Feb. 26, 2006
Butler closed the 2005-06 season with an impressive showing in the 2006 Horizon League Championships, held Feb. 22-25 at the Busbey Natatorium on the Cleveland State University campus. The Bulldogs swam season-best times at a staggering 93 percent rate and cracked Butler's all-time top 10 lists in several events.
"I was extremely pleased with our team's performances at the championships," said Butler head coach Maurice Stewart. "Swimming 93-percent season-best times is evident that hard work and perseverance pays off. I am proud of our team's effort and dedication this season. With what this team accomplished, I feel the swimming program is definitely moving in the right direction."
The men's team earned more than 200 points for the first time in several seasons. Junior Raj Duggal swam a school-record time of 9:29.85 in the 1000-yd. freestyle to take a third place finish at the championships. The time was a lifetime-best for Duggal, who also posted personal-best times in the 500-yd. freestyle (4:36.32, sixth place) and the 200-yd. freestyle (1:41.99), where he led off the 800-yd. freestyle relay. Duggal's time of 55.01 in the opening leg of the 400-yd. medley relay was a Butler top 10 time for the 100-yd. backstroke and a personal-best for Duggal.
Jason Brozek also cracked Butler's all-time Top 10 in the 200-yd. individual medley with a time of 1:56.74 for a 13th-place finish at the meet, setting a lifetime-best. Brozek placed eighth at the championships in the 100-yd. breaststroke, setting another lifetime-best time at 59.32. His time of 2:10.46 in the 200-yd. breaststroke earned Brozek a 10th-place finish.
Sophomore Jimmy Howard's time of 22.18 in the 50-yd. freestyle earned him a 10th-place finish at the championships and a spot on Butler's all-time Top 10. He also earned a 10th-place finish in the 100-yd. freestyle with a time of 48.68. Howard's time of 53.85 in the 100-yd. butterfly was a lifetime best and the seventh-fastest time in the event at the championships.
Korey McCulley got to the wall in 21.82 in the 50-yd. freestyle for a 15th-place finish and a spot on Butler's all-time Top 10 list. That personal-best came in addition to a lifetime-best in the 100-yd. backstroke (54.63, 14th place). Also setting personal-bests at the meet were Travis Cheney (100-yd. butterfly - 56.93, 200-yd. butterfly - 2:13.04, and 500-yd. freestyle - 5:27.80), Chris Scroggin (100-yd. breaststroke - 1:12.53 and 100-yd. freestyle - 55.67) and Jeff Martin (500-yd. freestyle - 5:20.58, 200-yd. freestyle - 1:56.33, and 200-yd. backstroke - 2:10.61).
In the relays, Butler's men's team cracked a school Top 10 time in the 200-yd. freestyle relay, combining to get to the wall in 1:32.30. McCulley, Cheney, Martin and Scroggin were the team. Butler also posted a second-place finish in the 400-yd. freestyle relay (3:11.50).
On the women's side, freshman Sarah Lynne Gates posted an all-time Top 10 time and lifetime-best in the 200-yd. IM (2:15.22), in addition to lifetime-best performances in the 100-yd. backstroke (1:02.60), 200-yd. backstroke (2:16.43) and 50-yd. freestyle (25.95) as the first leg of the 200-yd. freestyle relay.
Junior Mary Beth Arnold got to the wall in 2:14.84 in the 200-yd. individual medley, claiming a spot on Butler's All-Time Top 10 list. It was also a personal-best for Arnold, who followed that performances with a fourth-place finish in the 100-yd. breaststroke (1:06.52) and an eighth-place mark in the 200-yd. breaststroke (2:26.12).
Elizabeth Shafer set lifetime-best times in the 500-yd. (5:29.84), 200-yd. (2:03.77) and 100-yd. freestyle (56.98) events. Elaine Mohler got to the wall in personal-best times in the 200-yd. IM (2:32.94), 400-yd. IM (5:26.05) and 100-yd. butterfly (1:08.90). Genny Berning's time of 1:04.57 in the 100-yd. backstroke was nearly three-second improvement off her previous best and earned her a 13th-place finish at the meet. Berning also set a lifetime-best in the 200-yd. backstroke (2:21.17).
Katie Krueger posted lifetime-bests in the 50-yd. (26.13) and 100-yd. (58.22) freestyle events, in addition to her personal-best 1:08.15 in the 100-yd. backstroke. Amanda Walter, the team's lone senior, got to the wall in a personal-best 2:21.31 in the 200-yd. freestyle and 3:02.75 in the 200-yd. breaststroke.
Krista Peterson swam a lifetime-best 1:10.27 in the 100-yd. butterfly, while Janna Fett had a personal-best in the 200-yd. breaststroke (2:41.45), which also earned her 14th place at the meet, in addition to her 16th-place finish in the 100-yd. breaststroke (1:14.74). Melissa Nemec earned 15th place in the 100-yd. backstroke (1:07.26) and had a 58.42 split in the 400-yd. freestyle relay. Nemec posted lifetime-best times in the 100-yd. butterfly (1:08.21) and in the 50-yd. butterfly (28.69) as part of the 200-yd. medley relay. Megann McGann's time of 2:19.77 in the 200-yd. freestyle was a lifetime-best, as was her 1:03.71 in the 100-yd. freestyle. Gates, Arnold, Shafer and Krueger combined for a time of 1:43.06 in the 200-yd. freestyle relay and a place on Butler's Top 10 charts.
Final Women's Scores
UW-Green Bay - 805
Wright State - 772
UW-Milwaukee - 764
UIC - 479.5
Cleveland State - 358.5
Youngstown State - 197
Butler - 147
Final Men's Scores
Cleveland State - 784
Wright State - 742.5
UIC - 660.5
UW-Green Bay - 527
UW-Milwaukee - 512
Butler - 201
Women's Awards
Swimmer of the Meet: Lindsay Caldwell, UW-Milwaukee
Diver of the Meet: Erin Blemberg, UW-Milwaukee
Athlete of the Year: Lindsay Caldwell, UW-Milwaukee
Newcomer of the Year: Danielle DeGrand, UW-Green Bay
Swimming Coach of the Year: Jim Merner, UW-Green Bay
Diving Coach of the Year: Todd Hill, UW-Milwaukee
Men's Awards
Swimmer of the Meet: Bjorn Schantz, Cleveland State
Diver of the Meet: Thatcher Carr, Cleveland State
Athlete of the Year: Bjorn Schantz, Cleveland State
Newcomer of the Year: Damian Kurtyka, UW-Green Bay
Co-Swimming Coach of the Year: Wally Morton, Cleveland State & Sion Brinn, Wright State
Diving Coach of the Year: Rich Karban, Cleveland State