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Swimming Kicks Off 2006-07 Season This Weekend
Oct. 13, 2006 The Butler men's and women's swimming teams continue to build towards success in the Horizon League under head coach Maurice Stewart, who enters his second season at the helm. Stewart has the Bulldogs primed to make a literal and figurative splash this season thanks to the addition of 15 able newcomers who will join a strong returning class to create one of the deepest rosters in the program's history. "Bringing in this talented recruiting class along with our returning upperclassmen will not only add depth to the program but will allow the team to take a step forward in becoming more competitive in the Horizon League," Stewart said. The Bulldogs' returning swimmers guided the team to 14 all-time top-10 marks in 2005-06, including Raj Duggal, who posted school records in the 200, 500 and 1,000 freestyles. The Butler squad also continued to dominate in the classroom, ranking among the nation's top 30 in cumulative grade point average for consecutive semesters. Stewart will be assisted for the second-straight season by graduate assistant coach Carlton Racette, a former Bulldog swimmer and the school record holder in the 200 fly and 200 IM. The duo will be joined by first-year assistant coach Amanda Walker.
Freestyle: The freestyle events will be the Bulldog's core event this season, with the team returning numerous veterans and adding several incoming freshman that will make an immediate impact in the competitiveness and depth of the team. Sophomores Sarah Lynne Gates and Katie Krueger return as the women's team's top sprinters, with Gates recording the team's top marks in both the 50 (25.95) and 100 (56.96) freestyles, and Krueger notching a second-best mark in the 50 (26.13) and third-best in the 100 (58.22). Freshmen Ali Overgaard, Stephanie Moles and Kaitlyn Pressley will also be relied upon to step up and take on a big role in the sprint events. Senior Korey McCulley, a Horizon League consolation finalist in the 50 freestyle last season, anchors the men's sprint corps. His time of 21.82 was the fifth-fastest mark in school history, while his 100 time of 49.00 was the second-best mark on the team. Junior Jimmy Howard proved to be the Bulldogs' strongest option in the 100 free last season, posting a season-best 48.64 which was just .02 of a second shy of a top-10 mark. Freshmen Alex Tracy and Chris Gordon have strong potential to be league finalists in the 50 and 100, while sophomore Chris Scroggin and freshmen Josh Bennett and Jeff Harrigan will add depth. At middle distance, the women's squad will feature junior Elizabeth Shafer and Gates as the top returners. Shafer tallied a season-best time of 5:29.84 in the 500 last season, while Gates recorded a 2:02.89 in the 200 to lead the team. Newcomers Altepeter, Beth Ann Mensing, Moles and Pressley will add depth in these events. Duggal will anchor the men's team in middle distance events after registering school records last season in the 200 (1:41.99) and 500 (4:36.32) at the Horizon League Championships. Howard, who swam to a 1:52.51 last season, will provide depth in the 200 free, while sophomore Travis Cheney, who notched a 5:39.17, will add additional depth in the 500 free. Both are looking to improve in their respective events, while freshmen Gordon and Ben Shafer will be relied upon to make an impact in both events. The women's team features significant veteran depth in distance freestyle events, but will likely be anchored by a pair of newcomers. Freshmen Julie Elmore and Mensing will be the front-runners in the 1,000 and 1,650 this season. Duggal will be back for the men's team in distance free after recording the school record in the 1,000 (9:29.85) at the Horizon League Championships last season. Shafer will also add depth in the 1,000 and mile, as could several other newcomers.
Butterfly: The Butler women's squad will return only one butterflyer from last year, but will have additional options with the incoming class. Sophomore Melissa Nemec notched a second-best showing in the 100 (1:08.21) and third in the 200 (2:47.23) last year. Freshmen Elmore, Overgaard and Kendall Wormley will add depth in the events and have the potential to be conference finalists in February. Howard will lead the Bulldogs in the 100 fly after swimming to the eighth-fastest time in school history last season with a time of 53.85 at the Horizon League Championships. McCulley will provide veteran experience, while freshmen Gordon and Harrigan add depth. Seniors Jason Brozek and Duggal, as well as sophomore Cheney, will be the front-runners in the men's 200 fly. Brozek paced the Bulldogs in the event last season with a 2:04.61, while Duggal (2:06.23) and Cheney (2:13.04) followed in second and third.
Backstroke: Gates will anchor the women's backstroke events after turning in some of the top times in school history last season. Her times in the 100 back (1:02.60) and 200 back (2:16.43) placed her in the top 10 all-time while earning her consolation finalist showings in the Horizon League Championships. She will be joined by Nemec and Krueger, who were all consolation finalists in the 100 back at the league tournament. Freshmen Pressley, Leah Miller and Wormley will add some needed depth in the event and are all potential league scorers. McCulley, Duggal and Cheney will lead the men's backstrokers in 2006-07. Both McCulley and Duggal swam to top-10 school marks in the 100 back last season, with McCulley placing 12th at the league championships with a time of 54.63, and Duggal leading-off the 400 medley relay with a lifetime-best of 55.01. Cheney chipped in a 200 backstroke time of 2:16.74 to finish fifth on the squad. Newcomers Gordon and Logan Garner will add some needed depth to the event and have the potential to score points during the regular season and at the league championship.
On the men's side, Brozek returns as Butler's top breaststroker, notching top-10 school marks in the 100 (59.32) and 200 (2:10.46) events while earning a championship-finalist showing in the 100 at the league championship. He will be accompanied by Scroggin and newcomer Tracy. Scroggin will add some much needed depth in both distances, while Tracy, a high school state qualifier in the 100, could make an immediate impact as a league scorer.
Individual Medley: The women's team returns a pair of strong options in the individual medley, including Arnold and Gates. Arnold swam to a 2:14.84 in the 200 IM at the Horizon League Championship finals last season, while Gates notched a 2:15.22 in the same event. Newcomers Altepeter, Mensing, Overgaard and Wormley will add significant depth to the event, with Alterpeter and Overgaard having a realistic chance to become conference finalists. On the men's side, Brozek and McCulley bring strong times to the event this season. Brozek swam to the fourth-fastest time in school history and earned a finalist showing at the league championships last year with a time of 1:56.74 in the 200 IM, while McCulley earned a 2:15.10 to finish fifth on the team. Duggal will add veteran depth to the lineup after scoring a 2:07.82 for the team's second-best mark, while newcomers Tracy and Shafer could see significant action.
Relays: The women's team will look to improve on their relay times from last season with the addition crucial newcomers to the roster. Returning swimmers Gates, Krueger, Nemec and Shafer will help the Bulldogs cause in the free relays, but the freshmen Altepeter, Moles, Overgaard and Pressley will be a deciding factor on the success of the team. The same goes for the medley teams, which will be anchored by veterans Arnold, Gates, Krueger and Nemec but be strengthened by the additions of newcomers like Altepeter, Elmore, Miller, Overgaard and Wilson. The men's relay teams have the potential to show drastic improvement this season after putting up a strong performances in last year's Horizon League Championship. Brozek, Duggal and McCulley return after helping last year's 400 free relay team to the second-fastest time in school history (3:11.50). Newcomers Gordon and Tracy will be relied upon to make an immediate impact in their rookie seasons, while returning swimmer Howard and freshmen Bennett, Harrigan and Shafer will add depth.
The Schedule: Four home dates highlight the 2006-07 Butler swimming schedule, as the Bulldogs square off with regional non-conference opponents and a quintet of Horizon League foes in preparation for the conference championships at the end of February. The Butler swimmers will once again call the Carmel High School pool home this season, hosting four dual meets during the year. With the exception of a winter training trip to Puerto Rico, the road slate will keep the Bulldogs close to home, with trips throughout Indiana and to Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio and Wisconsin. The schedule kicks off fast and furiously, as the Bulldogs head to the Indiana Intercollegiate on Oct. 14 before returning home to host Evansville, Saint Louis and Valparaiso the following afternoon. After a stop in Lexington Ky. for a dual meet against Transylvania on Oct. 12, the Bulldogs head to Youngstown on Nov. 3 for a tri-meet, with the women's squad battling Youngstown State and the men's team facing Grove City. The swimmers return to Carmel on Nov. 12 for a Horizon League tri-meet against UIC and UW-Milwaukee and close out the fall portion of the campaign at the TYR College Classic, running Nov. 30 - Dec. 2. The team will then head to San Juan, Puerto Rico for two weeks of winter training before resuming the season at home on Jan. 14 against UW-Green Bay. A two-day quad-meet (Jan. 19-20) at IUPUI with Saint Louis and South Dakota State preludes a stop in Dayton for a head-to-head league battle with Wright State on Jan. 28. The regular season concludes in Carmel on Feb. 4 as the Bulldogs host Vincennes and Xavier on Senior Day. The Horizon League Championships run from Feb. 21-24 in Chicago. "I am pleased with our schedule this year," Stewart said. "It is very balanced, with teams that will challenge us and teams that we can be competitive against. I feel this will give us the preparation necessary to do well in the Horizon League Championships.
"This team is growing and moving in the right direction," Stewart added. "We have a great group of hard-working and talented freshmen who will compliment our returning athletes. We put up some of our fastest times last year, and I am confident that this team will be even better this season. I am really looking forward to a great second season as head coach."
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