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Swimming and Diving Teams Break for Holiday

Swimming and Diving Teams Break for Holiday
Posted: Dec 16, 2007

Dec. 16, 2007

Contact: Gene Natale, Jr.

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

IDLE UNTIL JAN. 5, 2008
at Holiday Invitational
Date:January 5, 2008
TimeTBA
Site:Florida

SETTING THE SCENE: After a fast-paced three days at the Miami (OH) Invitational that saw the men and women combine to set 22 new team top times, and culminating with a third straight Horizon League swimmer of the week honor for sophomore sensation Jakub Dobies, the Vikings will take the rest of the month off before heading to Florida for a multi-team invitational on Jan. 5, 2008. The Viking men finish the calendar year at 5-3, while the women are 2-5.

RECAPPING LAST WEEK: The CSU Men placed seventh of 16 teams and the women placed 13th of 16 this past weekend at the Miami Invitational. Here is a brief look at how the Vikings fared:

Men - 7th place (831 points) (Nov. 30-Dec. 1, in Oxford, Ohio)
Numerous top times were set, while sophomore Jakub Dobies set school records in the 50 freestyle (20.70), 100 freestyle (44.62), and the 200 breaststroke (2:00.43, also a league record and NCAA "B" Qualifier), and also won the 100 breast with a pool and invitational record time of 54.03, also a NCAA "B" Qualifier.

Women - 13th place (160 points) (Nov. 30-Dec. 1, in Oxford, Ohio)
Senior Lesley Jones led the way for the Vikings, setting new season and personal bests in the 50 free (24.53) and 100 free (53.18) while finishing 17th in each event. Senior Deanna Raedel (100 breaststroke) and freshman Erin Green (1,650 freestyle) also posted personal bests in their events.

PREVIEWING THE WOMEN'S TEAM: The CSU women hope that their experience and skill they have shown will help them to improve on a sixth place showing at the Horizon League Championship last season. With a core of four seniors leading the way, improving every week is going to be crucial. Seniors Lesley Jones, Deanna Raedel, and Trish Simon lead the team in six events and set the stage for the team. Jones gets it done in the freestyle events, topping the team in the 50, 100, and 200 free as the team's top sprinter, while Raedel contributes to the freestyle with the second best times in the 50 and 100, and also has the top times in the breaststroke events. Simon, meanwhile, is typically the team's only entrant in the diving events. Meanwhile, senior Alex Bagi helps provide depth in the freestyle events and has been called upon frequently to contribute her talents to the relays.

Junior Katie Bellew, who is the school record holder in the 100 fly (57.50), has Vikings' season best times in the 100 (1:00.18) and 200 fly (2:14.20) as well as the second best times in the breaststroke events and the 200 IM (2:18.34). At the same time a myriad of junior athletes contribute well to the team, including Jen MacLauchlan (backstroke), Kristine (fly/IM) and Sandra Bunker (butterfly/freestyle), and Kristina Nagy (sprint freestyle/relays), as the team looks forward to the remainder of the season.

MORTON ON THE CSU WOMEN: "Overall, we had some of our best performances and top times from several people at Miami. I am very pleased and encouraged by the improvement of our Lady Vikings."

SETTING THE SCENE: After a fast-paced three days at the Miami (OH) Invitational that saw the men and women combine to set 22 new team top times, and culminating with a third straight Horizon League swimmer of the week honor for sophomore sensation Jakub Dobies, the Vikings will take the rest of the month off before heading to Florida for a multi-team invitational on Jan. 5, 2008. The Viking men finish the calendar year at 5-3, while the women are 2-5.

PREVIEWING THE MEN'S TEAM: The CSU men's squad strives to win a league championship this year after finishing second in the conference last season. A core of eight seniors provide solid leadership to a team that is helped immensely by its talented younger contributors, with sophomore Jakub Dobies leading the way. Dobies was voted the newcomer of the year at the league championship last season after winning the 100 and 200 breaststroke, setting school and meet records in the process. He continues to improve and currently leads the Vikings with the team's top times in the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle, 100 and 200 breaststroke, and 200 IM. His school record in the 100 breaststroke (53.77) is one that will likely be broken yet again by the talented athlete, and he continues to improve his 200 breaststroke time, as he broke his own school record with the 2:00.43 he swam at Miami.

Another underclassman contributing for Cleveland State is Todd Winchell, who leads the team in the backstroke events. Winchell, who also has the team's top 100 butterfly time (49.71, at the Miami Invite) leads the team in the 50 and 100 backstroke with his season best times of 23.97 (set vs. Ohio State) and 51.19 (at the Miami Invite).

With a strong core of seniors including Dan Baiko, Stef Potgieter, and Nedim Nisic, the team has the talent and experience needed to put Cleveland State back on top at the Horizon League Championships this season. Baiko leads the team in the diving events, while Potgieter gives the Vikings a nice one-two punch in the breaststroke events. Nisic, meanwhile, provides stability to the team's butterfly events, with the team's second best times in both the 100 and 200 fly.

MORTON ON THE CSU MEN: "We had a number of people step up at Miami, and we look forward to getting into our hard training portion of the year. Our main concern was improving our times this past week, and I am seeing good progress."

FOUR TIMES THE CHARM: Sophomore Jakub Dobies won his fourth career swimmer of the week honor following his sensational performances at the Miami Invitational. Dobies, the reigning Horizon League Newcomer of the Year, leads the conference with top times in four different events. He has won seven individual events in the season's first nine competitions and posted a couple of the nation's best times with his performances in the 200 (2:00.43) and 100 (54.03) breaststroke at Miami. He has shown improvement with every meet and still has room to improve on his 100 breast time, as his current season best remains short of the school record time of 53.77 which he set last year at the Horizon League Championships.

JONES LEADS THE WAY: Lesley Jones has become a very reliable option in the freestyle events, as her performance at the Miami Invite has proven. In addition to being the highest individual placer for the Vikings at Miami, she now holds the team's top times in the 50 (24.53), 100 (53.18), and 200 freestyle (1:58.90). Jones seems to save her best performances for the bigger competitions, as she posted previous season highs earlier in the year in a dual meet against reigning women's league champion Green Bay (Oct. 27) in the 50 (25.38) and 100 freestyle (54.75), good for second in each event at the meet.

EASY BAIKO: Senior Dan Baiko started the season on fire, looking to continue Cleveland State's dominance in the diving events. Baiko won both the 3-meter and 1-meter dives in dual meets against Valparaiso (Oct. 13) and Green Bay (Oct. 27). Following his performances against Green Bay which saw him put up 291.75 points in the 1-meter and 311.75 points in the 3-meter, Baiko was named the Horizon League Diver of the Week. He has continued to dominate as the season has worn on, and currently holds season and career best marks of 296.40 in the 1-meters (set Nov. 11 at the City College Meet) and 352.65 in the 3-meters (set Nov. 20 vs. Ohio State).

RAEDEL COMING ON STRONG: Senior Deanna Raedel paces the women's teams in the breaststroke events, topping the team's time list following her performances at the Miami Invite. With a time of 1:09.33 in the 100 and 2:30.58 in the 200, both attained this past weekend, she looks to continue her improvement as she continues through her final season as a Viking.

DOUBLE DUECKER: Dave Duecker has been having a solid season, continuing his improvements in the 500 and 1000 free as well as in the individual medley events. He currently holds the season's top times in the 500, 1000, and 400 IM, clocking in at 4:38.54, 9:50.09, and 4:01.84, respectively. After setting season bests in the 500 and 1000 in early November, he was recognized by the league office as Horizon League Swimmer of the Week (Nov. 7). His recognition began a streak of four straight weeks that a CSU men's swimmer has been named swimmer of the week, including the last three in a row by sophomore Jakub Dobies.

MEN'S & WOMEN'S HEAD COACH:
Wally Morton (Miami (OH) '70)
At CSU (as Men's Coach): 235-132 (27th Year)
(as Women's Coach): 2-5 (1st Year)
Overall: Same as above

Morton, who is in his first season as the head coach of both the men's and women's teams, has led the Vikings to 12 conference championships and 23 winning seasons in his 26 years at the helm of the men's program. Morton, who also serves as CSU's Director of Aquatics, has led the Vikings to six straight seasons of 10 or more dual meet victories and had a streak of four straight years for a Viking claiming the league's Male Swim Athlete of the Year Award, before it was broken last season.

UP NEXT: Both the Viking men and women return to action at the Holiday Invitational on Sat. Jan. 5, 2008 in Florida.