Nov. 6, 2004
Contact: Chris Urban
In the first home meets of the season on Saturday (Nov. 6), the Cleveland State men's and women's swimming and diving teams combined for seven wins and 11 second-place showings against St. Bonaventure at Busbey Natatorium. Senior Luke Wilkens and sophomore Bjorn Schantz picked up two wins a piece against the Bonnies, while senior Samantha Jones and sophomore Marianne Lionell each added a win of their own.
The veteran Wilkens, last week's Horizon League Swimmer of the Week, posted a first-place 1:42.76 in the 200 freestyle and a best 1:51.98 in the 200 butterfly. Meanwhile, the newcomer Schantz out-swam his closest opponent in the 1,000 freestyle by over 25 seconds (9:27.19 to 9:52.35) and swam to the 500 freestyle win in 4:38.20. Junior Pieter Pelser registered a first-place 1:53.76 in the 200 backstroke.
"We're seeing a lot of improvement in our younger swimmers and our veterans are pushing themselves in practice to be at their best," men's head coach Wally Morton said. "I feel like we've made a lot of progress, but we have a long way to go to be where we want."
Junior Daniel Thomasson finished second in both the 100 free (47.49) and 200 free (1:45.02), missing the 100 free win by .02 second. Wilkens posted a second-best time as well in the 500 free (4:40l.67).
Jones swam to a win in the 200 back for the women's team, completing the trip in 2:06.98. She recorded a second-place showing in the 1,000 freestyle (10:52.34) and led off the 400 medley relay with a 100 backstroke time of 57.90, nearly breaking her school record time 57.48.
"Sam (Jones) is setting herself up to be the 100 and 200 backstroke champion this season," women's head coach Mike Lehto said. "She came out today and swam tough every time in the pool."
Lionell tallied her win in the 50 freestyle in 24.46 and added time of 2:23.05 in the 200 breaststroke for second place. Junior Kirsty McKechnie swam to second-fastest times in both the 200 fly (2:12.35) and 500 freestyle (5:15.20).
The men's and women's teams head to Ypsilanti, Mich. next Friday (Nov. 12) when they take on Eastern Michigan at 7:00 p.m. They return to Busbey Natatorium the following Monday (Nov. 15) for a quad meet with area schools Baldwin-Wallace, Gannon and John Carroll at 3:30 p.m.
