As daunting as the transition from high school to college is for countless students, the added factor of being more than 2,000 miles from home might be enough to push some over the edge.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, University of Wisconsin junior swimmer Hannah McClurg has taken what could have been an overwhelmingly stressful situation for most undergrads and turned it into success, both in the pool and the classroom.

But for McClurg, swimming against the current is something she's been doing her entire life.

After a stellar prep career in San Diego, which included nine All-America selections, McClurg garnered interest from a bevy of other West Coast schools. However, McClurg said the decision to come to Wisconsin was not a particularly difficult one.

"I looked mostly at California schools," McClurg said. "I kind of wanted to stay in California, but when I came out here, I completely fell in love with it. Despite the weather, I really like it out here."

McClurg said distance was never really a disadvantage in her decision to attend UW because most of the other schools showing interest were fairly far removed from the San Diego area.

"Anywhere I was looking would basically be either a couple-hour drive or plane flight away," McClurg said. "So it didn't matter either way."

Then again, the distance does prevent McClurg's family from supporting her in person as much as they had throughout her earlier swimming career.

"I see them at Christmas," McClurg said. "And they usually come out for a couple of meets."

The transition to collegiate-level athletics can be a formidable challenge for even the most highly regarded of high school athletes, and McClurg's experience has been no different. But the system shock that came with the shift to a higher level of competition was ultimately for her benefit.

"[The transition] was hard," McClurg said. "It was definitely a wake-up call, but it was a good wake-up call. It really helped me put in perspective what my goals are and what I need to do to get there."

It would seem that many of those goals must be accomplished by now, given McClurg's accomplishments in recent seasons. The last two years have seen McClurg earn an All-American and honorable mention All-American selections, as well as two second-team All-Big Ten nominations.

Fresh off the UW men's and women's fourth-place finish at the Texas Invite over the weekend, McClurg was back in the pool gearing up for the team's next event in four short weeks, a trip to Manoa, Hawaii to take on the University of Hawaii.

As for her own most recent performance, McClurg was just pleased with her showing.

"I did all right," McClurg said. "I got a couple [personal records]. I, of course, had pretty high expectations, but it was a pretty good meet.

"Hopefully Big Ten's will be better."

As for her future ambitions in the dry land of the working world, McClurg plans on obtaining a degree in biology and eventually hopes to delve into the field of cancer prevention and treatment.

"I want to go into [cancer] research," McClurg said. "I might have to wait until I'm done swimming, like my fifth year, to try and apply for an internship, just because of time management. I just don't have the time right now."