Jan. 20, 2010

Contact: Renee Adam

Complete Release in PDF Format

SETTING THE SCENE: The men's and women's swimming and diving teams will travel to in-state Horizon League foe, Wright State on Saturday (Jan. 23) to face one of the top teams in the league beginning at 1:00 p.m.

REVIEWING THE LAST TIME OUT: The Vikings hosted Xavier and Duquesne last Saturday (Jan. 16) as the men's and women's teams both had convincing wins in the double dual meet. Below are recaps of the meet:

MEN (13-2): Cleveland State 135, Duquesne 88 & Cleveland State 143, Xavier 80
Deni Gasparin, Mark deSwardt, Berry Thompson, Matt DiMasso and Zvonimir Androic combined for nine individual victories to lead the Vikings to victories over Xavier and Duquesne. deSwardt won the 1,000 free (9:30.47), 500 free (4:35.20) and the 200 fly (1:52.50), while Thompson swept the freestyle sprint events, winning the 50 free (21.05) and the 100 free (46.81). Androic and Gasparin won the 200 back (1:55.19) and the 200 breast (2:08.79) respectively, while DiMasso won both the 1 (273.40) and 3-meter (289.35) diving events.

WOMEN (12-3): Cleveland State 134.5, Duquesne 96.5 & Cleveland State 151, Xavier 78
Joanna Olsson recorded individual victories in the 1,000 free (10:26.78), 200 IM (2:08.46) and the 200 fly (2:03.94), leading the Vikings to wins over Xavier and Duquesne. Carys Behn, Alice Sommerville and Kacey Cummings each had two victories on the day. Behn's came in the 200 free (2:54.55) and the 500 free (5:06.01), Sommerville's in the 50 free (23.84) and the 100 free (52.28) and Cummings with wins in the 1-meter (261.45) and 3-meter (285.10) diving events. Michelle Ferro added a first place finish in the 200 back (2:09.28), while the 400 free relay team of Whitney Hickey, Emily Splain, Behn and Sommerville also placed first with a time of 3:36.43.

MEN'S & WOMEN'S HEAD COACH
Wally Morton (Miami, OH, '70)
AT CSU: as men's coach: 264-140-1 (29th year), as women's coach: 24-22-0 (3rd year)

THE MORTON FILE: Wally Morton is in his 29th season as the men's swimming and diving head coach and his third with the women's team. During his tenure with the Viking men, Morton's success has been backed up by a 264-140-1 dual meet record that includes nine Penn-Ohio Championships, a pair of MCC titles and one Horizon League Championship. In his second season at the helm of the women's program, the squad recorded the most dual wins since 2005-06, with swimmers earning podium finishes in three different events at the Horizon League Championships. Morton has led five swimmers to the NCAA Championships, including 2009 All-American Jakub Dobies. He has also coached swimmers that have reached the international stage, including Nedim Nisic, who competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Two more of Morton's swimmers have also gone on to be Olympic Trials finalists.

PREVIEWING THE WOMEN: Head coach Wally Morton and his staff have brought in an outstanding group of talented newcomers to join the returners from last year's squad that finished sixth at the Horizon League Championships, one of the best finishes in school history. The returning squad is comprised of one senior, three juniors and six sophomores, including the holders of all six school records that were set during 2009. The freshmen are making an impact on the CSU record books as three of the newcomers, Joanna Olsson, Alice Sommerville and Michelle Ferro, have recorded 15 all-time top-10 times this season. Sommerville has the team's top times in the 50 free (23.84), 100 free (52.04), 100 breast (1:05.83) and the 100 fly (57.34) while Olsson holds the top time in the 500 free (4:54.39), 1,000 free (10:19.16), 200 IM (2:05.31), 400 IM (4:22.99) and also the 200 fly (2:03.35), setting CSU records in the 1,000 free, 200 fly, 200 IM and the 400 IM. Ferro leads the team in backstroke and breaststroke events, having top times in the 100 (58.90) and 200 backstroke (2:06.89) and the 200 breast (2:27.07). Three-time individual school record holder, sophomore Carys Behn, has the team's best times in the 200 (1:52.23) and 1,650 free (17:49.72). Kacey Cummings paces the divers with 261.45 and 285.10 points in the 1-and 3-meter boards respectively. The sqaud has also set CSU records in the 400 free and the 400 medley relays. Sommerville, Behn, Olsson and Jamie Puls recorded the 400 free relay time of 3:31.24 and Ferro, Sommerville, Olsson and Behn recorded a 3:54.34 in the 400 medley relay.

PREVIEWING THE MEN: After a season in which the CSU men's swimming and diving team earned their first All-American, placed first in eight events at the Horizon League Championships and captured Swimmer of the Meet, Athlete of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, the Vikings are prepared to expand on their success with the addition of nine talented newcomers. The newcomers join three seniors, three juniors and six sophomores to complete the 2009-10 squad. 2009 All-American Jakub Dobies has control of the breaststroke events, recording top times in the 100 breast (55.72) and the 200 breast (2:04.82) at the TYR Invitational, while also setting a team best 45.21 in the 100 free. Sophomore Mark deSwardt returns after earning all three league honors for the Vikings last season; Swimmer of the Meet, Athlete of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, swimming top times in the 500 free (4:29.34), 1,000 free (9:16.07), 200 fly (1:50.65) and the 400 IM (3:57.85) and has recorded an NCAA "B" cut time in the 1,650 free (15:27.19). Senior Todd Winchell holds top times in two events this season, the 100 back (51.92) and the 100 fly (49.97). Juniors Zvonimir Androic and Deni Gasparin round out the veterans that hold this seasons top times, with a team best 1:52.92 in the 200 back for Androic, a 1:54.56 in the 200 IM for Gasparin. Berry Thompson is one of two Viking newcomers to post a top time this season, holding a 20.89 in the 50 free, while Pierre De Waal has recorded a 1:42.27 in the 200 free. Sophomore Josh Gonzalez recorded the best score in the 3-meter board, with a score of 306.70, while Matt DiMasso has the best 1-meter score with a 273.40.

TURNING THE TABLES: The women's team went from falling to Xavier, 132-73 a year ago, to defeating them, 151-78, this season thanks to the 11 victories that CSU recorded during the meet. Last season Carys Behn was the lone Viking to be victorious against the Musketeers, winning the 200 & 500 free and the 100 fly. This season Behn worked with Joanna Olsson, Alice Sommerville, Kacey Cummings and Michelle Ferro to record their 12th win of the season, and just the second over Xavier in the past 15 years.

WEEKLY HONORS SWEEP: The quartet of Alice Sommerville, Kacey Cummings, Mark deSwardt and Matt DiMasso swept the weekly Horizon League honors for the period of Jan. 11-Jan. 17 after compiling nine individual victories to lead the Vikings to dual meet victories over Duquesne and Xavier (Jan. 16). CSU has now earned the weekly award 15 times this season, the most by any team. The 15 awards is also the most that Cleveland State has received in the past six seasons, with three weeks of competition left this year.

2009-10 HORIZON LEAGUE HONORS: Cleveland State has been honored 15 times by the Horizon League this season. The following CSU athletes have earned either swimmer of the week or diver of the week honors:
Alice Sommerville - Oct. 20 (Swimmer of the Week)
Kacey Cummings - Oct. 27 (Diver of the Week)
Jakub Dobies - Nov. 4 (Swimmer of the Week)
Josh Gonzalez - Nov. 4 (Diver of the Week)
Carys Behn - Nov. 17 (Swimmer of the Week)
Mark deSwardt - Nov. 17 (Swimmer of the Week)
Joanna Olsson - Nov. 24 (Swimmer of the Week)
Mark deSwardt - Nov. 24 (Swimmer of the Week)
Joanna Olsson - Dec. 1 (Swimmer of the Week)
Jakub Dobies - Dec. 1 (Swimmer of the Week)
Pierre De Waal - Jan. 11 (Swimmer of the Week)
Alice Sommerville - Jan. 18 (Swimmer of the Week)
Kacey Cummings - Jan. 18 (Diver of the Week)
Mark deSwardt - Jan. 18 (Swimmer of the Week)
Matt DiMasso - Jan. 18 (Diver of the Week)

MADDOCK DROPS: Freshman Courtney Maddock recorded the biggest drop of the season when she swam a 2:17.48 in the 200 fly against Xavier and Duquesne (Jan. 16), dropping nearly 15 seconds off her personal best time. Her previous best in the event was 2:35.17, which she swam at Saint Francis (10/17). She also set a new personal best in the 200 IM last Saturday, finishing in 2:18.31 dropping more than a second from her previous time.

DIVING TRIO: Kacey Cummings, Josh Gonzalez and Matt DiMasso are all in the top five in the league for the 1-meter and 3-meter events this season, the first time in five years that three Viking divers have been in the top five, representing both the men's and women's teams. Cummings is currently second in the 1-meter dive with 261.45 points and second in the 3-meter with 285.10 points, both scores coming against Xavier and Duquesne (1/16). Gonzalez leads the league in the 3-meter board after posting 306.70 points in the triple dual against Valparaiso, St. Bonaventure and Niagara (11/14) and is third in the 1-meter event with 273.60 points that he scored in his first meet as a Viking against Green Bay (10/24). DiMasso is fourth in the 1-meter and fifth in the 3-meter after scoring 273.40 and 289.35 points respectively against Xavier and Duquesne (1/16). Cummings and DiMasso were the last Viking duo to place in the top five together, doing so last season.

DOUBLE WIN SEASONS: For the first time since 1972-73, when CSU started a women's swimming and diving team, both the men's and women's teams have double digit wins in the same season. The women reached 10 wins with their 24-12 victory over Syracuse at the San Juan Sprint Invitational (Jan. 9) and the men recorded their 10th win against Valparaiso (Nov. 14). The last time the two teams were close to accomplishing 10 win seasons was during 2005-06 when the women had nine wins and the men recorded 11.

...12 WIN SEASON: For the first time since the women's program was created in 1972-73, the CSU squad has recorded its first ever 12-win season. During the 1982-83 season, the Vikings had a 10-2 record, the most wins up until this year. With the 12-3 record as of Jan. 16, head coach Wally Morton has led his squad to just the second .800 or better season.

VICTORY LEADERS: At least four Vikings are closing in on the 20 win mark for the 2009-10 season, with freshman Joanna Olsson leading the way with 19 individual victories through nine meets. Sophomore Mark deSwardt has recorded 16 wins, with five coming in both the 1,000 and 500 free. Alice Sommerville and Carys Behn have posted 13 and 12 wins, respectively.

WSU IN THE HL STANDINGS: Going into Saturday's meet the Wright State men are 6-3 on the season, while the women have a dual record of 6-4. Along with the winning records, the Raiders have a strong presence in the league top-10 times, with 41 spots being held by the WSU men and 42 spots on the women's side. Defending Horizon League champions, Molley Pipkorn (200 & 500 free), Krysty Wieczerzak (400 IM & 200 back) and Nathan Demchuk (400 IM & 200 back) all return for the Raiders this season, as well as three out of the four members of the winning 800 free relay team.

RECORD SEARCH: With a victory at Wright State on Saturday, the men's team would tie the record for most dual meet victories in a season, currently 14 held by the 1996-97 squad.

NEXT UP: The Vikings will travel to Rochester, Michigan to take on the Oakland Golden Grizzlies on Friday, January 29 beginning at 6:00 p.m.