Michigan head swimming & diving coach Mike Bottom has announced Nikki Kett as a new men’s and women’s assistant coach, filling the gap created when Kristy Brager left for a job at her alma mater Wisconsin.
Kett has a history of working at academically-elite institutions: she spent the last 3 years as an assistant at Penn, where she worked primarily with the women’s sprinters and was a recruiting coordinator. During her time with the program, Virginia Burns won 4-straight Ivy League titles in the 500 free and Chris Swanson became the men’s program’s first-ever NCAA national champion
Prior to that, she spent 3 years at Johns Hopkins, where the women’s team finished in the top 5 at the NCAA Division III Championships, and the men’s team finished in the top 8 at the NCAA Division III Championships. That program broke 47 school records and 2 NCAA D3 Records.
As an athlete, she was a Division III swimmer at Kenyon College, where she won 11 All-American awards and earned a degree in biology. In her senior season in 2012, she finished 3rd in the 200 breaststroke and 4th in the 100 breaststroke at NCAAs. She earned a master’s degree in kinesiology from A.T. Still University, and in August will complete a master’s degree in organizational dynamics at Penn. Her capstone project for that degree involves creating connected, high-performing teams.
The Michigan men’s team finished 8th at last year’s NCAA Championship meet, while the women’s team finished 4th.
I don’t doubt this is a great hire…but “last 3 years as an assistant at Penn, where she worked primarily with the women’s sprinters and was a recruiting coordinator. During her time with the program, Virginia Burns won 4-straight Ivy League titles in the 500 free and Chris Swanson became the men’s program’s first-ever NCAA national champion”
500 and male 1650 are not women sprinters events.
happy about the hire… but it is funny. a little resumé padding by the SID…?
but “last 3 years as an assistant at Penn, where she worked primarily with the women’s sprinters… Virginia Burns won 4-straight Ivy League titles, Caeleb Dressel broke the 40 second barrier in the 100, and …”
Congrats Nikki! Just a note, Virginia only won three titles under Nikki’s tenure- the first was in 2015 before Nikki joined the staff.
Great hire for UM!
Congrats, Nikki! Very cool.