Contact: Julie Farr DeLima
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Contact: Julie Farr DeLima
Complete Release in PDF Format
Jan. 5, 2009
CLEVELAND, Ohio - - SETTING THE SCENE: The Cleveland State men's and women's swimming and diving teams host Xavier and Duquesne on Jan. 10 at 1:00 p.m. in the Robert F. Busbey Natatorium. The Vikings are also celebrating "Alumni Day" at the meet.
REVIEWING LAST WEEK: After nearly a month off, Cleveland State competed in the Tampa Relays on Jan. 3. Both the men and women finished third in the four-team event. Below is a brief recap of the most recent Viking action.
MEN (7-3) - 3rd out of 4 teams at the Tampa Relays with 84 points (Jan. 3 in Tampa, Florida): CSU picked up a win in the 300 back relay with Todd Winchell, Colin Hanner and Zvonimir Androic. The Vikings also finished second in the 300 breast relay (Jakub Dobies, Deni Gasparin, Marko Milenkovic), the 200 free relay (Dobies, Mike Marsico, Stephen Grove, Everhart) and the 4x100 IM relay (Volkmar Baur, Mark deSwardt, Winchell, Grove).
WOMEN (6-5) - 3rd out of 4 teams at the Tampa Relays with 92 points (Jan. 3 in Tampa, Florida): The Vikings picked up a win in the 300-yard backstroke relay with Whitney Hickey, Maria Culjak and Sandra Bunker. CSU also finished second in three different events including the 200 free relay (Brittany Tweardy, Kristina Nagy, Diana Mruk, Emily Splain, 300 fly relay (Carys Behn, Splain, Kristine Bunker) and the crescendo relay that included Tweardy in the 50 free, Nagy in the 100 free, Erin Green in the 150 free and Frances Carrion in the 200 free.
MORTON ON THE FLORIDA TRAINING TRIP: "We've had an outstanding training trip so far and our specificity and volume of training has been at a very high level. Our goal is not to work everyone to death, but to work in an intelligent way with the goal of getting faster in the water. In addition, we have an outstanding fitness facility to do our dry-land training to compliment our water work. While the divers did not make the trip to Florida, they have been training hard at home. Overall, I've been impressed with how hard the team is working and the high level that they're swimming at."
MORTON ON XAVIER & DUQUESNE: "Xavier and Duquesne are both Atlantic 10 conference members and have very well-respected programs. Their women's programs are excellent and their men's teams performed very well at the Akron Invitational. We understand that we have a very tough challenge on Saturday and we're looking forward to getting some excellent swims against a very good opponent. Coming off a week of intense, focused training is not necessarily the best way to prepare for a meet, but our expectations are always to swim fast regardless of the circumstances."
PREVIEWING THE WOMEN: Head coach Wally Morton and his staff worked hard in the off-season to bring in additional talent to compete alongside CSU's capable returning athletes and improve on last year's seventh-place finish at the Horizon League Championships. The 2008-09 squad includes five seniors, one junior, three sophomores and eight freshmen. The newcomers continue to live up to expectations and carry the load. Freshmen have the team's top times in 14 of the 17 individual events they swam this year, and in both diving events. Carys Behn has the team's top times in five of the six freestyle events including the 50 (24.39), 100 (53.11), 200 (1:52.52, school record), 500 (5:04.53, school record) and 1,000 (10:28.06) while sophomore Erin Green has the top time in the 1,650 (18:20.90). Freshman Emily Splain has recorded two of the three top times in the backstroke events. Splain swam a 1:00.69 in the 100 and 2:13.16 in the 200 for the best times of the season. Whitney Hickey has the team's best time in the 50 backstroke (28.38). Rachel Arzadon has been the team's best breaststroker, leading in the 50 (32.12), 100 (1:09.27) and 200 (2:30.13) events. Three different swimmers hold the team's top times in the butterfly events. Splain has the best 50 butterfly time (27.04), followed by Behn in the 100 (58.92) and senior Katie Bellew in the 200 (2:10.06). Behn also holds the team's top time in the 200 IM (2:11.75) while Kristine Bunker has the top time in the 400 IM (4:55.30). In the diving events, freshman Kacey Cummings has recorded season-bests in both the 1-meter (256.50) and 3-meter (268.12) events this season.
PREVIEWING THE MEN: A conference contender for the last 35 seasons with 18 championships since 1974, the CSU men enter the 2008-09 season poised to make a run at their second Horizon League title in four seasons. All the pieces are in place including Nedim Nisic, a 2008 Summer Olympian, and Jakub Dobies, a two-time NCAA Championship competitor. In addition to eight freshmen, the Vikings return three sophomores, three juniors and three seniors. CSU's talented returning class picked up where it left off last season and is enjoying the addition of its talented freshman class. The Vikings' considerable depth is visible in the 2008-09 top times list. At the halfway mark of the season, six different athletes are listed with top times in the swimming events this season. In the freestyle events, junior Jakub Dobies leads the way in the 50 (20.70), 100 (45.88) and 200 (1:43.77). Freshman Mark deSwardt is listed at the top of the 500 (4:27.12), the 1,000 (9:18.19) and the 1,650 (15:20.75). In the backstroke, junior Todd Winchell leads the 50 (24.32) and 100 (51.33) while freshman Colin Hanner has the team's top time in the 200 (1:53.44). Dobies has also recorded the Vikings' top time in the 50 (25.78) and 100 breaststroke (55.92) while senior Marko Milenkovic is tops in the 200 (2:05.36). Grove has the team's top time in the 50 fly (22.95) while Winchell has the team's top 100 fly (48.80, school record) and deSwardt leads the 200 (1:51.38). In the IM events, deSwardt leads the Vikings in both the 200 (1:55.60) and 400 (3:59.43). Freshman Matt DiMasso leads the diving events, with season-best scores in both the 1-meter (252.90) and 3-meter (233.02) events.
NON-TRADITIONAL MEET IN TAMPA: At their training trip in Tampa, Fla., the Vikings competed in a non-traditional competition made up solely of relays. The Vikings swam several 300 yard events and a crescendo relay that included relay legs of the 50 free, 100 free, 150 free and 200 free. While the athletes didn't necessarily swim their primary events, they still recorded some solid times that will help them continue to drop time in the second half of the season.
BEHN'S TIMES KEEP IMPROVING: There is no question that Carys Behn has had a terrific first half of the year, and there is nothing to indicate that she won't continue to improve this spring. A record-holder in two events, Behn's final performances of the fall season included a career-best in the 100 freestyle (53.11) at the Akron Invitational on Dec. 7.
NCAA "B" CUT FOR deSWARDT: Mark deSwardt used the Ohio State Invitational (Dec. 5-7) to continue his impressive freshman season. On the final day of competition he swam the 1,650 free for the first time in his college career, knocking out the second-fastest time in school history (15:20.75) for a sixth-place finish and an NCAA "B" cut. As he has done all year, deSwardt also continued to drop time in the 500 free, moving up to No. 3 all-time in the event with a 10th place finish (4:27.12) on Dec. 5.
DOBIES FINISHES FALL SEASON STRONG: Jakub Dobies finished the fall season strong, tying his own career-best time of 20.70 in the 50 free. The time was good enough to earn him 10th place at the Ohio State Invite on Dec. 5 and is the second-fastest time in CSU history.
FREE TIMES CONTINUE TO FALL FOR EVERHART: Keith Everhart consistently improved throughout the fall season and will aim to continue that improvement this spring. In his final competition of the fall, Everhart dropped time in both the prelims and finals of the 50 freestyle at the Akron Invitational, winning the consolation heat in 21.35 to finish ninth.
MILENKOVIC SCORES BIG FINISH IN 400 IM: The first time the CSU swim teams swam the 400 IM, Marko Milenkovic didn't hesitate to put up a good time. In addition to a 15th place finish in the event at the Ohio State Invitational on Dec. 6, Milenkovic swam the eighth-fastest time in CSU history in the event (4:04.08).
18 SECONDS OFF FOR RITZ: Pieter Ritz has shown continued improvement throughout the course of his freshman season. The change was most noticeable on Dec. 5 at the Akron Invitational when Ritz dropped 18 seconds off his season-best time in the 500 freestyle, swimming a lifetime best of 4:40.00 to finish fifth.
SPLAIN IMPROVES ON FASTEST TIME: Another freshman who has shown continued improvement, Emily Splain has consistently improved her times in the freestyle events. At the Akron Invitational on Dec. 6, she swam the fastest time of her career in the 200 free (1:56.52), finishing 19th overall and putting her name into the No. 9 spot on CSU's all-time Top-10 list.
SCHOOL RECORD FOR WINCHELL: In one of the most exciting swims of the fall season, Todd Winchell sped through the 100 butterfly at the Ohio State Invitational on Dec. 6, setting a new school record (48.80). The swim, which came against some of the top athletes in the country, also earned him a fifth-place finish.
THIS WEEK'S HONORABLE MENTIONS: • The women's 300 backstroke relay team of Whitney Hickey, Maria Culjak and Sandra Bunker for their first-place finish at the Tampa Relays on Jan. 3. • The men's 300 backstroke relay of Todd Winchell, Colin Hanner and Zvonimir Androic for their first-place finish at the Tampa Relays on Jan. 3. • The men's 200 freestyle relay of Jakub Dobies, Stephen Grove, Olympian Nedim Nisic and Mike Marsico recorded an all-time Top-10 finish at the Ohio State Invitational on Dec. 5, swimming the second-fastest time in school history (1:25.56) for a fifth-place finish. • Three freshmen and a senior paired up for a 10th-place finish and the second-fastest time in school history during the 200 freestyle relay at the Akron Invitational on Dec. 5. The team finished 10th overall in 1:38.23.
2008-09 HORIZON LEAGUE HONORS: The Cleveland State Vikings have been honored three times by the Horizon League this season. The following CSU athletes have earned Swimmer of the Week honors. Carys Behn - Oct. 22 Mark deSwardt - Oct. 29, Nov. 19, Dec. 10 Vikings athletes have also earned academic honors from the league. This season, the following swimmers have been named Horizon League Scholar Athlete of the Month. Stephen Grove - October
MEN'S & WOMEN'S HEAD COACH: Wally Morton (Miami, OH, '70) AT CSU: (as men's coach): 248-136-1 (28 years); (as women's coach): 10-15 (2nd year) Morton, who is in his second season as the head coach of the women's program and his 28th season as the head men's coach, has led the Vikings to 12 conference championships and 24 winning seasons in his 27 years at the helm of the men's program. Morton, who also serves as CSU's Director of Aquatics, has led the Vikings to seven straight seasons of 10 or more dual meet victories and one of his men's swimmers has earned the league's Male Swim Athlete of the Year award in five of the last six seasons.
NEXT UP: The Vikings host Oakland on Jan. 16 at 5:00 p.m. in the Robert F. Busbey Natatorium. The team rounds out its home schedule a week later with duals against Youngstown State (women only) and Wright State on Jan. 24 at 2:00 p.m.
