Canadian breaststroker Nina Kucheran has given her verbal commitment to Florida State University for the 2018-19 season. The 17-year-old trains in Sudbury, Ontario under the tutelage of Sudbury Laurentian Swim Club head coach Dean Henze.
“I am very excited to announce my commitment to Florida State University. I chose this school as I believe it is the best place for me to realize all my goals in the pool as well as in the classroom. They have an amazing set of coaches who I strongly believe will help me in becoming a world class athlete, and the academics will help me realize my goal of attending medical school. The team is absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to be a part of such a tight knit and amazing group of swimmers.”
She has found immense success throughout her age group career, winning multiple age group national medals, Ontario Provincial championship titles, and has been a consolation finalist in consecutive years at the Canadian Olympic and World Championship Trials in the 200 breaststroke.
The 200 is her best event, holding bests of 2:26.78 (SCM) and 2:34.07 (LCM), which converts to about a 2:12.2 SCY. With the top three finishers from the ACC Championships all having graduated last year (Kierra Smith, Laura Simon and Kayla Brumbaum), she instantly becomes a player for a top finish. She’s also within striking distance of NCAA qualification (2:10.55 was the invite time in 2017).
Her 100 converted time of 1:01.61 also puts her in scoring position at the ACC level, and she’ll have plenty of options for a third collegiate event. She’s proven to be very versatile with competitive times in IM and distance free.
Ultimately, she wants to earn a spot on the Canadian National team.
“I would one day like to become part of the Canadian national team, and I know that Florida state will help me realize this.”
She also runs cross country, and plays the violin, ukulele and piano, but her number one passion is swimming. “Swimming is a sport that has gotten me through many rough patches throughout the course of my life, and I enjoy it more than anything in the world. I can’t wait to be a part of the amazing team at FSU and improve myself as a person and as a swimmer.”
Best Times: SCM – LCM (Converted to SCY)
- 100 Breast: 1:08.39 – 1:11.84 (1:01.61)
- 200 Breast: 2:26.78 – 2:34.07 (2:12.23)
- 200 IM: 2:16.35 – 2:23.21 (2:02.83)
- 400 IM: 4:48.07 – 5:04.82 (4:19.52)
- 800 (1000) Free: 8:58.74 – 9:20.08 (10:15.70)
- 1500 (1650) Free: 17:13.40 – 17:49.36 (17:07.23)
Kucheran joins a stacked class of 2022 commits with FSU that includes Alexis Durlacher, Hannah Womer, Ida Hulkko, Laura Glerup Jensen, Maddie McDonald, Stephanie Holmes, and Boglarka Bonecz.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to[email protected].
Way to go Nina!They are lucky to have you.
Fantastic! Have a great time. Go ‘Noles!