Rafal Kuchta

Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Katowice, Poland
High School:
SMS Krakow

Junior: Rafal Kuchta was a consistent point scorer for the Cardinals in the dual season. At the 2009 BIG EAST Championship, he made the A-final in the 100-fly and finished fifth with a time of 48.27, a lifetime best. He won the B-final in the 200-fly with a lifetime best of 1:46.61. He was second in the B-final in the 500-free with a time of 4:28.59, another lifetime best. He was an Academic All-American in 2008 and is in Poland's Top 8 all-time fastest in the 200-meter butterfly (1:59.6 LCM). He was a silver medalist in the Swedish Nationals in 2007 in the 200-fly and won two silvers in 2008 in the 100-meter fly and 200-meter fly.

Sophomore: Rafal proved he is capable of having breakout swims as he qualified for the NCAAs in the 200-fly. While at the NCAAs, he swam leadoff for the 800-free relay team that finished 16th. He reset a lifetime best in the 500-free and the 100-fly at the BIG EAST Championships.

Freshman: Kuchta joined the Cardinals in January of 2007 and set a lifetime bests in the 500-free and the 100-fly and the 200-fly all at the BIG EAST Championship. He finished third in the 200-fly to score points for the Cardinals.

Prior to U of L: He swam in the 2004 European Junior Championships where he placed fifth in the 200-meter butterfly. That same year, he placed third in the Polish Senior Championships in the 200-fly. He was a member of the 2003 Polish Junior Championship 4x200 free relay that won the national title. He is a member of the Polish National Swim Team and a 2006 European Junior Championship finalist.

Personal: He is the son of Miroslaw and Alicja Kuchta. He is majoring in business. He was born Nov. 2, 1986.