Catherine Durrua '20 Recruiting Profile

My name is Catherine (Katie) Durrua and I am 5’5 varsity swimmer. I mostly compete in the 200 and 100 fly. I attend Point Pleasant Beach High School (PPBHS) and I am a junior, however, I swim for the Manasquan High School team because of the small population size of PPBHS. This is my third year swimming varsity for Manasquan and I absolutely love it.  The entire atmosphere of the hard-working athletes that I am surrounded by is truly one of the highlights of my high school swimming career.  I also swim for the TAC Riptides, which is a club swimming team. I am very dedicated to both of my teams. I have been swimming on a club level for four years and it has made me realize not to take my love of the sport for granted and to always appreciate my coaches and teammates, as they truly impact my swimming and motivation. I am a dedicated athlete and always attend practices, whether they are at 8:45pm on weekdays or 6:15am on Saturday mornings. My freshman year, my high school team went on to win our Group Central B Division title and the New Jersey State Central B title. My sophomore year we placed 3^rd in the Monmouth County Championships and 2^nd in the Shore Conference Championships. Above all, I am a team player and I absolutely love my team.

I am looking for a school with the right balance between athletics and academics. Academics are something very important to me also. I maintained a 3.8 GPA my freshman and sophomore year. I am also in two AP classes and two weighted classes that are not AP.  I also hope to attend a school close to, or on the East Coast. I am open to many different types of schools but prefer one with a small to medium sized student body. I have been interested in studying Pre-Health (particularly Occupational Therapy or Physical Therapy) or Athletic Training. I would really like to swim all four years because I see the value of how swimming enhances everything else that I hope to accomplish in college. I hope to be part of a team that is hardworking and committed!