Contact: Julie Farr DeLima

Complete Release in PDF Format

Oct. 29, 2008

CLEVELAND, Ohio - -

Contact: Julie Farr DeLima

SETTING THE SCENE: The Cleveland State men's and women's swimming and diving teams return home on Oct. 31. The women will take on Butler and Canisius in a 5:00 p.m. start while the men will swim only against Canisius. On Nov. 1, the teams travel to St. Bonaventure for a 1:00 p.m. dual meet start.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The men recorded victories in all but one swimming event to win 145.5-95.5 at Green Bay on Oct. 25. The women fell to Green Bay 158-72, picking up wins in two events. Below is a brief recap of the most recent Viking action.

Men (1-0) - CSU 145.5, Green Bay 95.5 (Oct. 25 in Green Bay, Wis.): Mark deSwardt was outstanding for the Vikings in the first dual meet of his career, picking up three individual wins. In addition to swimming the fourth-fastest time in CSU history in the 1,000 freestyle (9:27.23), he won the 200 butterfly (1:55.35) and out-sprinted the reigning Horizon League 500 freestyle champion to win the event in 4:36.78. The Vikings also got solid performances in the 200 breaststroke and 200 freestyle, taking all three podium spots.

Women (0-2) - Green Bay 158, CSU 72 (Oct. 25 in Green Bay, Wis.): Carys Behn picked up both of the Vikings' wins on the day in the 100 freestyle (53.79) and 200 freestyle (1:55.12) events. It was the first time this season that she swam the 100 freestyle. Behn also swam the seventh-fastest 100 freestyle time in school history (53.52) in the leadoff leg of the 400 freestyle relay and is now listed among CSU's all-time Top-10 in four different events.

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 four seniors, four juniors, three sophomores and seven freshmen.

Several newcomers are expected to carry the load in the freestyle events and are already turning in some of the top times on the team. In the sprints, freshman Whitney Hickey leads the way with the top time in the 50 (25.50) and 100 (55.11) free events, after two dual meets. Senior Kristina Nagy is providing valuable support in the sprints as well, recording the team's second-best time in the 50 (25.55). Freshman Carys Behn has proven her worth in nearly every freestyle event. Behn has recorded the team's top times in the 100 freestyle (53.52, No. 7 all-time), 200 freestyle (1:53.48, No. 2 all-time) and 500 freestyle (5:08.71, No. 5 all-time). Freshman Emily Splain and sophomore Frances Carrion add depth in the mid-distance events with Splain recording the second-best time of the season in the 200 free (1:58.28) and Carrion tallying the second-best time of the year in the 500 free (5:23.17). To date, senior Kristine Bunker is the team's top distance threat after one dual meet, swimming a 10:56.65 in the 1,000 free. Carrion also posted the team's second-best time of the year in the 1,000 free (11:01.72). In the specialty strokes, Splain has recorded the team's top time of the season in the 100 back (1:01.44) while senior Katie Bellew continues to lead the way in the 100 breast (1:10.19). Senior Sandra Bunker adds depth in the 100 backstroke with the second-best time of the season (1:05.97) while freshman Rachel Arzadon will provide help after posting the team's top time in the 200 breast (2:33.06) and its second-best time in the 100 breast (1:10.46). In the 100 butterfly, Behn's top time of the season (58.92) is close to senior Katie Bellew's school record of 57.50. Bellew has the second-best time of the year (1:00.85). Arzadon and Sandra Bunker have both posted respectable times of 2:20.67 to lead the team in the 200 IM. In the diving events, freshman Kacey Cummings has recorded season highs of 220.12 in the 1-meter event and 224.48 in the 3-meter dive.

MORTON ON THE CSU WOMEN: "We have a great respect for Butler and we're looking forward to seeing how me match up with them, "head coach Wally Morton said. "Canisius is a school similar to us and we're looking forward to the competition they will bring. On Saturday at St. Bonaventure we know we'll get a challenge. They have one of the top programs in the Atlantic 10 and it will be another great test for us. We're going to keep training hard all week so we'll be ready for the meets."

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. Through one dual meet, several swimmers are listed among the team's top times. Junior Stephen Grove has the team's quickest 50 free time (21.31) while senior Nedim Nisic has turned in the top time in the 100 free (47.53). Junior Todd Winchell's 1:45.03 is the team's best in the 200 free and freshman Mark deSwardt has the top times in the 500 free (4:36.78) and 1,000 free (9:27.23). For deSwardt, his time in the 500 is the fourth-fastest time in school history. Freshman Pieter Ritz is also in the mix in the distance events, finishing second to deSwardt in both the 500 (5:02.19) and 1,000 (10:11.32) free events. In the specialty strokes, sophomore Zvonimir Androic leads the 200 back (1:56.99) while senior Marko Milenkovic is tops in the 200 breast (2:07.58). Early in the season, two-time NCAA qualifier and junior Jakub Dobies has the team's fastest time in the 200 IM (1:57.87) and is second in the 200 breast (2:08.99). In the butterfly events, Grove is the fastest in the 100 (53.16) while deSwardt's 1:55.35 in the 200 leads the team. Freshman Matt DiMasso has taken over the diving events for the Vikings this year and has posted top scores of 210.08 in the 1-meter and 190.95 in the 3-meter competitions.

MORTON ON THE CSU MEN: "Canisius is a Division I independent school and is very similar to CSU and we're looking forward to competing against them," head coach Wally Morton said. "We expect a challenge on Saturday at St. Bonaventure. They have one of the top programs in the Atlantic 10 and have won a number of conference championships in swimming. We're going to keep training hard all week so we'll be ready for the meets."

BIG NAMES KEEP WINNING: Several of the Vikings' most recognizable men's swimmers won events at Green Bay on Oct. 25. Stephen Grove held off teammate Mike Marsico in the 50 free (21.43) and two-time NCAA qualifier Jakub Dobies won the 200 IM (1:57.87). CSU's 2008 Summer Olympian Nedim Nisic earned a win for CSU in the 100 freestyle (47.53).

BEHN KEEPS CLIMBING: With just three meets under the belt in her young career, Carys Behn has been outstanding. At Green Bay she won two events, the 100 and 200 free, and added her name to a fourth all-time Top-10 list with a 53.52 in the 100 free. She recorded the time in the leadoff leg of the 400 freestyle relay. To date, Behn has a Viking Top-10 time in four events - the 200 free (1:53.48, 2nd), 100 fly (58.92, 4th), 500 free (5:08.71, 5th) and 100 free (53.52, 7th). She was named the Horizon League Swimmer of the Week on Oct. 22.

deSWARDT PICKS UP LEAGUE HONOR: Freshman Mark deSwardt became the second Vikings swimmer in as many weeks to earn the Horizon League Swimmer of the Week award. The honor came his way on Oct. 29 after the Green Bay dual in which he won three events and swam the fourth-fastest time in school history in the 1,000 freestyle (9:27.23) victory. He also won the 200 butterfly (1:55.35) and out-sprinted the reigning confernce champion to win the 500 freestyle (4:36.78).

CUMMINGS SHINES IN DIVING DEBUT: Freshman Kacey Cummings opened her career with the Vikings at Green Bay, finishing second in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events. As the season continues, she will aim to improve her scores of 220.12 in the 1-meter event and 224.48 in the 3-meter dives.

ANDROIC LEADS SWEEP OF 200 BACK: The Vikings swept the top three finishes in two events at Green Bay, including the 200 backstroke won by Zvonimir Androic (1:56.99). Androic held off Colin Hanner and Todd Winchell for the win.

WOMEN SHARE SUCCESS AT GREEN BAY: In addition to Carys Behn's two wins, the Viking women earned runner-up finishes in four events. Emily Splain finished second in the 50 free (25.92) while Katie Bellew finished second in the 200 fly (2:14.39). Whitney Hickey finished in 2:14.19 to take second in the 200 back and Frances Carrion's time of 5:27.46 was good enough for second in the 500 free.

MILENKOVIC HOLDS OFF TEAMMATES FOR WIN: In the Vikings' first 1-2-3 sweep of an event, Marko Milenkovic edged out teammates Jakub Dobies and Deni Gasparin to earn the win in the 200 breast (2:07.58) at Green Bay on Oct. 25.

2008-09 HORIZON LEAGUE HONORS: The Cleveland State Vikings have been honored twice 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

MEN'S & WOMEN'S HEAD COACH: Wally Morton (Miami, OH, '70) AT CSU: (as men's coach): 242-133-1 (28 years); (as women's coach): 4-12 (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 teams return to action on Nov. 7 when a tri-meet takes them to Youngstown to take on Youngstown State and Niagara at 6:00 p.m..