“I am really excited to announce that I have committed to swim for the University of Florida in August and be a part of the Class of 2021.
I am incredibly grateful to everyone who has been involved in my journey so far and I look forward to working with the coaches at the Gators to hopefully progress to the highest level possible.
Go Gators!?”
Nikki Miller, who was recently named to the selection representing Great Britain at the World Junior Championships in Indianapolis this August, has verbally committed to swim for the University of Florida beginning in the fall of 2017. Miller swims for East Kilbride Amateur Swimming Club in Scotland, and is the first EK swimmer to be selected for a national team at World level.
Miller is coming off a very successful showing at the British Championships at Ponds Forge in Sheffield, where she won two titles and a silver medal in the junior section. She jumped right in with a win in the junior 200 free on Day 1, going 2:02.58. The next day she finished eighth overall in the 800 free (8:54.54). She was runner-up in the junior final of the 200 fly (2:13.92), and ended the meet with a junior title in the 400 free with 4:17.68 and a seventh in the 100 fly (1:02.08).
Her times converted to SCY would be:
- 200 free – 1:47.54
- 500 free – 4:48.71
- 1000 free – 9:58.92
- 100 fly – 54.66
- 200 fly – 1:58.12
Miller will be joining Bettina Boszormenyi, Emma Whitner, Liliána Szilágyi, Rachel Ramey, and Taylor Ault in the Gators’ class of 2021.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected]
Go Gators!
Such a shame that they couldn’t keep her in Scotland, or the UK. The US has some great programmes but unfortunately have done very little for our British girls. Time will tell..
Gemma Spofforth ring a bell? Seems she had a great career here in the US….
the shiny suits helped her career too!
That’s one for and many against then still.
It’s definitely easier to identify the people who haven’t quite panned out (yet) the way their college careers would indicate. Simon Burnett, Mark Szaranek, Dan Wallace, etc…
Oh? On his third taper of the season, Szaranek dropped his PB in the 200m IM from 2:00.54 to 1:58.39 at British World Trials, and 4:17.61 to 4:15.51 in the 400m IM. He was given a discretionary pick to the Worlds team because he is due for bigger drops now that he has more time to train up and drop down for Worlds specifically. Dan Wallace was 4th at Worlds in the 200 IM, has a World gold and Olympic silver medal in the 800 free relay, and several Commonwealth gold and silvers. Gemma Spofforth still has the world record in the 100m back, and it was set in the same LZR that was allowed in Beijing. Stephanie Proud was… Read more »
The US and their ‘trainers’ rely on a Survival of the Fittest model… If the eggs don’t break they will sure make it through. Numbers based entirely. Always a risk to go unless you have the necessary attributes.
Think you summed it up quite succintly. A sports scholarship/NCAA is no “magic bullet”/guarantee of success for any swimmer/sportsperson be they American or overseas nationality. Just as some will flourish/succeed; an equal percentage will struggle and “fall be the wayside for whatever reasons be they “culture shock”, personal chemistry issues with new team-mates/coaches, academic reasons.
For an international swimmer; there are a number of things to weigh up. Which is paramount to them; academics/pursuing a professional career post swimming or does swimming take precedence ? If the latter comes out ahead, what are the qualities of the universities at home as against the US institution offering the scholarship ? What is the infrastructure supporting swimming at home as against… Read more »
It appears she is starting this Fall 2017 (class of 2021) not 2018 as stated in headline…
2017-2018 season means she will be a freshman starting this fall