Claudine Gruver was enshrined in the New Paltz Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday, Oct. 15, entering with the Class of 2010.
Gruver’s intercollegiate swimming career started at Kutztown University, an NCAA Division II school in Kutztown, Pa., where she earned a share of the national championship in the 200 backstroke and won the title outright in the 100 backstroke at the 1997 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships. She had an immediate impact upon her arrival at New Paltz, starring on a 1998-99 Hawk team that compiled a 6-1 record in dual-meet competition and took second at the SUNYAC championship meet.
At the 1999 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships, Gruver became the first female swimmer in New Paltz history to gain All-America recognition. While representing the blue and orange at the national meet, she took second in the 200 backstroke (2:03.23) and the 100 backstroke (57.44) after placing 12th in the 200 individual medley (2:10.03). She covered all three races in program- and SUNYAC-record-setting time, and her 200 backstroke performance still stands as the conference standard. In recognition of her success, the department bestowed the esteemed Carol Eckman Award upon her following the 1998-99 academic year.
Currently, Gruver is a cardiothoracic surgeon physician assistant at the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.
