WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Junior Claire Donahue became one of the most successful swimmers in WKU history on Friday placing fourth in the 100 Fly on day two of the 2010 NCAA Swimming Championships. With a time of 52.01 she placed less than half a second behind the first place winner, Elaine Breeden, from Stanford.
"We are so proud of Claire and the way she represented Western Kentucky University today at the National Championship and with her fourth place finish," head coach Bruce Marchionda said. "This is a pretty special night for Claire and for the WKU program. It has been fun to watch her progression over the past three years. She didn't qualify for the National Championships her freshman year and then qualified as a sophomore but did not score. Now in her junior year, she not only qualified but advanced to the finals where she placed fourth. Her goals will continue to get higher as she continues into her senior year next year."
Earlier in the day, Donahue posted a time of 52.24 in the prelim session to become the first woman swimmer in WKU history to qualify for the finals session at a NCAA Championship meet. Only one other swimmer, Steve Crocker, has ever qualified for the finals at a NCAA Championship in school history.
Tomorrow, Donahue will continue her record breaking year by taking part in the prelims of the 200 Fly in hopes of advancing to her second consecutive finals session.
"She is going to use the performance that she had today to motivate her to perhaps come back tomorrow and place in the 200 Fly," Marchionda said. "She is seeded 22nd for tomorrow's event and her goal is to place in the top 16. Right now, WKU is tied for 25th in the country and she wants to score more points."
The preliminary session on Saturday will begin at 10 a.m. Live results can be found at http://www.ncaa.com/sports/w-swim/champpage/inc/div1/w-swim-div1-results.html.
