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CSU Swimming and Diving Opens Season At Ashland
Oct. 10, 2006 Contact: Josh Rattray
Complete Release in PDF Format
Cleveland State Men's & Women' Swimming - at Ashland Relays Date: Oct. 14, 2006 Time: 12:00 p.m. Site: THE STARTING LINE: The men's and women's swimming and diving teams open the 2006-07 season at the Ashland Relays on Saturday (Oct. 14). The diving portion of the meet begins at noon followed by swimming at 1:00 p.m. PREVIEWING THE WOMEN'S TEAM: The CSU women have their sights set on winning a Horizon League championship after scoring a school-record 358.5 points en route to a fifth place finish at last year's championship. The squad is loaded with experienced swimmers and features 10 returning letterwinners, but also has a wealth of youth with three freshmen and seven sophomores on the roster. Marianne Lionell is the team's only senior and is the top returning swimmer in five events. She posted team bests last year in the 50- , 100- and 200-meter freestyle events. She is also the team's leader in the 100 breast (1:06.13) and 200 breast (2:27.19) and swam on four of CSU's five relay teams. Sophomore Katie Bellew holds the school record in the 100 fly (:57.50) and is the also the team's top swimmer in the 200 fly (2:08.92) and the 200 IM (2:11.89). CSU's sophomore twins, Kristine and Sandra Bunker, also return after each posted a solid freshman campaign. Kristine will add depth to the Viking sprint corps (50 and 200 free, 100 and 200 fly) while Sandra is the team's top returning distance swimmer, leading in the 1,650 Free (18:16.80) and 1,000 Free (10:55.35). Junior Lesley Jones and sophomore Jen MacLauchlan each are coming off solid seasons and can challenge the top times in the sprint events. MacLauchlan is the team's top returner in the 100 back (:59.40) and Jones is among the team's best 50 and 100 free swimmers and swam on four relay teams last year. Sophomore Lauren Bullard is the only returning diver, but freshman Meagan Seaman joins the squad and will give the Vikings a chance to capture more diving points. PREVIEWING THE MEN'S TEAM: The CSU men's squad takes aim at defending its Horizon League championship with 15 returning letterwinners from last year. Headlining the returnees is senior Bjorn Schantz, last year's Horizon League Swimming Athlete of the Year. Schantz, who was also named the Men's Outstanding Swimmer at the championships, set school records in the 200 free (1:39.15) and 500 free (4:24.65) last year while his time in the 500 was also good for the Horizon League Championship record. He was also the anchor leg of CSU's championship 800 free relay team that also posted a school-record time. Several Vikings provide support, including junior Johan Norling and sophomore Marko Milenkovic, who are also among the team's top sprinters. Norling's time of 21.31 in the 50 free last year was the team's best, followed by Milenkovic's :21.37. Sophomore Nedim Nisic is the team's top returnee in the butterfly, posting team-best times last year in the 100 (:49.86) and 200 fly (1:50.76). Sophomore Stef Potgieter, along with Milenkovic and junior Dave Duecker, leads the team in the breaststroke events. Potgieter's time of :57.68 was the team's best in the 100 breast, and he was just a second behind Milenkovic (2:05.05) at the top of the 200 breast list with a time of 2:06.19. Despite losing two-time league diving champion Thatcher Carr to graduation, theVikings still have two talented divers that can defend the league title. Senior Chris Dalman was the team's top one-meter diver last year. He set the school record with a score of 415.40 on Feb. 4 last year against UIC. Junior Dan Baiko also returns and the two divers will push each other toward league diving supremacy. A LOOK BACK AT THE LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS: The Viking men captured CSU's first league swimming championship since 1999 last year and the women set a school record for points in a league championship meet with 358.5. Here is a recap of the 2006 Horizon League Championships: Feb. 22-25, 2006, The Robert F. Busbey Natatorium, MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP: Leading defending champion In all, CSU claimed eight individual and two relay titles on its way to the 18th conference championship in school history. Schantz led the way with three championships (500, 1000 and 1,650 free) and Pelser had two (100 and 200 back). CSU also swept the diving championships for the third straight year, with Chris Dalman winning the one-meter and Thatcher Carr winning the three-meter. Men's Scores Wright State 742.5 UIC 660.5 UW-Green Bay 527 UW-Milwaukee 512 WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP: The Vikings shattered two school records in the championship meet, as freshman Katie Bellew set a new standard in the 100 fly (:57.50) along with the 200 free relay team (Jen MacLauchlan, Marianne Lionell, Deanna Raedel, Lesley Jones) posting a time of 1:36.95. Women's Scores UW-Green Bay 805 Wright State 772 UW-Milwaukee 764 UIC 479.5 BEST IN THE LEAGUE: CSU swimmers assaulted the Horizon League top times list last year, with six Viking men holding the top time in 10 events. Here is a look at CSU swimmers holding the league's top times in 2005-06: Swimmer/Diver Event Time/Score Thatcher Carr 3 meter diving 370.90 Chris Dalman 1 meter diving 415.40 Nedim Nisic 200 butterfly 1:50.76 Pieter Pelser 100 backstroke 49.85 200 backstroke 1:49.40 Bjorn Schantz 200 freestyle 1:39.15 500 freestyle 4:31.79 1,000 freestyle 9:23.19 1,650 freestyle 15:50.22 Thomasson, Schantz, 800 freestyle relay 6:51.20 Milenkovic, Elgamal Pelser, Potgieter, 400 medley relay 3:23.77 Nisic, Milenkovic INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR: CSU's past success has attracted swimming talent from all over the globe. Six members of the men's team and four Viking women hail from outside the THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT: With all but two members of its roster either a sophomore or a freshman, the CSU women's roster is comprised of a lot of young and talented athletes. The team's seven sophomores combined for five of the team's individual top times as freshmen last year, with Katie Bellew at the top of three lists and Sandra Bunker and Jen MacLauchlan each holding the top spot in one event. The Viking women have just one junior and one senior on their roster. SWISS MISS: Marianne Lionell, the women's team's only senior, has been among the Horizon League's best sprint swimmers for the last three years. The Women's Head Coach: Mike Lehto ( At CSU: 85-87 (13th Year) Overall: Same Lehto, the winningest women's swimming coach in Men's Head Coach: Wally Morton ( At CSU: 219-126 (26th Year) Overall: Same Morton has led the Vikings to 12 conference championships and 22 winning seasons in his 25 years at the helm of the men's program. Morton, who also serves as CSU's Director of Aquatics, has led the Vikings to five straight seasons of 10 or more dual meet victories and for four straight years, a Vikings has claimed the league's Male Swim Athlete of the Year Award.
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