Oct. 23, 2006

Contact: Josh Rattray

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

Meet 2 - vs. UW-Green Bay

Date: Saturday, Oct. 28

Time: 2:00 p.m.

Site: Green Bay, Wis.

SETTING THE SCENE: The men's and women's swimming and diving teams travel to UW-Green Bay for their second meet of the year on Saturday (Oct. 28) at 2:00 p.m.

RECAPPING LAST WEEK: The Viking men defeated Valparaiso, 133-76, while the women's team lost a 113-110 decision to the Crusaders on Saturday (Oct. 21). Here is a recap of the meet:

                Men - CSU 133, Valparaiso 76 (Oct. 21, 2006, Busbey Natatorium)

                Sophomore Marko Milenkovic won the 100 and 200 free and swam the anchor leg of the winning 400 medley relay team to lead the Vikings. Seniors Bjorn Schantz and Chris Dalman each won two events as well, with Schantz capturing first in the 500 and 1,000 free and Dalman      winning both the one- and three-meter diving events.

                Women - Valparaiso 113, CSU 110 (Oct. 21, 2006, Busbey Natatorium)

                Senior Marianne Lionell won the 200 free and the 200 breast and also swam on the winning 400 medley relay team. The Bunker twins combined to capture first in three events, with sophomore Sandra winning the 1,000 free and the 200 back and Kristine taking the 400 IM.

PREVIEWING THE WOMEN'S TEAM: The CSU women have their sights set on winning a Horizon League championship after scoring a school-record 358.5 points en route to a fifth place finish at last year's championship. The squad is loaded with experienced swimmers and features 10 returning letterwinners, but also has a wealth of youth with three freshmen and seven sophomores on the roster. Marianne Lionell is the team's only senior and is the top returning swimmer in five events. She posted team bests last year in the 50- , 100-  and 200-meter freestyle events. She is also the team's leader in the 100 breast (1:06.13) and 200 breast (2:27.19) and swam on four of CSU's five relay teams.

Sophomore Katie Bellew holds the school record in the 100 fly (:57.50) and is the also the team's top swimmer in the 200 fly (2:08.92) and the 200 IM (2:11.89). CSU's sophomore twins, Kristine and Sandra Bunker, also return after each posted a solid freshman campaign. Kristine will add depth to the Viking sprint corps (50 and 200 free, 100 and 200 fly) while Sandra is the team's top returning distance swimmer, leading in the 1,650 Free (18:16.80) and 1,000 Free (10:55.35). Junior Lesley Jones and sophomore Jen MacLauchlan each are coming off solid seasons and can challenge the top times in the sprint events.

MacLauchlan is the team's top returner in the 100 back (:59.40) and Jones is among the team's best 50 and 100 free swimmers and swam on four relay teams last year. Sophomore Lauren Bullard is the only returning diver, but freshman Meagan Seaman joins the squad and will give the Vikings a chance to capture more diving points.

LEHTO ON THE WOMEN: "We swam very well in the opener against Valparaiso, but we just didn't have the depth to pull out the win. We are training very hard and we have a lot of talented athletes. UW-Green Bay has a tough team, but I like our chances to beat them in their own pool."

PREVIEWING THE MEN'S TEAM: The CSU men's squad takes aim at defending its Horizon League championship with 15 returning letterwinners 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 championships, set school records in the 200 free (1:39.15) and 500 free (4:24.65) last year while his time in the 500 was also 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 junior Johan Norling and sophomore Marko Milenkovic, who are also among the team's top sprinters. Norling's time of 21.31 in the 50 free last year was the team's best, followed by Milenkovic's :21.37. Sophomore Nedim Nisic is the team's top returnee in the butterfly, posting team-best times last year in the 100 (:49.86) and 200 fly (1:50.76).

Sophomore Stef Potgieter, along with Milenkovic and junior Dave Duecker, leads the team in the breaststroke events. Potgieter's time of :57.68 was the team's best in the 100 breast, and he was just a second behind Milenkovic (2:05.05) at the top of the 200 breast list with a time of 2:06.19. Despite losing two-time league diving champion Thatcher Carr to graduation, theVikings still have two talented divers that can defend the league title. Senior Chris Dalman was the team's top one-meter diver last year. He set the school record with a score of 415.40 on Feb. 4 last year against UIC. Junior Dan Baiko also returns and the two divers will push each other toward league diving supremacy.

MORTON ON THE MEN: "I was really pleased with the way we swam on Saturday. We had a lot of different people get some good times and it was good to start the season with a win at home. We just need to keep working hard and we will be successful."

MARKO...POLO: Marko Milenkovic won both of his individual events and was a part of a winning relay against Valparaiso. Milenkovic won the 100 free in 46.71 and the 200 free with a time of 1:43.21. He also clocked a 46.18 in the anchor leg of the 400 medley relay, which was five seconds faster than anyone else in the event. 

LIONELL THE LEADER: Marianne Lionell led the Vikings with wins against Valparaiso in the 200 free (2:00.09) and the 200 breast (2:32.80) while also swimming the second leg for the winning 400 medley relay team. Lionell placed first 10 times in individual events last year, including five freestyle events and three times in the breaststroke.

BJORN GOES FOR DISTANCE: Bjorn Schantz won both of Saturday's freestyle distance events, taking the 500 free with a time of 4:42.45 and the 1,000 free in 9:40.57. The next closest competitor in the 1,000 was 29.86 seconds behind him and he won the 500 by 16.71.

ALL IN THE FAMILY: Saturday's meet against Valparaiso marked the first time both of the Bunker twins, Sandra and Kristine, won individual events on the same day. The twins combined for three wins against the Crusaders, with Sandra winning the 1,000 free (11:11.17) and the 200 back (2:19.98) and Kristine placing first in the 400 IM (4:56.24).

WORLDLY VIKINGS: CSU's past success has brought an abundance of swimming talent from all over the globe to Cleveland. Six members of the men's team and four Viking women hail from outside the United States, with Sweden being the leading representative with four Vikings (Johan Norling, Stef Potgieter, Bjorn Schantz and Marianne Lionell). Canada is home to three CSU swimmers (Jen MacLauchlan and Kristine and Sandra Bunker) while Germany (Volkmar Baur), Serbia (Marko Milenkovic) and Bosnia (Nedim Nisic) all are the native land of one Viking swimmer.

THE YOUNG AND TALENTED: With all but two members of its roster either a sophomore or a freshman, the CSU women's squad is comprised of a lot of young and talented athletes. The team's seven sophomores combined for five of the team's individual top times as freshmen last year, with Katie Bellew at the top of three lists and Sandra Bunker and Jen MacLauchlan each holding the top spot in one event. The Viking women have just one junior and one senior on their roster.

Women's Head Coach:

Mike Lehto (Cleveland State `85)

At CSU: 85-88 (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: 220-126 (26th Year)

Overall: Same