GREENVILLE, S.C. – Catawba women's swimming standout Fiona Byrne has been named the Conference Carolinas Women's Swimmer of the Week following a dominant performance against Wingate, the conference announced Wednesday.
Byrne helped lead the Catawba Indians to a team win with a pair of individual victories in the distance freestyle events during Friday's dual meet against the Bulldogs.
The senior opened her afternoon with an impressive performance in the 1,000-yard freestyle, touching the wall in 10:11.79 to claim first place. Her time was faster than last season's NCAA Division II Championship invited time in the event, highlighting her early-season success on the national stage.
Byrne continued her strong showing in the 500-yard freestyle, securing another first-place finish with a time of 5:02.99. She completed the meet with 18 individual points for the Catawba Indians, sweeping both distance freestyle events.
The Ormskirk, Lancashire, England, native currently holds the nation's No. 1 time in the 1,000 free by 4.29 seconds, while her 500 free puts her fourth in the country. Additionally, both marks are the current leads in the conference.
The recognition adds to Byrne's strong start to the 2026-27 campaign as she continues to establish herself among the top distance swimmers in Conference Carolinas.
Catawba will look to continue its success when it travels to Davidson College for another Division I matchup at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 30.