Orlando, Florida native Polina Rukosuev has announced she plans to transfer to East Carolina University in the fall.
“i am super excited to share that i will be continuing my swimming & education at east carolina university!! extremely grateful for everyone who has supported me along this process. i’m also very appreciative of everything bama has done for me and will always be supporting u guys! i’m looking forward to this new opportunity & can’t wait to be apart of this amazing team/pirate nation!! ☠️💜”
Rukosuev graduated from Forest Lake Academy in Altamonte Springs in the spring of 2019. She swam under Alec Rukosuev at Fast Lane Aquatics and specialized in distance freestyle. She was a top-8 finisher at the 2018 USA Open Water Junior National Championships. She began at Alabama in the fall of 2019 and made the conference team as a freshman. She competed in the 200, 500 and 1650 freestyles at the 2020 SEC Championships. She was also named to the 2020 SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Currently, Rukosuev swims for the Alabama club team. Her best SCY times include:
| Event | High School | At Alabama |
| 500 free | 4:59.49 | 4:54.04 |
| 1000 free | 10:31.65 | 10:08.66 |
| 1650 free | 16.52.89 | 16:55.56 |
Rukosuev will suit up for the Pirates in the fall of 2021 with Ava Iannetta, Grace Weed, Kaila Hewitt, Meghan Armstrong, Mia Cote, Rachel Gibson, and Reagan Youngblood.
This summer, Rukosuev notched lifetime bests in the LCM 50 free, 100 free, 50 back, 100 back, and 200 back, swimming attached to Saint Petersburg Aquatics.
As a former Alabama alum, the number of these articles worries me a lot about the program. While this seems more like her transferring so she can actually compete considering she is currently on the club team, not the intercollegiate team, it still makes me concerned about the culture. I hope they get things turned around quickly, or it may take years to recover.
Yeah, it seems to be a good move for her. Her times wouldn’t score any points at SEC’s
Pretty girl. She clearly has her own reasons for leaving Bama, but amazing how quickly a rising program can fall. (And maybe Margo Geer will keep it rising). But right now, so many exiting.
Poliruko
I’m confused – is she swimming for the Alabama club team or St. Petersburg Aquatics, or does that mean that in 2021, she swam for Alabama’s club team and not the University team?
Bama held together with a wet paper bag
Their problem is they are in Tuscaloosa not Huntsville. I mention that the job market is better in Huntsville. Well, business insider wrote an article about a middle age guy from the California Bay Area which was transfer there by Northrup Grumman and eventually like it because the housing is cheaper. In fact Alabama should mention that after college you could moved to Huntsville.Tech Workers Moved in Droves to Hunstville, Alabama’s ‘Rocket City’ (businessinsider.com)