Jan. 8, 2007

Contact: Josh Rattray

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Cleveland State Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving

(Men) vs. Notre Dame, Xavier and Duquesne

(Women) vs. Xavier and Duquesne

Date: Jan. 13, 2007

Time: 11:30 a.m.

Site: Busbey Natatorium - Cleveland, Ohio

SETTING THE SCENE: After a week of training in Fort Myers, Fla., the Cleveland State men's and women's swimming teams return to the Busbey Natatorium on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 11:30 a.m. The men will host a quad dual with Notre Dame, Xavier and Duquesne while the women host Xavier and Duquesne in a tri-dual meet.

PREVIEWING THE WOMEN'S TEAM: The CSU women's squad is a very young one, with seven freshmen and sophomores on the roster, although the team has 10 swimmers with collegiate experience prior to this year. Marianne Lionell is the team's only senior and is currently CSU's top swimmer in six events (50, 100 and 200 free, 100 and 200 breast and 200 IM).

Sophomore twins Kristine and Sandra Bunker are also among the team's top swimmers, with Kristine second in the 200, 500 and 1,000 free and Sandra leading the squad in the 500 and 1,000 free and 100 back.  Along with Lionell, junior Lesley Jones is among the team's top sprint swimmers, ranking in the top three in the 50, 100 and 200 free.

The Vikings lost sophomore Jen MacLauchlan, the team's top backstroke swimmer, to illness for the fall semester, but her return should spark the Vikings in both sprint swims and backstroke events. Unfortunately for the Vikings, there are no divers on the roster, so CSU is usually down 18 points automatically in dual meets.

PREVIEWING THE MEN'S TEAM: The CSU men's squad takes aim at defending its Horizon League championship with 15 returning letterwinners, including three seniors, from last year. Headlining the returnees is senior Bjorn Schantz, last year's Horizon League Swimming Athlete of the Year. Schantz, who was also named the Men's Outstanding Swimmer at the league championships, is currently at the top of the league leaderboard in the 200, 500 and mile free and is second in the 1,000 free. Schantz holds school records in the 200 (1:39.15) and 500 (4:24.65) and his time in the 500 was good for the Horizon League Championship record. He was also the anchor leg of CSU's championship 800 free relay team that also posted a school-record time.

Several Vikings provide support, including sophomores Marko Milenkovic and Nedim Nisic. Milenkovic is the team's top sprint swimmer, holding a league-best time of 46.01 in the 100 free. Nisic is the team's top butterfly swimmer in the league, posting top times in both the 100 (49.64) and 200 fly (1:52.08).

Sophomore Stef Potgieter, along with Milenkovic and junior Dave Duecker, leads the team in the breaststroke events. Potgieter's time of 2:03.84 is the best 200 breast time in the league. Despite losing two-time league diving champion Thatcher Carr to graduation, the Vikings still have two talented divers that can defend the league title. Senior Chris Dalman is among the top divers in the nation, placing first in every diving event save one (three-meter vs. Ohio State) this year. He currently is tops on the league leaderboard in both the one-meter (365.00) and three-meter (375.45) and he holds the CSU one-meter dive record with a score of 415.40 on Feb. 4 last year against UIC. Junior Dan Baiko also returns and the two divers together give the Vikings a huge edge in diving points.

LORDS OF THE RINGS: The members of last year's Horizon League champion men's squad received their league championship rings at halftime of Cleveland State's 66-59 men's basketball win over Kent State on Wednesday (Nov. 29) at the Wolstein Center. The ceremony also included the men's golf team, which also won a league championship in 2006.

SWIMMING AND THE CSU HALL OF FAME: Cleveland State will be inducting its four-member Class of 2007 on Saturday, Jan. 13. Included in the quartet is former Viking swimmer Eric Mays, who competed for the Vikings from 1990-93. Head coach Wally Morton will be delivering Mays' induction speech. Mays holds the school record in the200 breast (2:02.02) and is second all-time in the 100 breast (56.01).

`BJORN' TO WIN: Bjorn Schantz, the reigning Horizon League Swim Athlete of the Year, posted league-best times in the 500 free (4:30.42) and mile (15:53.98) at the Miami Invitational on Dec. 1-2 and now is the league's top performer in three events. Schantz won eleven individual events in the season's first six meets, including five in the 500 and four in the 1,000 free, and has scored a team-leading 178.75 points in dual meets. The Loddekopinge, Sweden native is second in the league (by just 0.92) in the 1,000 free and also swims the anchor leg of the 400 free relay team that currently stands third in the league (3:08.09 on Nov. 11).

...AND A WINNER IN THE CLASSROOM: Schantz, an international business major who owns a 3.9 GPA, was named the Horizon League Scholar-Athlete of the Week five times in the fall semester. He won the league honor twice each in October and November and once more on December 5.

LIONELL THE LEADER: Marianne Lionell holds the team's top times in six events after posting a team-best 53.30 in the 100 free on Dec. 2 at the Miami Invitational. The Sodertalje, Sweden native is also the leader in the 50 free (24.59 on Dec. 1), 200 free (2:00.09 on Oct. 21), 100 breast (1:07.59 on Dec. 1), 200 breast (2:32.80 on Oct. 21) and the 200 IM (2:18.52 on Nov. 10). She is CSU's only female swimmer ranked in the Horizon League top five, as her time in the 100 breast is third in the league, and she is fourth in the league in the 50 and 100 free.

`DALMAN-ATION': Chris Dalman has been named Horizon League Male Diver of the Week four times in the last six weeks. The senior from Auburn, Washington holds the league's top scores in both diving events and is undefeated in 11 trips off the one-meter boards and has placed first 10 of 11 times in the three-meter dive. Dalman's diving prowess, along with solid performances by Dan Baiko, has given the Vikings a big lift in dual action, as CSU has outscored its opponents, 221-82, in diving events, including 157 points from Dalman.

SUPREME NEDIM: Nedim Nisic posted a league-best time of 49.64 in the 100 fly in the final day of the Miami Invitational on Dec. 2. Nisic, who is training to swim for Bosnia in the 2008 Olympic games, also owns the league's top mark in the 200 fly (1:52.08 on Nov. 11) and is in the top 10 in the 100 and 200 free. Nisic has had a big impact in dual meets, standing third on the team behind Bjorn Schantz and Chris Dalman in points with 145.

MARKO...POLO: Marko Milenkovic has been one of the league's top sprint swimmers, posting his name on the top five list in three events. Milenkovic stands fifth in the 200 free (1:43.21), fourth in the 100 breast (59.34) and second in the league in the 200 IM (1:54.39). Milenkovic is fourth on the team (behind Schantz, Dalman and Nisic) in dual meet points with 120.75.

WOMEN'S HEAD COACH:

Mike Lehto (Cleveland State `85)

At CSU: 88-93 (13th Year)

Overall: Same

Lehto, the winningest women's swimming coach in Cleveland State history, has mentored the Vikings to five straight seasons at .500 or better. Under his tutelage, Samantha Jones became the school's first Horizon League Female Swim Athlete of the Year in 2005.

MEN'S HEAD COACH:

Wally Morton (Miami (OH) `70)

At CSU: 226-128 (26th Year)

Overall: Same

Morton has led the Vikings to 12 conference championships and 22 winning seasons in his 25 years at the helm of the men's program. Morton, who also serves as CSU's Director of Aquatics, has led the Vikings to five straight seasons of 10 or more dual meet victories and for four straight years a Viking has claimed the league's Male Swim Athlete of the Year Award.

UP NEXT: The Viking women host St. Francis (PA) in a dual contest on Friday, Jan. 26 at 5:00 p.m. Marianne Lionell will be honored in the Senior Day festivities. The men's Senior Day is the next day at 1:00 p.m. against Miami (OH).