SLU swimming and diving turned in a strong performance at the 2017 Butler Invite, located in Fishers, Indiana. The women’s team finished first overall, while the men’s team finished second overall in a hard-fought competition.
Breaststroke was a particular point of strength for the Billikens, with senior Austin Nguyenphu and freshman Emily Kishish winning two breaststroke events apiece, in the men’s and women’s heats, respectively. The victories meant that a SLU swimmer finished first in all four of the breaststroke events at the Butler Invite meet.
SLU finished first in several other events, as well, with excellent times. A time of 1:49.74 was enough for the Billiken women to win the 200-yard medley relay. Meanwhile, the men’s 200-yard freestyle was taken by junior Ryan McCoy with a time of 1:43.01. Kishish’s winning 100-yard breaststroke time was 1:08.91, and her winning 200-yard breaststroke time was 2:27.09. Nguyenphu’s winning 100-yard breaststroke time was 58.31, and the time that earned him first in the 200-yard breaststroke was 2:06.09.
Freshman Savannah Nichols was another contributor to the Billikens, with a time of 2:11.07 winning her the women’s 200-yard butterfly. Junior Mina Glenesk put in a strong performance in one of her distance events, finishing in first place in the women’s 500-yard butterfly with a time of 5:08.32.
McCoy also had a strong showing in the men’s 100-yard butterfly, earning first place with a time of 50.56. Junior Riley Kirby’s time of 2:06.67 was good enough for first place in the women’s 200-yard backstroke, and sophomore Isaiah Williams won the men’s 200-yard butterfly in 1:51.33.
SLU’s swimming and diving team will be back in action soon when they take on University of Missouri-Saint Louis and Maryville on Jan. 28. The Billikens will return home to take on those two squads, as the meet will take place at the Simon Rec Center.
The meet also marks SLU swimming and diving’s senior day, with the men’s and women’s senior classes being recognized in a pre-meet ceremony.
Afterwards, the Billikens will have approximately two weeks to prepare for the Atlantic 10 Championships, which will take place in Geneva, Ohio starting on Feb. 15. The A-10 Championships will last through Feb. 18, and will mark the SLU swimming and diving’s last action of the 2016-2017 season.
