The Eastern men’s and women’s swim teams will be back in action this Sunday as they travel to Indianapolis to take on the Butler Bulldogs.

The Panthers haven’t hit the pool since Nov. 21 when both the men and women had setbacks against Saint Louis. Despite the losses to the Billikens, head coach Ray Padovan still believes the swimmers are upbeat and positive.

“The mood (after the Saint Louis meet) was nothing bad,” Padovan said. “We swam fairly well but we just got beat.”

The Panther men were undefeated against the Billikens last year winning both matches by convincing scores, but Padovan was not shocked when the Panthers lost.

“The losses we have sustained don’t surprise me,” Padovan said. “It’s not a case of us getting worse (from last season) but rather Saint Louis just got a lot better.”

Although the Panthers are coming off a loss, the meet with Butler should be just what they need. Padovan is not expecting a tough match against the Bulldogs.

“It’s not gonna be really hard,” Padovan said referring to the men’s showdown. “They just don’t have the numbers to compete with us.”

The Bulldogs stack up a little better on the female side, but once again Padovan is not expecting much of a challenge.

That (female competition) will be closer but they dont have enough swimmers to beat us, Padovan said.

That will be beneficial to the Panthers. Padovan realizes his teams are not at their strongest because of the holiday break.

The break doesn’t really help us a team, Padovan said. A few individuals got a lot of work done but from a team standpoint it doesn’t help.

Due to the extended Thanksgiving break, Padovan will practice his swimmers hard for the next two weeks before the team shuts down for the Christmas holiday.

“We’re gonna go hard for the two weeks before finals and then were going home for 10 days,” Padovan said. “Well be back to practicing on Dec. 29.”

One of the swimmers who always goes hard is senior co-caption Josh Kercheval. The Sullivan native is one of the best swimmers Padovan has coached during his 37-year tenure.

“He’s (Kercheval) one of the top three all time that I’ve coached, Padovan said. “Anywhere from one to three, he always swims solid.”

Kercheval, who was highly recruited coming out of Sullivan High School, has always been dominant even as a freshman.

“He came in from high school with good times,” Padovan said. “We recruited him because those kinds of people just dont walk in off the streets.”

Besides Kercheval, the Panthers will look for strong performances from freestyle swimmers Tom Watson and Rich Wahlgren.

Also back in the mix is senior co-captain Nic Cheviron. Cheviron has started the season slowly due to injuries and he has also struggled but Padovan says the team will depend on his ability and leadership.

The Panthers swim meet with Butler will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday.