Photo by Jonathan Wang.
NHU-HAN BUI | STAFF REPORTER | hbui@butler.edu
“Welcome to the Team” is a Q&A series where the Collegian sits down with first-year student-athletes who are entering their first season at Butler University. These articles will address why they chose Butler, what they hope to get out of this season and some personal tidbits that you won’t find anywhere else.
This week, staff reporter Nhu-Han Bui sat down with two of the eight first-years on the women’s swim team: CeCe Gerard and Emma Ciesla.
CeCe Gerard is a sprint free and fly swimmer from Omaha, Nebraska. Photo by Jonathan Wang
THE BUTLER COLLEGIAN: When did you start swimming and when did you decide that you wanted to continue it in college?
CECE GERARD: I started swimming competitively in middle school, like sixth or seventh grade. I went back and forth for a long time [on deciding to swim in college]. At first, I decided, ‘No, no way, I don’t want to swim in college.’ Then [Maurice Stewart], our coach, reached out and was like ‘Hey, your times are really good for our team, would you be interested in joining?’ and I was like, ‘Sure.’
TBC: In high school, you helped set two records which were an All-Conference selection and went to two State Championships. How did that prepare you to swim here?
CG: I think it prepared me because I was around a lot of really fast girls. We had three all-state swimmers on our team [my senior year], which, for our school, was really impressive. To be around that culture of driven individuals has really helped me be prepared for here, where everyone has one common goal and is looking to do better.
TBC: As a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society and cross country team in high school, how did you balance academics and athletics?
CG: It took a really long time, and I’m obviously still figuring it out. It’s definitely not perfect, but a lot of it was figuring out time management and recognizing that they’re both my priorities. During homework, I’m like ‘Okay, I’m only doing [work for] this amount of time,’ and same with swimming. I can’t be tired when I come home [from practice], I have to make sure I’m on top of it. My parents have helped me a lot as well.
TBC: Who is a professional swimmer you look up to?
CG: Katie Ledecky. She’s a force and she’s easy to follow because she’s such a great person in general. Looking up to her [while growing up] has been really great because she’s the kind of person I want to be.
TBC: What do you love about swimming?
CG: It’s an individual sport [because] you’re competing by yourself, but then it’s just so fun to see all of your points come together at the end. It’s also like a support system. In other sports, everyone supports each other but behind the blocks, you see every single person [on your team] on the sidelines cheering for each other. I think that’s something really special about swimming that you don’t see in a lot of other sports, and I think that’s especially shown throughout Butler. If you come to a meet, we’re the loudest on the pool deck and the sidelines. I had a friend from home [come to] one of our meets, and she’s like, ‘You guys just look like you’re having so much fun,’ and that’s one of our main goals.
TBC: What are your goals for this season?
CG: I would like to score points for our team and I want to place [in the conference]. At the Big East [tournament], I want to have points that go towards our team score.
TBC: What is your favorite swim memory?
CG: [At] state my junior year, we tied with 326 points with another team, which is unheard of in swimming because it’s so exact. Even though we tied, it was [still] so much fun because [we had friends on] the other team and it was so much fun to share the title rather than someone being bummed that they didn’t win.
TBC: What is a fun fact about yourself?
CG: I’m a vegetarian, and my mom was a swimmer.
Emma Ciesla is a fly and individual medley swimmer from Rochester Hills, Michigan. Photo by Jonathan Wang.
TBC: When did you start swimming and when did you decide that you wanted to continue it in college?
EMMA CIESLA: I started swimming competitively when I was five. When I was little, I was always at a pool and my grandpa taught me how to swim. What got me to swim in college was [the fact that] I loved the sport [and being with the team] a lot during high school, and I wanted to continue it. It’s like a getaway, just a break from all the schoolwork.
TBC: Why did you choose Butler?
EC: I liked the business program here; I’m planning on being a finance major. It was just a great school all around and it was [also] a little bit closer to home.
TBC: You had a lot of success in high school, including being part of four state championship teams and earning several All-State, All-County and All-League honors. How has that prepared you to swim here?
EC: It’s prepared me by giving me a competitive [mindset]. I did club swim as well, so through that [you] just have the mindset that you’re going to compete with bigger teams and faster people, and that shouldn’t stop you.
TBC: How do you keep pushing yourself to be better after an amazing high school career?
EC: I continue to push myself just by continuing to work hard, get sleep, eat the food I need and [by] coming to practice every day and working hard.
TBC: Who is a professional swimmer that you look up to?
EC: I’d say Michael Phelps because he’s a flyer and he was amazing. I was actually at the [US Olympic Team Trials] so watching all the female swimmers that were swimming down there, like Gretchen Walsh was crazy. I look up to Walsh too. She’s an amazing swimmer all around and I want to be like that too.
TBC: What do you love about swimming?
EC: I love racing against others, but also just being with a team and having people by your side constantly who are there for you in and out.
TBC: What are your goals for this season?
EC: I honestly want to try to get a record up on the board. I’m getting there, we’re like a second away in my two-fly. Making top eight at conference [is another goal]. It’s a little far-fetched, but I always have the mindset of wanting to reach the NCAA [tournament] even though it’s a little hard at the D1 level. I want to try to reach there soon.
TBC: What is your favorite swim memory?
EC: My first time getting my [National Club Swimming Association] cut for nationals, and I think it was for age groups. It was my first time going to Orlando, it was in a big pool and we’re going against way faster people from all around the country. I think getting that first cut really pushed me to constantly continue getting those cuts and continuing to go farther.
TBC: What is a fun fact about yourself?
EC: I’ll say two. First, I was actually born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Second, my sister and I have the exact same birthday, nine years apart.