March 29, 2012
New Paltz's Suzuka and Geneseo Relay Earn All-America Honors
The 2012 NCAA Division III Women’s Swimming Championships were held March 21-24 at the IU Natatorium at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. SUNYAC was represented by two relays and four individual swimmers.
Wednesday March 21
SUNY Cortland sophomore Sarah Culmo finished in 40th place in the 50-yard freestyle during Day 1 of Championships. She touched in 24.23 seconds in the preliminaries and did not advance to the championship or consolation finals in the event.
Geneseo freshman Abby Max participated in the 500-yard freestyle and finished 33rd of 39 competitors with a time of 5:07.72 and teamed with Elyssa Max, Lily Powell and Haleigh Wixson to place 24th of 31 teams in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:49.57.
Geneseo freshman Abby Max participated in the 500-yard freestyle and finished 33rd of 39 competitors with a time of 5:07.72 and teamed with Elyssa Max, Lily Powell and Haleigh Wixson to place 24th of 31 teams in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:49.57.
Cortland's 200-yard medley relay of Culmo, sophomore M. K Dugue, junior Jessica Evans and senior Michelle Seeger completed in the preliminaries but was disqualified.
Thursday March 22:
New Paltz junior Yuka Suzuka placed 39th in a 46-person 200 individual medley field, clocking a 2:11.25 in the preliminary heats. Suzuka showed she will a prime contender for All-America status in each of her backstroke events, as she split a 30.74 for the backstroke leg of the race. That split served as the field's third-fastest backstroke leg.
The Geneseo quartet of Wixson, Powell, Elyssa Max and Abby Max claimed honorable mention All-America honors with a 15th place finish in a time of 1:36.75 in the 200 freestyle relay. The quartet qualified for the finals with a 15th place time of 1:37.33 in the morning preliminaries. This is the first All-America certificate for each of the women. In addition, Abby Max finished 20th in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:53.38.
The SUNY Cortland 200-yard freestyle relay team of Evans, Seeger, Dugue and Culmo finished in 19th place. The Red Dragon foursome finished in 1:37.81 in the preliminaries and missed earning All-America honors by 35 hundredths of a second. The top eight teams advanced to the championship finals, while the ninth through 16th-place teams moved into the consolation finals and are guaranteed honorable mention All-America status. Wisconsin-La Crosse, the 16th-place relay, finished in 1:37.46.
Friday March 23
Suzuka finished 11th overall during Friday's 100 backstroke event at the 2012 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships, earning her All-America Honorable Mention honors. It is the first All-America performance for the program since 2008.
Suzuka qualified for the consolation final after posting a time of 56.33 in the morning's preliminary heat, good enough to qualify for ninth position heading into the evening swim. In the consolation final, the junior finished 11th overall with a time of 56.57.
The achievement is Suzuka's first All-America honor as a New Paltz swimmer. Suzuka qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2011, but finished outside of the finals in all five of her races and was 39th in the 200 IM on Wednesday.
Suzuka qualified for the consolation final after posting a time of 56.33 in the morning's preliminary heat, good enough to qualify for ninth position heading into the evening swim. In the consolation final, the junior finished 11th overall with a time of 56.57.
The achievement is Suzuka's first All-America honor as a New Paltz swimmer. Suzuka qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2011, but finished outside of the finals in all five of her races and was 39th in the 200 IM on Wednesday.
The Geneseo 800 freestyle relay of Abby Max, Powell, Elyssa Max and Wixson won their second honorable mention All-America certificate of the week by winning their heat and finishing 11th overall with a time of 7:39.65. In addition, Wixson finished 31st in the 100 backstroke with a time of 58.15.
The SUNY Cortland 800-yard freestyle relay team of Seeger, Culmo, Evans and Dugue finished in 20th place with a time of 7:59.20.
Saturday March 24
On final day of the 2012 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships in Indianapolis, Suzuka earned All-America honors by finishing in eighth place overall during Saturday's 200 backstroke event.
Suzuka qualified for Saturday evening's championship final by finishing her preliminary heat with a time of 2:01.34, setting a new school and conference record for New Paltz in the event while ranking seventh amongst the morning swims. In the championship final, Suzuka finished eighth with a time of 2:02.66.
Saturday marked the second-straight day that Suzuka earned an All-America distinction. Suzuka is only the fourth female in New Paltz history to gain All-America recognition.
Suzuka qualified for Saturday evening's championship final by finishing her preliminary heat with a time of 2:01.34, setting a new school and conference record for New Paltz in the event while ranking seventh amongst the morning swims. In the championship final, Suzuka finished eighth with a time of 2:02.66.
Saturday marked the second-straight day that Suzuka earned an All-America distinction. Suzuka is only the fourth female in New Paltz history to gain All-America recognition.
Wixson, Powell, Elyssa Max and Abby Max won their third All-America certificate of the championships by placing 15th in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:31.93 after a 3:30.49 in the preliminaries. In addition, Abby Max finished 17th in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:03.93.
The Cortland quartet of Seeger, Culmo, Dugue and Evans finished 24th in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:36.85) and Culmo placed 36th in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 52.78.
