Final Results
East Meadow, N.Y. – The Butler swim team placed fifth overall at the 2020 BIG EAST Championship Meet, presented by Jeep. The four-day event hosted at the Nassau County Aquatic Center ended with Butler accumulating 287 points, the highest point ever reached by any BU swim team at the BIG EAST Championship meet.. Villanova won for the seventh-straight year and the top three would round out with Georgetown and Xavier.
"This is one of the best BIG EAST Championships for Butler Swimming," head coach Maurice Stewart said. "I am so proud of our lady Swim Dawgs. This team really stepped up at the BIG EAST Championships this week, and we made a statement that Butler Swimming is on the rise. We got closer and stronger as a team as the meet progressed to have an outstanding final day of the meet."
Six new school records were set during the four-day event. The 'Dawgs posted top times in the 800 Free Relay, 200 Free Relay, 200 IM, 100 Fly, 400 IM, and 200 Fly.
"There is no limit on how far this great group of student-athletes can go for Butler Swimming," Steward added. "It was really fun to watch our team excel in the pool this week!"
Stewart tabbed Hannah Pugh the BU "Swimmer of the Meet" for her three A Final performances in the 200 IM, 100 Fly, and 200 Back.
Annah Van Gheem easily set a new school record for Butler in the 200 Yard Butterfly. She placed sixth in the championship final with a time of 2:03.57. Van Gheem improved on her own time of a year ago (2:05.53).
Jillian Dawson and
Emma Harris also scored for BU. Dawson ended in ninth with a time of 2:06.07 and Harris was in 14th (2:11.59).
Van Gheem,
Isabel Heitmeyer,
Issy Petersen and
Abigail Roberts teamed up for the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay. The unit finished sixth overall with a time of 3:29.36, marking the third-best time in program history.
Butler had five student-athletes score in the 200 Yard Breaststroke.
Alexa Vota led the group with a 10th place finish (2:22.64) and
Natalie Rohweder followed close behind in 11th (2:22.90).
Abigail Nebot,
Allie Carmichael and
Olivia Allen would join the action taking places 13-15.
Hannah Pugh posted the second-best time in school history in the 200 Yard Backstroke on the final day of competition. She placed eighth in the championship final with a time of 2:03.52.
Olivia Allen and
Olivia Klafta finished back-to-back in the 1650 Yard Freestyle event. Allen's time of 17:47.22 landed her at 11th and Klafta was just behind her at 17:53.88.
Colleen Carey also swam well in the event to place 15th with a time of 18:02.67.
Isabel Heitmeyer was the top Bulldog in the 100 Yard Freestyle. She placed 14th in the consolation final by touching the wall at 52.06.
Major Awards
Most Outstanding Women's Swimmer: Millicent Routledge, Villanova
Most Outstanding Men's Swimmer: Drew Carbone, Georgetown
Women's Coach Staff of the Year: Rick Simpson and Villanova
Men's Coach Staff of the Year: Brent McDonald and Xavier
Most Outstanding Women's Diver: Riley Fujioka, Georgetown
Most Outstanding Men's Diver: Michael Perra, Villanova
Women's Diving Coach of the Year: Marc VanDyken, Georgetown
Men's Diving Coach of the Year: Todd Michael, Villanova
Final Team Standings
Women
1. Villanova (882 points)
2. Georgetown (749)
3. Xavier (654)
4. Seton Hall (439)
5. Butler (287)
6. Providence (232)
