Feb. 4, 2006
CLEVELAND - The only thing that didn't turn out well was the weather.
With the rain coming down in sheets outside, the climate inside Busbey Natatorium was electric, with the Vikings' men's and women's swimming and diving teams claiming three wins, a pair of school records falling and 10 seniors saying farewell in victorious fashion.
The men's squad (11-4) claimed a decisive 147-89 win over UIC, while the women's team (9-7) notched a 119-112 win over the Flames and a 130-97 victory over Youngstown State.
The crowd in Busbey Natatorium had additional reason to make some noise, as a pair of records changed hands, with junior Bjorn Schantz and sophomore Chris Dalman topping marks in the meet.
Schantz bested the longest-standing CSU record in the 200 freestyle, swimming the trip in a swift 1:39.15. The previous mark of 1:39.39 was set in 1982 by Rui Abreu.
"That was the highlight of a fantastic meet," men's head coach Wally Morton said. "Many people have come very close to breaking that mark, but it has remained untouched for that long. To put up that kind of a showing in a dual meet makes Bjorn's time even more impressive."
Meanwhile, Dalman put an exclamation point on one of the finest Cleveland State diving performances in a dual meet, claiming a 415.40 in one-meter diving to upend teammate Thatcher Carr's one-year-old mark of 410.93.
"This was a great day for CSU diving," head diving coach Rich Karban said. "To have Chris perform the way he did today coupled with the efforts of our other divers is almost unheard of."
The Vikings finished 1-2-3 in both the one- and three-meter boards. At one-meter, Carr finished second with a 387.35 and sophomore Dan Baiko placed third with a 282.65, while Carr finished first (365.75), Dalman second (353.75) and Baiko third (313.15) at three meter.
With the pair of dual meet wins, the women's team finishes the regular season with a 9-7 record, their best dual meet mark since the 2001-02 team went 9-6.
The women's team opened up the meet with a strong win in the 400 medley relay, with freshman Jen MacLauchlan, junior Marianne Lionell, freshman Kristine Bunker and sophomore Lesley Jones swimming to a 4:03.59.
Lionell added a top time in the 200 free (1:58.93), while senior Kirsty McKechnie registered a win in the 200 IM (2:15.36). Freshmen Katie Bellew and MacLauchlan each picked up wins as well, with Bellew claiming a victory the 200 fly (2:13.26) and MacLauchlan scoring a win in the 200 back (2:12.08).
"We knew coming in that we had a chance to get some wins today," women's head coach Mike Lehto said. "It's always great to get two wins in one meet, especially when we have to make up for our lack of diving. But that just goes to show you how well we swam today. We held nothing back."
The men's team combined for 11 wins on the day, including a pair by Schantz and senior Pieter Pelser. Schantz supplemented his record-breaking 200 free effort with a win in the 500 freestyle (4:33.55), while Pelser swam to wins in the 200 IM (1:55.35) and the 200 back (1:49.45). He also added a personal best in the 100 freestyle, swimming the first leg of the 400 free relay in 47.07.
Senior Daniel Thomasson closed out his dual meet career in style, winning the 1,000 freestyle in 9:38.81. Newcomers Stef Potgieter and Nedim Nisic added wins of their own, with Potgieter claiming the 200 breast in 2:08.32 and Nisic swimming the 200 fly in 1:50.76.
"UIC is a tough team to beat," Morton said. "They have excellent sprinters and always give us a challenge whenever we face them. But I can't say enough about the performance of our seniors today. They were all outstanding, both in competition and in their leadership, without exception."
The men's team finishes with an 11-4 dual meet record, the fifth-straight year that they have finished with 10 or more wins.
Ten CSU seniors were honored prior to the meet, including women's swimmers Kirsty McKechnie, Wendy Peel and Nicole Reddout and men's swimmers Thatcher Carr, Mark Dillio, Brian Klausner, Steven Ondercin, Pieter Pelser, Daniel Thomasson and Adam Wroblewski.
The men's and women's teams will have two weeks of practice before hosting the Horizon League Championships at Busbey Natatorium. The tournament begins Wednesday, Feb. 22 and runs through Saturday, Feb. 25.
