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Jakub Dobies Set for NCAA Swimming Championships

Jakub Dobies Set for NCAA Swimming Championships
Posted: Mar 24, 2008

March 24, 2008

Contact: Gene Natale, Jr.

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Meet 17
NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
Date: March 27-29, 2008
Time: 12 noon (preliminary heats), 7:00 p.m. (finals) PST
Site: Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center, Federal Way, Wash.
TV: ESPN 2
(Tape delay, broadcast on Thursday, April 2 at 2:00 p.m. EST)
(Live Streaming available at NCAA.com)
Results: Livestats available at NCAAswim.com/men08/
Tickets: Available At Site

SETTING THE SCENE: Jakub Dobies will compete for an All-American berth at the 2008 NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships, held at Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash. from March 27-29.

RECAPPING LAST MEET: Dan Baiko competed at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championship at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion at Ohio State in Columbus from March 14-15. The senior fell short in his bid to make his first trip to the NCAA Championship, finishing 30th in the three-meter (239.50) and 32nd in the one-meter (235.25).

NCAA SEEDING: Jakub Dobies will be the 13th-seeded swimmer in the 100 breast (53.64) and the 38th-seeded entrant in the 200 breast (2:00.43). The top 16 finishers in each event will attain All-American status, and if Dobies achieves the feat he will become the first Horizon League and Cleveland State All-American.

MEET SCHEDULE: Dobies is entered in both the 100 and 200 breast. The 100 breast will be contested on Friday, March 28, while the 200 will be contested on Saturday, March 29.

MORTON ON DOBIES: "It is the highest achievement in college swimming to qualify for the NCAA Division I National Championship, and I am very proud of Jakub's achievement. Dobies, for the second straight year, is the only swimmer in the Horizon League to participate in the NCAA's. Last year, CSU had two athletes at the championships and we look forward to another fantastic championship meet."

. . .AND HE WAS THERE LAST SEASON, TOO: Dobies made his first appearance at the NCAA Championship in the 100 breast as a freshman last season, going into the meet seeded 13th (53.77). He was the first Viking since Harold Wagner (100 fly, 1987) to swim at the NCAA Championship, and he finished 28th overall (54.39). He was also the first Horizon League swimmer to compete at nationals.

ONE FOR THE AGES: Jakub Dobies has set four school records this season, in the 100 breast (53.64), 50 free (20.70, broken by Stephen Grove on Feb. 21), 100 free (44.62), and 200 breaststroke (2:00.43). Dobies has the second-best 200 IM time in school history (1:49.82), and swam on three school-record-setting relay teams this season (200 free, 200 medley, 400 medley). He also has had a part in five Horizon League records this season (100 breast, 200 breast, 200 free relay, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay).

. . .AND AT THE CHAMPIONSHIP: Dobies excelled at the Horizon League Championships, winning the 100 breast (54.31) and 200 IM (1:53.34 in prelims, 1:49.82 in finals), and swimming on three winning relays. He also was runner-up in the 100 free (45.52). Each relay he was a part of (200 free, 200 medley, 400 free) set school, league, and meet records. He ended the week tied with Green Bay's Alex Hill and Wright State's Nathan Demchuk for the overall lead in points at the championship meet (57).

DOBIES ON THE MARK: Dobies has set two NCAA "B" qualifying marks this season. His school and league record 100 breast time of 53.64 is currently the 13th best time in the nation and only .04 seconds from the "A" qualfying time of 53.60. His 200 breast time of 2:00.43 is a Horizon League record, a school record, and the 56th best in the nation.

HEAD COACH Wally Morton: Wally Morton (Miami (OH) `70) has led the Vikings to 12 conference championships and 21 winning seasons in his 27 years at the helm of the men's program. Morton has guided the Vikings to seven straight seasons of 10 or more dual meet victories, and a Viking has won the male swimmer of the year award in four of the last six seasons. Morton has taken over as the head women's coach this season, his first at the helm of both the men's and women's programs. Morton also serves as the school's director of competitive aquatics and has been with CSU for 32 total years.