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Swimming and Diving Resumes Season In Puerto Rico

Swimming and Diving Resumes Season In Puerto Rico
Posted: Jan 06, 2011

Jan. 6, 2011

Contact: Dan Carr

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SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State's swimming and diving teams will resume the 2010-11 campaign by travelling to San Juan, Puerto Rico for their annual winter training trip, culminating with the Holiday Invitational against Connecticut on Jan. 8. The women's team, with 11 wins on the year, is off to its most successful start in program history, while the men are ranked fourth in the most recent mid-major top 25 poll.

LAST TIME IN THE WATER: Cleveland State closed out its action in 2010 by hosting the City College Meet on Nov. 30. Below are recaps of that meet:

Men (9-1-1)
CSU 179, Canisius 64 (Nov. 30, Cleveland, Ohio)
CSU 200, John Carroll 41 (Nov. 30, Cleveland, Ohio)
CSU 198, Notre Dame (OH) 40 (Nov. 30, Cleveland, Ohio)
Justin Hill won the 50 free in 20.52, the fastest time in the Horizon League in that event this season, and eight other Vikings won individual events as Cleveland State swept the City College Meet. CSU won 11 of the meet's 13 events.

Women (11-1)
CSU 186, Canisius 54 (Nov. 30, Cleveland, Ohio)
CSU 198, John Carroll 33 (Nov. 30, Cleveland, Ohio)
CSU 179, Notre Dame (OH) 57 (Nov. 30, Cleveland, Ohio)
CSU won 12 of the 13 events, with six different Vikings taking home individual wins, as Cleveland State swept Canisius, John Carroll and Notre Dame College to increase their season win count to 11, the second most victories in a season in program history. Kacey Cummings won both the 1-meter (264.90) and 3-meter (296.00) diving events, qualifying for the NCAA cut in both dives.

PREVIEWING THE MEN: Mark de Swardt, owner of two Horizon League records (in the 1,000 and 1,650 freestyle events) leads a balanced group of swimmers that expect to win CSU's first conference championship since the 2005-06 season. The junior's best times lead the conference in five events this season: the 1,650 free (15:23.90), 1,000 free (9.23.88), 500 free (4:29.05), the 400 IM (4:00.89) and the 200 fly (1:51.08). de Swardt has also won 13 individual events this year. Berry Thompson has emerged as one of the team's top sprinters in his sophomore season. He leads the Horizon League in the 100 free (44.84) and has been honored as the conference swimmer of the week three times this fall. Senior Deni Gasparin and freshman Brian Ferro have combined to win 10 breaststroke events while senior Zvonimir Androic has led the team in the backstroke events with five wins. Junior Josh Gonzalez, last year's Horizon League Championship Diver of the Meet, has consistently improved his scores in every meet this season, culminating with his taking second in the 3-meter (276.65) and the platform (228.55) at the Northwestern TYR Invitational.

PREVIEWING THE WOMEN: Sophomores Alice Sommerville and Joanna Olsson have been on a tear this season, giving the Vikings reason to believe that the program's first Horizon League championship could come this season. The two have broken one Horizon League and five Cleveland State relay records this year and have combined to set four individual school records. Both were on the 400 free relay squad that set the conference record (3:24.51) at the Northwestern TYR Invitational. Olsson also broke the Horizon League record in the 400 IM that weekend and set new school marks in the 500 free and 200 IM, while Sommerville broke the CSU record in the 100 fly in the opening meet of the season. Junior Carys Behn also had a fine fall season, being a member of all five record-breaking relays and winning 10 individual events. The Vikings have also benefited from a strong freshman class, highlighted by Alexandra Johansson and Christine Kopacko. Johansson was a member of the record-setting 200 free, 400 free, 800 free and 400 medley relays while Kopacko helped set a new CSU mark in the 200 medley.

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S HEAD COACH
Wally Morton (Miami OH, '70)
AT CSU: As men's coach: 274-143-2 (30th year); As women's coach: 37-25-0 (4th year)
With 14 seasons of double-digit victories under his belt, and over 300 wins overall, Wally Morton has had nothing but success during his lengthy tenure with Cleveland State.The 2009-10 season resulted in 14 victories, tying the school record for the second time in his 29 years as head coach of the men's swimming and diving team. For the past three years, Morton has also added the women's program to his head coaching resume and has led the team to the most wins in CSU history (14). With the men, Morton has compiled over 250 victories including a second place finish at the Horizon League Championship last year. His successful tenure includes 14 Penn-Ohio Championships, a pair of Midwestern Collegiate Conference (MCC) titles, a Horizon League Championship and an astounding 27 seasons with a .500 or better record. In his coaching career, Morton has led five athletes to qualify for the NCAA Championships, including three appearances by 2009 All-American Jakub Dobies. Morton has turned around the women's program, leading the Vikings to a 14-5 finish last season. This marked the fourth .700 or better season for the women. The 14 wins are a school record, surpassing the previous record of 10 which was set during the 1982-83 season.

FOURTH IN THE (MID-MAJOR) NATION: The men's team has been ranked fourth by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America in its most recent Division I mid-major poll, released on Dec. 20. The Vikings, with 229.8 points, trail first place Navy (253.6), Princeton (250.7), and Cal State Bakersfield (230.1). Denver (243.3) rounds out the top five. The CSCAA defines a mid-major as any program not in the six BCS conferences or the Mountain West Conference.

WOMEN EARN FIRST MID-MAJOR RANKING: For the first time ever the CSCAA's Division I Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll includes Cleveland State. The Vikings, with 227.4 points, are ranked 15th, with Miami of Ohio (259.6), Princeton (250.7), Harvard (244.3), Denver (243.3) and Navy (241.9) holding the top five spots.

RECORD START: The wins over Canisius, John Carroll and Notre Dame College on Nov. 30 gave the women's team 11 this year, the most before the December break in program history. The wins are the second highest total in program history, just three shy of the mark set by last year's squad (14).

...AND MORE WINS TO COME?: With seven teams remaining on the spring portion of the schedule, the women have a good chance of earning the four wins needed to break the record for victories in a season. Of the remaining opponents on the Vikings' schedule, only Bowling Green (2-1) and Oakland (3-1) have winning records, with the latter meet being held at CSU's Busbey Natatorium.

UNCOMMON OPPONENT: The Vikings' first meet of 2011 will also be their first ever against Connecticut. Cleveland State will be the first Horizon League opponent for the Huskies in over 10 years. UConn's men are 4-1 on the season while the women are 3-2.

2010-11 HORIZON LEAGUE HONORS: Cleveland State's swimmers and divers have been honored by the Horizon League six times this season, with nine Vikings being selected for athlete of the week awards. Below is the complete list of Vikings who have earned the honor this season:
Alice Sommerville - Oct. 18 (swimmer of the week)
Berry Thompson - Oct. 18 (swimmer of the week)
Josh Gonzalez - Oct. 18 (diver of the week)
Carys Behn - Oct. 26 (swimmer of the week)
Berry Thompson - Oct. 26 (swimmer of the week)
Mark de Swardt - Nov. 2 (swimmer of the week)
Deni Gasparin - Nov. 9 (swimmer of the week)
Josh Gonzalez - Nov. 23 (diver of the week)
Berry Thompson - Nov. 23 (swimmer of the week)
Joanna Olsson - Nov. 23 (swimmer of the week)
Kacey Cummings - Dec. 7 (diver of the week)
Matt DiMasso - Dec. 7 (diver of the week)

OLSSON TEARS UP THE TYR: Joanna Olsson's performance at the Northwestern TYR Invitational was one of the best individual performances in Viking history. The sophomore set two Horizon League records and eight school records. She broke the conference and CSU marks in the 400 IM (4:20.09) and the 400 freestyle relay (3:24.51), and set Cleveland State records in the 500 free, 200 IM, the 200 and 400 medley relays and the 200 and 800 freestyle relays. This success was nothing new to Olsson, who broke six CSU records at the 2009 Northwestern TYR Invitational.

CSU AT THE USA: Five Vikings competed at the USA Swimming National Championships, which featured the top collegiate swimmers from across the country, held in Columbus, Ohio from Dec. 2-4. Mark de Swardt led Cleveland State with a 13th place finish in the 1,650 free, finishing in 15:23.90. Brian Ferro recorded the fourth-best time in CSU history in the 200 breast, finishing in 2:02.34. That time leads the Horizon League this season. Berry Thompson, Joanna Olsson and Alice Sommerville also represented Cleveland State at the championships.

VIKINGS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS: The best times of CSU's top swimmers stack up well against the rest of the country. Mark de Swardt's 15:23.90 mark in the 1,650 free is the 32nd best among NCAA swimmers while his 9:23.88 time in the 1,000 free ranks 50th. Brian Ferro is 71st in the 200 breast with a time of 2:02.34 while Berry Thompson's 44.84 time in the 100 free ranks 80th. Joanna Olsson rates 83rd in the 400 IM (4:20.09). The women's best time in the 400 free relay (3:24.51) also ranks as the 43rd best finish in the country and their top time in the 200 free (1:34.00) is tied with Clarion for 52nd.

EASY AS 1-2-3: Entering this season, the women's divers had never 1-2-3'd an opponent in Rich Karban's nine seasons as head diving coach. This season they have already done it three times, with Kacey Cummings, Kathleen Chandler and Alex DiMasso placing first, second and third against divers from Denison (on Nov. 5), St. Bonaventure (Nov. 13) and Canisius (Nov. 30).

HOME, SWEET HOME: With the wins over John Carroll, Canisius and Notre Dame College on Nov. 30, the Viking men have now gone undefeated at the Busbey Natatorium for nearly two years. Since a 173.5-118.5 loss to Oakland on Jan. 16, 2009, CSU has won eight home meets and defeated 16 opponents. Though not as long as the men's, the women have started an impressive home streak of their own, winning six meets against 17 teams since their last home loss, a narrow 123-120 defeat to Green Bay on Oct. 24, 2009.

...AND COULD IT GET SWEETER?: Both swiming and diving teams will be poised for strong finishes to the season if they can keep the home success going. Three of the men's remaining four meets will be at Busbey, while the women will be home for two of their last four contests. The 2011 Horizon League Championships, scheduled for Feb. 23-26, will also be held at the Busbey Natatorium this year.

NEXT UP: The men's swimming and diving team will return to the Busbey Natatorium next week for back-to-back meets against Notre Dame on Friday (Jan. 14) at 2:00 p.m. followed by a meet with. Xavier, Duquesne and Oakland on Saturday (Jan. 15) at 1:00 p.m.. The women's team will also be in action against Xavier and Oakland on Saturday.