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INDIANAPOLIS – Junior Yuka Suzuka (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) of the State University of New York at New Paltz's women's swimming team finished 11th overall during Friday's 100 backstroke event at the 2012 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, 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 11th-place finish earned six points for the Hawks in the women's team rankings. After competition ended on Friday, New Paltz was ranked 44th overall in the meet.

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 last All-America performance for the New Paltz program was by Michelle Coombs in the 100 Freestyle in 2008.

“I'm very proud of her effort today,” head coach Scott Whitbeck said. “She's had an incredible season and achieving All-American status is a wonderful accomplishment for both her and the program.”

Suzuka will compete in one more event before the meet ends tomorrow, March 24. She is slated to swim in the 200 backstroke event, where she enters seeded seventh. The preliminary heats are slated for 10 a.m. (ET), while finals are set for 6 p.m. (ET).