| Nikki Kelsey made a very big
splash on the Oakland University athletic scene by making a very little splash when she
entered the pool. Nikki was a two-time NCAA II Women’s Diver of the Year and was a
member of OU’s first women’s swimming and diving national championship. Nikki won her first of two Diver of the Year Awards in 1989, placing
first on the one-meter board and second Diver of the Year honor, placing first on the
three-meter board and second on the one-meter. Her three-meter title was the first in
school history. She was also selected GLIAC Women’s Swimming and Diving Athlete of
the Year in 1990. In all Nikki won seven of a possible eight All-American honors.
Nikki still holds school records for the highest six-dive
score on both the one-meter and three-meter boards. She also retains the GLIAC record for
highest score in the one-meter event.
After she finished her four years at Oakland, earning a
bachelor of arts degree in general studies, Nikki coached the OU divers for three seasons.
Nikki was the OU diving coach for three women’s national championships and for the
long-awaited men’s championship in 1994. That season she was selected as the NCAA
Division II Men’s Diving Coach of the Year. |
