend is a missed opportunity
Michigan out of state tuition is only $4k less than Notre Dame at the graduate level.
What a great opportunity. You are going to a top-notch grad school for your major and still getting a chance to compete in your sport.
They really don’t have success when it comes to his events. But good for him