Senior swimmer Erica Rose captured 11th place Wednesday at the FINA World Championships for open water swimming in Barcelona, Spain, finishing the 10-kilometer race in 2:02.02.5.

Viola Valli, an Italian swimmer, won the race with a time of 1:59.49.9. A field of 35 women from 20 countries competed, beginning and ending the race in waters bordering one of Spain’s most famous avenues, la Rambla.

The Weinberg senior earned her spot on the national team after grabbing the USA Swimming Open Water National Championships on June 1 in Fort Myers, Fla.

Rose finished the 10 kilometer swim in 2:17.24, almost two minutes ahead of second-place finisher Briley Bergen.

Bergen, who also traveled to Spain with the team, finished in 16th place.

This was Rose’s second consecutive national title and the third year she traveled with the U.S. team to the world championships.

Rose’s efforts earned two points for the U.S. national team competing for the world title. She also carried the American flag at the competition’s opening ceremony July 12.

Events continue until July 27 and include swimming, diving, water polo, synchronized swimming and open water swimming. On the organization’s Web site, FINA officials said they expect more than 300,000 spectators to watch the competitions.

At NU Rose swims distance freestyle with the women’s team.

But she said open water swimming, which can be done in virtually any body of water other than a pool, suited her better than conventional competition.

“I like open water better than pool swimming because you have so much more freedom and you’re not going up and down a black line,” Rose told The Daily in May 2002. “The variables can change right up to and even during the race. It’s never the same race.”