March 16, 2007

Contact: Josh Rattray

NCAA Championships 100-Yard Breaststroke Results

NCAA Championships 3-Meter Diving Prelim Results

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Freshman Jakub Dobies and senior diver Chris Dalman have finished their runs at the NCAA Championships. Dobies placed 28th in the preliminary heat of the 100-yd. breaststroke on Friday afternoon while Dalman placed 20th in three-meter diving.

Dobies, a native of Poland who enrolled at Cleveland State in January, registered a time of 54.39 in the 100 breast, posting the second-best time in CSU history in the process. Hecame into the event as the 13^th-seed after clocking a Horizon League-record 53.77 at the league championships on Feb. 23 in Chicago. He cited a slow start off the blocks as his reason for slipping .62 seconds.

"I lost time at the start when I got a poor push-off," Dobies said. "I tried to catch up in the first 50 yards, but I didn't have any energy left in the last 50 yards."

Despite clocking the second-best time in school history on the national stage, head coach Wally Morton said the ultra-competitive Dobies always strives to improve.

"Jakub is not exactly happy with his performance, but that just shows what a great competitor he is," Morton said. "It was a really tough competition because he was there by himself with no teammates to help him get ready. And when you're swimming in just one event, it is difficult to get warmed up."

Dobies, the first CSU swimmer to qualify for the national meet in 20 years, joined Morton's squad in January after competing on the national level in Europe. He showed that he is not timid of the national spotlight and that he is capable of competing with the best swimmers in the nation.

"I'm used to swimming in big meets like this," Dobies said. "The competition here was outstanding. Everyone here is capable of swimming at the national level."

The race ended what was a spectacular first semester for Dobies, who broke the school record in the 100 breast (55.29) in his very first meet at CSU and was named Horizon League Newcomer of the Year after winning both breaststroke events at the league championships. It is likely that this appearance at the NCAA's won't be his last as he was one of just two freshmen among the 41 swimmers in the 100 breast.

Dalman, who finished 18th in one-meter diving on Thursday, fell just short of All-America status with a score of 330.80 in his six dives off the three-meter boards. The senior from Auburn, Wash. had his best dive first, starting with a forward 3.5 somersault pike that garnered 65.1 points. His second best dive came last, a 1.5 somersault back-twister that tallied 60.2 points.

"Chris competed well and did a nice job," diving coach Rich Karban said. "Finishing in the top 20 in the country is pretty good. It's one of the greatest performances in school history."

The Vikings, who placed second at the Horizon League Championships, return all but three starters from this year's team that went 11-3 in dual action.

"Going to the NCAA Championships capped a great year for us," Morton said. "This has allowed our athletes and our program to take a step forward."