The Butler swim team competed at Valpo and UIndy over the weekend, claiming team wins over three of the four opponents they faced. On Friday night, BU defeated Valpo 178-81 and Lewis 170-89. The following day BU won 184-74 over Eastern Illinois, but took a 203-86 setback to UIndy.
 
"We had a successful and busy two-day racing weekend," Head Coach Maurice Stewart stated. "I am pleased to see our improving athleticism, racing confidence and team chemistry that should set us up well for our mid-season high performance invite in the next few weeks."
 
Friday night went so well that Coach Stewart selected the entire team as the "Swimmers of the Meet". On Saturday afternoon, the recognition went to Gianna Leffler, Kate Schilling and Cece Gerard.
 
Action at Valpo opened with the 200 Medley Relay. Butler's A and B relays placed first and second to post season-best times. Another season-best time went down for BU in the 1000 Free. Kayla Wright led the way with a time of 10:44.18 to earn second in the event. Sam Tomic and Meghan Voelker also impacted the action with times of 11:06.11 and 11:38.04 for fifth and sixth.
 
 The 200 Free was highlighted by Caitlin Herring and her first place finish with a time of 1:57.07. Caroline Zimner placed third, just missing a BIG EAST qualifying time (1:59.69) and Sadie Brown grabbed fourth (2:02.73).
 
Gianna Leffler led from start to finish in the 50 Back for BU. She won the event with a time of 27.84. The Bulldogs got another first place finish in the 50 Breast. Kate Schilling won with a time of 31.36 while Lydia Eberlein took second place at 31.58.
 
Butler was very impressive in the 100 Fly and would have swimmers place first, second and third for the first time this season. Ava Whittaker came in at 59.93 for first place. Emma Ciesla had a BIG EAST qualifying time at 1:00.53 and Lauren Bergman was right behind her at 1:01.45.
 
Alani Hightower-Bend won the 50 Free at Valpo with a time of 25.39. Elizabeth Naylor also had a strong swim placing fourth at 25.78.
 
Butler had another strong pack of swimmers in the 100 Fre. Olivia Stotts placed second (54.71), Elizabeth Naylor took third (55.18) and Zizi Mateja earned fourth (56.01).
 
Leffler and Schilling scored big points for BU by winning the 100 Back and 100 Breast. Leffler won the 100 Back with a time of 59.93. Caroline Zimner was also in action with a third place finish (1:01.07). Hightower-Bend rounded out the effort in fourth (1:01.51).
 
Schilling's time of 1:07.31 in the 100 Breast topped the competition. Lydia Eberlein also competed in the even to take third place (1:09.02).
 
Butler also had winners in the 500 Free and 50 Fly. Caitlin Herring won the 500 with a time of 5:14.83. Kayla Wright was right behind her at 5:16.50 for second and Sam Tomic came up with a fifth place finish (5:25.68).
 
BU had a strong 1-2 punch in the 50 Fly with Ava Whittaker winning the race (27.05) and Lauren Bergman placing second (27.28). Freshman CeCe Gerard had a strong swim placing fourth (27.88).
 
The Bulldogs finished the day with a second place finish in the 200 Free Relay. Ava Whittaker, Alani Hightower-Bend, Elizabeth Naylor and Olivia Stotts posted a time of 1:41.09.
 
On Saturday, BU finished fourth in the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:50.32. Leffler swam the back, Schilling took the breast, Hightower-Bend had the fly and Whittaker the free.
 
Zimner had a strong swim in the 1000 Free for second place (11:02.84). Caitlin Herring added a third place finish for BU (11:13.59).
 
The 200 Free was a great race for BU with Naylor just missing a BIG EAST qualifying time. The junior still won the event, clocking in at 1:59.64. Tomic was right behind her in second (1:59.90).
 
The 100 Back was highlighted by Hightower-Bend. She placed fifth at 1:01.19. Olivia McKee was the next swimmer to touch the wall at 1:01.56.
 
Kate Schilling was the top BU swimmer in the 100 Breast. She placed fourth with a time of 1:07.54 and Ava McGonigle swam to a sixth place finish (1:11.48).
 
Coach Stewart saw BIG EAST qualifying times in the 200 Fly and 50 Free. Emma Ciesla had the first in the 200 Fly to take third place (2:12.62). Olivia Stotts had the other in the 50 Free (24.92).
 
Zizi Mateja, Naylor and Herring finished in a pack in the 100 Free. Their times went 54.69, 55.10 and 55.25. 
 
Butler enjoyed three second place finishes in the 200 Back, 200 Breast and 500 Free. Zimner earned second place in the 200 Back with a time of 2:09.10. Schilling took second in the 200 Breast with a time of 2:25.96 and Kayla Wright paced BU in the 500 Free (5:17.58).
 
The end of the meet was highlighted by CeCe Gerard's BIG EAST qualifying time in the 100 Fly (59.38) and Kate Schilling's first-place finish in the 200 IM (2:12.02).
 
Butler will continue to train over the next two weeks in preparation for the 2024 House of Champions meet on the horizon. IU Indy will host that meet from Nov. 21-23.