ISU senior swimmer Lauren Breunig is closing out her career where most athletes would like swim their last meet.

Breunig is competing in the 100- and 200-meter freestyles and the 200 individual medley at the NCAA Championships this weekend at the Minnesota Aquatic Center in Minneapolis.

Breunig competed in the same events last year in Athens, Ga., where she placed 28th in the 200 freestyle, 41th in the 100 freestyle and 47th in the 200 individual medley.

Breunig said the ideal way to finish out her career would be to make it from the morning preliminaries to the afternoon finals, which would score points for the team.

“Last year, I was just happy to be there,” Breunig said. “This year, I really want to focus on making the finals, but we’ll just go there and see what happens.”

Breunig has had a stellar senior season, in which she recorded 22 victories with 18 of those being individual titles.

Swimming coach Duane Sorenson said Breunig’s chances at the NCAA Championships are much higher this year.

“Now that she’s made an automatic time, she has an excellent shot at placing,” Sorenson said. “In her 100 and 200 free[style], we think she can go faster in a couple of areas.”

In qualifying for nationals at the Big 12 Championships in February, Breunig set school records in all three of the events she is competing in at the NCAA Championships.

Breunig qualified automatically in the 200 individual medley, in which she has the 19th-best time in the nation.

She made it in on the consideration cuts in the freestyle events, where she ranks 29th in the 200 and 32nd in the 100.

Sorenson said competing at last year’s NCAA Championships helped immensely.

“It gave her great experience because the first time you walk into a meet, you don’t know how the meet is ran and who your competitors are,” Sorenson said. “She won’t be walking in with the wide eyes, deer-in-the-headlights look; she will be a lot calmer and be able to focus more.”

Even though some of Breunig’s three fourth-place finishes in her three individual events at the conference meet were lower than last year’s, her times were faster, which is vital in an individual sport.

Sorenson said Breunig swimming her best times is what is the most important at this meet.

“That’s all we can control,” Sorenson said. “Going there and swimming her fastest times is what we are looking for at the NCAA meet.”