Oct. 31, 2003
CLEVELAND - Pieter Pelser got the Vikings started in grand fashion on Friday night, leading off the season with a 136-107 win over Miami at the Robert F. Busbey Natatorium. Pelser broke the school record in the 100 backstroke to lead the way for Cleveland State.
Opening the meet with the 400 medley relay, the South Africa-native took down the old mark of 50.85 by swimming a 50.33 in the opening leg of the relay. The old mark was set by a fellow countryman, Ryan Haydenrich, in 1999.
"I've never seen anyone break a school record in the very first swim of the season," head coach Wally Morton said. "He's been working very hard in practice, and that was just a great swim to open the season."
Pelser also took first place in the 100 backstroke, finishing in 50.48, and was the winner of the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:58.18.
Lyle Wilkins and Chris Jones were both double-winners on the day, as Wilkins took first in the 50 and 100 freestyle and Jones won both diving events. Wilkins posted a time of 20.98 in the 50 and finished the 100 in 46.30. Jones, meanwhile, won the 1m with 288.68 points, and scored 273.98 to win on 3m. In all, the Vikings won nine of the 13 events in cruising to the victory.
"I'm very pleased with the consistency of the performances tonight," Morton said. "Without a win from Warren Vickers, who was the Outstanding Performer of the Meet at last year's championships, we still were able to get the solid performances we needed to win. This was the best unshaven swim in a season-opening meet that I've ever seen."
The Vikings won't have long to savor the victory, as they will host UW-Green Bay on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Busbey Natatorium. The women's team will also be in action on Saturday against the visiting Phoenix.
