University of West Florida

Theresa Michalak
Women's Swimming & Diving, 2016-17
Halle, Germany
2017 Honda Award Division II Athlete of the Year
5-time Individual National Champion
14-time All-America – third all-time at UWF
Became 16th women's swimmer to win 4 individual national championships when she won the 50 Free, 100 Free, 100 Fly, 100 Breast at the 2017 NCAAs
Graduated holding eight UWF records
Her 100 breaststroke time of 59.51 from the 2017 NCAA championships is still an NCAA Division 2 record
8-time NSISC Individual Champion
2-time NSISC High Point Swimmer
Helped UWF to 6th place NCAA finish in both 2016 & 2017 - the highest in program history
 
 
From the moment she set foot in the UWF Aquatic Center, people knew where Theresa Michalak was. Her presence on the team for two seasons immediately raised the level of expectation and success for the UWF Swimming & Diving program.
 
Coming in as a Division I transfer and Olympian, head coach Andrew Hancock knew he had a generational athlete on the roster.
 
After just a few weeks of training in early 2016, she burst onto the scene with four individual wins at the NSISC meet before picking up four all-America honors and her first national title in the 100 breaststroke at nationals.
 
The next season was even better. She never lost a race on her way to one of the most dominant performances in Division 2 history. After sweeping four events at conference, she set her sights on the national meet. All she did was win her four individual events and pick up a pair of national records in the process.
 
Michalak and diver Monica Amaral set NCAA history in becoming the first pair of teammates to sweep the national swimming and diver of the year awards in the same season.
 
She capped her career by being named the Honda Award Division II Athlete of the Year that summer.
 
In appropriate fashion, she joins Amaral as the first two swimming and diving inductees into the UWF Athletics Hall of Fame.