Welcome to the Team: First-years make waves

Caitlin Herring, Zizi Mateja and Kayla Wright join the Bulldogs’ roster. 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 three of the eight first-years on the women’s swim team: Kayla Wright, Zizi Mateja and Caitlin Herring.

 

Caitlin Herring is a free swimmer from Sugar Land, Texas. 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?

CAITLIN HERRING: I started taking swimming lessons when I was a baby because we had a backyard pool. I started swimming competitively year-round when I was eight. I always knew that since I was swimming competitively, I wanted to swim in college. At the beginning of high school, I wasn’t sure if that was actually going to work out, but I ended up doing it and I’m really happy to be swimming in college.

TBC: Why did you choose Butler?

CH: I chose Butler for a lot of reasons. The biggest one is the business school because I’m coming to college to get an education above everything else. Everything that I learned about it while I was touring and researching here made it stand out to me as a place where I could thrive. Another reason is the small campus size. I came from a small private school background, so I wasn’t used to large classrooms or a whole bunch of people. And then, of course, the swim team was amazing. I loved visiting here and meeting all the girls and Coach Stewart is awesome and so sweet. I just really felt like this was a place where I could grow as a person.

TBC: How has your adjustment to college been, both in and out of the pool?

CH: It’s been a lot easier than I thought it would be. I did a university model, which was private school mixed in with homeschool mixed in with some community college. Being on campus is similar to the community college courses that I took online and went in-person [for]. I also think the faculty here and the upperclassmen on the team have really helped to make that transition smooth as well.

TBC: Who is a professional swimmer you look up to?

CH: When I was little it was Katinka Hosszú from Hungary because I really liked her and she was a versatile swimmer. Now it’s probably Katie Ledecky because she swims freestyle and I swim freestyle.

TBC: What do you love about swimming?

CH: I love being in the pool and feeling how the water moves. [The pool] is a place where you zone everything out and focus on tiny details and work towards a goal. And you’re in a group of 20-something other girls who have the same goals as you, so no matter what you went through that day, you could all focus together on making yourself better at one thing that you all love. It’s kind of like a form of therapy, but it’s also a sport that you can take pride in.

TBC: What are your goals for this season?

CH: One of my goals would be [to swim in] a final at conference. In the Big East, the top 24 swimmers in the morning [prelims] qualify, and they get to swim again at night in the finals. Another goal is just to be faster than I was last year. But I would be happy with feeling like I have learned something this season because I know it’s a transition year being a first-year. As long as I feel like I am learning and growing as a swimmer, I’ll be happy with that.

TBC: What is your favorite swim memory?

CH: My favorite memory of swimming is probably coaching and teaching kids how to swim. I love swimming and it’s really helped me grow as a person, and I love sharing it with others. I taught every summer throughout high school, either at a local neighborhood team or private lessons that I taught in my backyard. Just watching those kids grow and seeing them develop a love for the water, learn safety skills and set that foundation for them has been amazing.

TBC: What is a fun fact about yourself?

CH: I like to crochet.

 

Zizi Mateja is a free swimmer from Northbrook, Illinois. Photo by Jonathan Wang.

TBC: When did you start swimming and when did you decide that you wanted to continue it in college?

ZIZI MATEJA: I started swimming competitively at the age of six, and I think I decided that swimming was going to be my primary sport [when I was around 10 years old] because I did a bunch of sports growing up. I decided I wanted to swim in college when I was in eighth grade.

TBC: Why did you choose Butler?

ZM: I loved the size of the school. I didn’t want to go somewhere too big because I wanted smaller class sizes so that I could have a better relationship with my professors and get more help [for my classes] and things like that. And I also just loved the team here. I thought the girls were really nice and I also loved the coaches.

TBC: How did your experience with swimming in high school and doing club swimming help prepare you to swim here?

ZM: Swimming in high school created a great environment that’s very similar to the college swimming environment; it’s more of a team sport. Club swimming is more individual but in high school, the team as a whole tries to beat the other team and I really loved that dynamic, so I think that prepared me very well to swim in college.

TBC: What is something you have learned from the upperclassmen?

ZM: One of the most important things I’ve learned from them is that when I don’t get the best time, I should try to move on and learn from it, instead of letting it stop me and have a negative impact on me mentally. I also don’t want that to reflect in my races after.

TBC: Who is a professional swimmer that you look up to?

ZM: I definitely look up to Olivia Smoliga a lot. She actually swam on the first club team that I swam on when I was a kid, and she’s from the town next to mine so I look up to her a lot. I really think she’s awesome.

TBC: What do you love about swimming?

ZM: This might be one that not a lot of people would say, but I really love waking up early in the morning and having morning practice. I know it might sound crazy, but I feel like it really gets me ready for my day and it gives me energy. It’s made me a very organized person and helped me manage my time better.

TBC: What are your goals for this season?

ZM: My goals for this season are definitely to help the team score points at the Big East Championship and I definitely want to drop time in my freestyle events, that would be really awesome.

TBC: What is a fun fact about yourself?

ZM: My family is from Ukraine so I can speak Russian.

TBC: What is your favorite swim memory?

ZM: I really enjoyed my midseason meet that I just had with the team. I thought it was really fun to go up against a bunch of different teams and I think relays are super fun. I love being able to contribute to the team in a relay because it’s really hype and everybody’s cheering.

 

Kayla Wright is a distance free swimmer from Marietta, Georgia. Photo by Jonathan Wang. 

TBC: When did you start swimming and when did you decide that you wanted to continue it in college?

KAYLA WRIGHT: I started swimming when I was really young, probably around four years old. My dad was a swimmer so that’s why I wanted to swim. I started competitive swimming around fifth or sixth grade and I just really fell in love with it and knew I wanted to swim in college.

TBC: Why did you choose Butler?

KW: I chose Butler because I’m a sports media major and it’s a very niche major. That combined with the Division I athletics was what I really wanted.

TBC: You set five records before coming here and then set a Butler record earlier this year, how does that motivate you to keep working hard?

KW: It motivates me because I still have something to prove. I want to keep getting more records and keep proving that I can stay determined and show that my hard work can pay off.

TBC: Who is a professional swimmer you look up to?

KW: Carson Foster is my favorite swimmer; I think he swims breaststroke. Also Katie Ledecky, [who] swims distance freestyle. 

TBC: What do you love about swimming?

KW: I love my teammates and the way we get along so well because we’re doing the same thing and putting in the same amount of hours. [Swimming is] something that gives me a sense of purpose and is something that I can really have a drive for.

TBC: What are your goals for the rest of the season?

KW: [At conference] I want to place, get some good points, get a couple more records, and I just really want the team to do well overall.

TBC: What is a fun fact about yourself?

KW: I sing.

TBC: Do you have a favorite swim memory?

KW: Not particularly but my dad swam, so he’s always been my favorite part of swimming. I get to work with him as a coach and a father at the same time.

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