Nov. 17, 2009
Contact: Renee Adam
Cleveland, Ohio - The Cleveland State swimming and diving programs swept the Horizon League Swimmer of the Week honors for the period Nov. 9-15, with sophomore Mark deSwardt earning swimmer of the week on the men's side and sophomore Carys Behn taking home the award for the women.
The league office made the announcement on Tuesday (Nov. 17).
deSwardt swept all five of his individual events last week during two home quad meets. During the City College Meet on Tuesday (Nov. 10) he touched first in the 500 (4:37.02) free and the 400 IM (4:01.05). During Saturday's quad against Niagara, St. Bonaventure and Valparaiso, deSwardt set personal bests in the 500 free with a time of 4:36.35 and the 1,000 free finishing in 9:27.25. He also won the 200 fly (1:53.25) going three-for-three in individual events.
"Mark's times rank him at the top in all of his events on the team and has been training at a very high level and it is great to see him being commended for his efforts," head coach Wally Morton said. "I am looking forward to his performances this weekend at the TYR Northwestern University Invitational, especially after his times that he recorded this past week in some of the toughest events in swimming."
Behn was also victorious in all five of her individual events last week, leading the Vikings with three first place finishes in the City College Meet last Tuesday. She dominated the freestyle events, touching first in the 1,000 free (10:24.84), 100 free (52.62) and the 50 free (24.58).
"Carys is a great choice for Horizon League swimmer of the week because of her times that she posted this past week," Morton said. "Her times rank her first in all of her events in the league so far this fall. The performances that she puts forth reflect all of the hard work that she puts in everyday during practice. I am very happy with the progress that she is making in training, and when she is rested she is going to be a great swimmer improving on her times that she set at the end of last season."
On Saturday, she posted victories in the 200 free (1:53.05) and the 500 free (5:01.63) recording her personal best dual meet times in both events against Niagara, St. Bonaventure and Valparaiso.
deSwardt earns his sixth career award, while Behn is honored for the second time while at CSU. This marks the first time that both have earned the award during the 2009-10 season.
The Vikings will travel to Evanston, Ill. to take part in the Northwestern University Invitational from Friday (Nov. 20) to Sunday (Nov. 22).
