After mistake on dating app, MSU freshman emailed every Claudia on campus

Harrison Keegan
News-Leader
The Tinder app is shown in this Associated Press file photo.

He swiped left when he meant to swipe right.

A Missouri State University freshman says he recently made the clumsy mistake while scrolling through his Tinder dating app.

The smartphone app allows users to connect with potential romantic suitors in their area.

If both users swipe right upon seeing the other person's photo, then they can chat. 

But if one person swipes left, it's game over.

The freshman said his heart sank when he accidentally rejected a co-ed named Claudia.

All the freshman could learn from Tinder about the 18-year-old brunette was her first name and her school — Missouri State.

Rather than sit back and wonder what might have been, the freshman decided to make a bold gesture.

More:Tinderella update: Here's what MSU freshman is planning for his first date with Claudia

He searched the name "Claudia" on Missouri State's website and on Saturday emailed everyone at the university with that name in search of "the one that got away."

The man asked the Claudia to email him back with a simple answer: "left" or "right."

If the answer was "right," then the man offered to take Claudia out for doughnuts.

The freshman's shotgun approach worked in getting the message to his crush.

Claudia Alley, a Missouri State freshman from Jefferson City, was among the women who got the email.

Alley knew the email was about her because it referenced a joke she made in her bio.

With some coaxing from her roommate, Alley decided to post the email along with a picture of her Tinder profile to Twitter, saying "THIS GUY LITERALLY EMAILED EVERY CLAUDIA AT MISSOURI STATE TO FIND ME ON TINDER."

As of Monday afternoon, the tweet had been retweeted more than 24,000 times and liked more than 148,000 times, making Alley a celebrity on MSU's campus.

"I walked into class this morning and people just stared," Alley told the News-Leader on Monday.

Alley said she wasn't planning on telling her mom what happened, but she didn't have to. Her mom heard about it on the radio in Jefferson City.

"I thought it would be big," Alley said. "But I didn't know it would be this big."

Alley said she found the gesture to be more funny than creepy.

And yes, Alley said the two are planning a doughnut date for later this week.