INDIANAPOLIS – On the fourth and final day of the 2012 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, junior Yuka Suzuka (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) of the State University of New York at New Paltz women's swimming team 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 program 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. Her morning swim eclipsed her former program and State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) overall mark of 2:01.60, which she set in the 200 backstroke championship final at the 2012 SUNYAC Swimming & Diving Championships.

Saturday marked the second-straight day that Suzuka earned an All-America distinction. On Friday, she was awarded All-America Honorable Mention for finishing 11th in the 100 backstroke, giving Suzuka her first All-America honor of any kind and the first for a New Paltz swimmer since 2008. Suzuka is only the fourth individual in program history to gain All-America recognition, as Claudine Gruver (1999), Joanna Masterson (2006) and Michelle Coombs (2007-08) are the only other Hawk female swimmers that have placed among the top eight at the national meet.

The eighth-place performance earned New Paltz 11 points in the women's team rankings on the final day of competition. The Hawks finished 34th overall at the meet with 17 total points.

“It's been a great experience for her to compete and score on the national stage,” head coach Scott Whitbeck said. “I think she has an excellent understanding now of what it takes to prepare to compete for an NCAA title. I'm looking forward to what she will accomplish next season.”