Jan. 21, 2011
Contact: Dan Carr
Complete Release in PDF Format 
SETTING THE SCENE: The Cleveland State swimming and diving teams will close out their home regular season slate when both squads host Wright State and the women welcome Youngstown State to the Busbey Natatorium on Saturday (Jan. 22) at 1:00 p.m. The meet will be Senior Day for four CSU swimmers. The Viking women (13-2) have a chance to tie or break the season record for dual meet wins (14) while the men (10-3-1) have clinched their 10th straight season of double digit victories.
LAST TIME IN THE WATER: Cleveland State hosted back-to-back meets last weekend, with the men swimming Notre Dame on Friday (Jan. 14) and both teams hosting Oakland and Xavier with the women also swimming against Duquesne on Saturday (Jan. 15). Below are recaps of those meets:
Men (10-3-1)
Notre Dame 162, CSU 81 (Jan. 14, Cleveland, Ohio)
CSU 167.5, Xavier 63.5 (Jan. 15, Cleveland, Ohio
Oakland 128, CSU 113 (Jan. 15, Cleveland, Ohio
Mark de Swardt went 6-0 on the weekend, winning the 500 free and 1,000 free twice, the 200 fly (1:50.85) and the 200 IM (1:52.99). His 9:18.49 time in the 1,000 free was his fastest finish in that event all season. Josh Gonzalez swept the diving events on Saturday, qualifying for the NCAA Zone cut in the 3-meter dive with a score of 326.78.
Women (13-2)
CSU 160, Xavier 77 (Jan. 15, Cleveland, Ohio)
CSU 151.5, Duquesne 85.5 (Jan. 15, Cleveland, Ohio)
Oakland 146.5, CSU 96.5 (Jan. 15, Cleveland, Ohio)
Alice Sommerville went 3-0 on the day, taking first in the 50 free (23.69), 100 fly (56.48) and 100 breast (1:05.89). Carys Behn won the 200 free (1:52.91) and helped her 200 free relay squad to victory (1:37.49) while Joanna Olsson placed first in the 200 IM (2:09.80).
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 (9.18.49), 500 free (4:29.05), the 400 IM (4:00.89) and the 200 fly (1:51.08). de Swardt has also won 19 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, a three-time Horizon League Diver of the Week selection this year, has consistently improved his scores each week, culminating with his qualifying for the the NCAA Zone Championships in the 3-meter dive on Saturday (Jan. 15).
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 11 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, 275-145-2 (30th year); as women's coach, 39-26-0 (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. 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.
WOMEN GOING FOR THE RECORD: History could be made on Saturday as the women's team will be going for its 14th and 15th dual meet victories of the season against Wright State and Youngstown State. A win over either would tie the school record of dual meet wins in a season while a sweep would give this year's team the record. The previous best win total of 14 was set by last year's team.
BACK-TO-BACK: The 13 victories mean that the women's team will finish with back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since having four winning years in a row from 1986-87 to 1989-90. CSU went 9-3, 8-6, 8-5 and 8-7 in those seasons, respectively. This will also mark the first time the women have ever finished consecutive seasons with double digit wins.
10 OF 10 (PLUS): The win over Xavier on Saturday gave the men's team 10 wins on the year, marking the squad's 10th consecutive season with double digit dual meet victories. The Viking men have also clinched their 13th consecutive winning season. Cleveland State has finished every year since 1998-99 with more wins than losses, the longest such streak in program history. The second longest stretch is 10 seasons of winning records, set from 1973-74 to 1982-83.
2010-11 HORIZON LEAGUE HONORS: Cleveland State's swimmers and divers have been honored by the Horizon League seven times this season, including sweeping the awards this past week, with nine different 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)
Mark de Swardt - Jan. 18 (swimmer of the week)
Josh Gonzalez - Jan. 18 (diver of the week)
Alice Sommerville - Jan. 18 (swimmer of the week)
Kacey Cummings - Jan. 18 (diver of the week)
MR. VERSATILITY: Mark de Swardt has been one of the top freestyle swimmers in the Horizon League since his freshman season, but he showed once again on Saturday that's he's one of the top swimmers in the conference, regardless of the event. de Swardt competed in the 200 IM for the first time all season and won with a time of 1:52.99, good for second in the conference this season.
SENIOR DAY: Four Cleveland State swimmers will be competing in their last regular season home meet on Saturday: Zvonimir Androic, Deni Gasparin, Mike Marsico and Diana Mruk. A brief ceremony will be held before the swimming events to honor the group's achievements. Below are brief recaps of their accomplishments at CSU:
Zvonimir Androic - One of the top backstroke swimmers in Viking history, Androic has won 21 backstroke races and has been a member of 11 winning relay teams in his time at CSU. Androic owns the second best time in school history in the 200 back (1:48.87) and the eight best time in the 100 back (50.93). In 2010 he took third in the 200 back at the Horizon League finals.
Deni Gasparin - Gasparin, one of the best breaststroke and IM swimmers ever at CSU, owns the second best school times in the 100 breast (54.46) and 200 breast (2:01.02) and is fifth all-time in the 200 IM (1:51.21). The Horizon League Newcomer of the Year in 2008, Gasparin has consistently performed his best when it has mattered the most. He won the 100 breast at the league championships in 2008 and 2009, placed second in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes in 2010, and, as a freshman, helped the 200 free and 400 medley relay squads to first place finishes at conferences. In his CSU career, Gasparin has won 23 individual races and 11 relays.
Mike Marsico - For the past four years, Marsico has been one of CSU's top relay swimmers. In 2009 he was on two relay teams, the 200 free (1:19.50) and the 200 medley (1:27.58), that set Horizon League records. He's also been a member of four school-record relay teams, including the 200 free (1:19.50), 400 free (3:00.45), 200 medley (1:27.58) and 400 medley (3:16.72) relays. In his Viking career, Marscio has been a member of 24 winning relay teams, including squads that have won the 200 freestyle relay at the Horizon League Championships each of the past three years and the 200 medley relay in 2009. An accomplished sprinter, Marsico owns the third best 50 free time in CSU history (20.48) and the fastest 50 split in team history (19.49).
Diana Mruk - For the past two seasons, Mruk has served as a co-captain of the women's team. In her four years at CSU she has helped relay teams to 11 top-three finishes, including taking first in the 200 free relay in this year's City College Meet.
NEXT UP: The men's team is off next week while the women will travel to Bowling Green, Ohio swim against BGSU on Wednesday (Jan. 26) at 6:00 p.m.
