Feb. 27, 2004

CHICAGO - Highlighted by a top-three sweep in the men's 100 backstroke, the Cleveland State swimming and diving teams picked up five wins on Friday at the 2004 Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships at the UIC Natatorium. The men's team picked up thre wins, while the women gathered a pair of first-place finishes.

The men's trio of Pieter Pelser, Todd Hostutler and Lyle Wilkens collected a top-three sweep in the 100 backstroke, with Pelser finishing in 50.06. Hostutler finished with a time of 50.61, with Wilkens next at 51.08.

Warren Vickers collected the other individual win for the Viking men, taking first in the 200 freestyle for his second win of the championships. He finished that event in 1:39.55, while fellow senior Marco Markgraaff was eighth in the same event, posting a time of 1:44.57.

The men's team also won the 800 freestyle relay for the second straight year. This season, the team of Vickers, Daniel Thomasson, Markgraaff and Luke Wilkens finished first in 6:45.03, touching out UW-Green Bay by two one-hundredths of a second for the win.

The Vikings also got three third-place finishes on the day, as Niall McGrane took third in the 400 individual medley in 4:03.76, Luke Wilkens was third in the 100 butterfly in 49.66 and Gabriel Linton was third in the 100 breaststroke in 57.96.

In the women's meet, Marianne Lionell picked up her first career league title, winning the 100 breaststroke in 1:04.98, while Samantha Jones joined her in the win column, picking up first place in the 100 backstroke in 57.65. Jones would also add a fourth-place finish in the 100 butterfly in 58.23.

Kirsty McKechnie added an eighth-place finish in the 400 individual medley, posting a time of 4:40.49. The women's team of Jones, Wendy Peel, Tina Abbott and McKechnie also finished fifth in 7:52.32.

The Viking men are in third place with 451 points after 14 events. Wright State continues to lead the men's meet with 520 points, while UW-Green Bay is second with 486. Following the Vikings is UIC with 344, UW-Milwaukee with 332 and Butler with 176 points.

The women are in fifth with 245 points after 14 events. Wright State also leads the women's meet with 542.5 points, followed by UW-Green Bay with 532 and UW-Milwaukee with 434. UIC is in forth, scoring 296.5 points, with Youngstown State sixth with 188 and Butler seventh with 154.

The meet concludes with the fourth and final day of competition on Saturday.