Contact: Julie Farr DeLima

Complete Release in PDF Format

Oct. 21, 2008

CLEVELAND, Ohio - -

Contact: Julie Farr DeLima

SETTING THE SCENE: The Cleveland State men's and women's swimming and diving teams will open their Horizon League seasons at Green Bay on Oct. 25. The meet begins at 12:00 p.m.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The women's team hosted St. Francis in the first home dual meet of the season on Oct. 18, falling 106-99. The men had the week off. Below is a brief recap of the most recent Viking action.

Men (0-0) - 4th at Stark Relays (Oct. 3 in Notre Dame, Ind.): Five swimmers represented the Vikings in the relays, winning two events. Todd Winchell, Marko Milenkovic, Mark deSwardt and Nedim Nisic won the 400 IM relay (3:37.17). CSU's other win came in the 400 butterfly relay by the team of Stephen Grove, Nisic, Winchell and deSwardt (3:30.06).

Women (0-1) - St. Francis 106, CSU 99 (Oct. 18 in Cleveland, Ohio): Several women had outstanding performances including Carys Behn as she added her name to two more all-time Top-10 lists with her times in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly. Behn won the 200 freestyle in the second-fastest time in CSU history (1:53.48), just missing the school record of 1:53.22. She posted the fourth-fastest time in CSU history during her win in the 100 butterfly (58.92). Behn also won the 500 freestyle race. The day's other winners included Whitney Hickey, who edged out teammate Kristina Nagy in the 100 freestyle (55.11), and Kristine Bunker in the 1,000 freestyle (10:56.65). The women's 200 freestyle relay of Nagy, Kristine and Sandra Bunker and Maria Culjak also won for the Vikings.

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 one dual meet. Senior Kristina Nagy is providing valuable support in the sprints as well, recording the team's second-best times in both the 50 (25.55) and 100 (55.78) free on Oct. 18. Freshman Carys Behn has proven her worth in the mid-distance free events, swimming the second-fastest time in school history in the 200 (1:53.48) and the fifth-fastest time in the 500 (5:08.71) free events. 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). 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 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 second-best time of the year 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 both swam a respectable 2:20.67 to lead the team in the 200 IM on Oct. 18. Freshman Kacey Cummings joins the diving team with great expectations and has been called "one of the best freshmen divers at CSU" by Morton.

MORTON ON THE CSU WOMEN AT GREEN BAY: "Green Bay is the premier program in the Horizon League and the defending champions. They have both quality and depth so it should be a good test for us to compete against them. We want to continue to focus on ourselves and get better. We've made significant improvements and I think once we're healthy again we'll be even better."

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 conference 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.

Several veterans return to lead the freestyle events including two of the best juniors in CSU history - Todd Winchell and Dobies. Dobies finished as the runner-up in the 100 free at the 2008 Horizon League Championship, just missing a third individual title. Junior Stephen Grove will aim to improve on his break-out sophomore season that included a conference title in the 50 free in a school record time (20.41) and a top-five finish in the 100 freestyle. Nisic and Marko Milenkovic will also give great performances in the sprint and middle distance events. Sophomore Michael Marsico used the off-season to develop into one of the top freestylers on the team while freshmen Keith Everhart, Travis Lombardozzi and Derek Butts all look to make their marks. Freshman Mark deSwardt brings a wealth of talent in the distance freestyle events while freshman Pieter Ritz will be counted on for additional depth.

Nisic will lead the butterfly events after a trip to the Summer Olympics in Beijing where he swam for Bosnia. He will aim to improve on a third-place Horizon League finish in the 100 (49.26) and a sixth-place finish in the 200 butterfly (1:52.07) events. Grove is also back after setting a CSU record in the 100 butterfly (48.86) during a runner-up finish at the league championships. Sophomre Zvonimir Androic, senior Volkmar Baur and Winchell will provide depth. Dobies will be the face of the breaststroke events. A Mid-Major All-American after his Top-25 finish in the 100 breaststroke at last year's NCAA Championships (54.31) and the Horizon League's 2007-08 Co-Athlete of the Year, Dobies is determined to add to his six career individual Horizon League titles. Sophmore Deni Gasparin returns as the league's reigning Newcomer of the Year after winning the 200 breaststroke at last year's championships (2:01.02). Three top-10 league placers return in the backstroke events, including champion Winchell, runner-up Nisic and Androic. Several athletes will contribute in the individual medley events.

Freshman Matt diMasso, a four-time district qualifier, will take over diving duties for the Vikings this season. He'll have the best of the Horizon League coaches in Rich Karban who has earned Horizon League Diving Coach of the Year honors in each of his last five seasons with Cleveland State.

MORTON ON THE CSU MEN AT GREEN BAY: "Our men are looking forward to their first meet and are excited about swimming fast. We have always had good performances at Green Bay and we're looking forward to good competition there again this year."

BEHN ETCHES NAME IN MORE ALL-TIME LISTS: Only two competition dates into the 2008-09 season and freshman Carys Behn is looking like the versatile weapon the Vikings expected to see. She's already added her name to three different all-time CSU Top-10 lists and could find her way to the top of some of those lists by the season's end. To date, Behn is No. 2 all-time in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:53.48 on Oct. 18, just off school-record pace (1:53.22). In the 100 fly, she posted a 58.92 on Oct. 18, good enough for the fourth-best time in school history (record is 57.50). She is also the fifth-fastest 500 freestyler in school history (5:08.71 on 10/3) while the school record stands at 5:05.93.

BUNKER SETS NEW PR: Senior Kristine Bunker is making the most of her senior season. In the first dual of the year, Bunker set a new personal best during her win in the 1,000 free on Oct. 18 (10:56.65), dropping more than 10 seconds off her previous best of 11:06.06.

HICKEY TURNS HEADS: Freshman Whitney Hickey's win in the 100 free on Oct. 18 (55.11) was impressive, but she showed her potential in more than just that race. She had a solid outing in the Vikings' home dual with St. Francis, anchoring the medley relay and finishing second in the 50 free. (25.50).

MEN'S FACES TO WATCH: • As the 2008-09 season gets underway, expect big things from the Vikings' returning Horizon League Champions. The 2007-08 Co-Athlete of the Year Jakub Dobies returns after winning the 200 IM and 100 breast as a sophomore. Dobies also won the 100 breast, 200 breast and 200 IM as a freshman. Stephen Grove is back for his sophomore season after claiming the title in the 50 free while Todd Winchell returns to defend his title in the 100 back. Also back for the Vikings is the 2007-08 Newcomer of the Year Deni Gasparin, who won the 200 breast at least year's Horizon League Championship. • Senior Nedim Nisic represented Bosnia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, competing in the 100 butterfly. He finished seventh in his heat (57.16), becoming the first active swimmer in CSU history to qualify for the Olympic Games. • Junior Jakub Dobies begins his quest for a third-straight NCAA Championships appearance in 2008-09 after earning Mid-Major All-America honors as a sophomore. Dobies finished 22nd in the 100 breast in last year's NCAA Championships and was the conference's only representative. • Several talented freshmen are set to make their debuts at Green Bay including Derek Butts (back/sprints), Mark deSwardt (distance/fly), Keith Everhart (sprint/fly), Colin Hanner (back/fly), Travis Lombardozzi (fly/sprints), Nick Martinelli (breast/IM) and Pieter Ritz (distance). • After the graduation of Dan Baiko, one of the most decorated divers in CSU history, Matt diMasso joins the Vikings in hope of keeping CSU's streak alive. A four-time district qualifier, diMasso will represent the Vikings as they aim to extend their Horizon League Championship streaks of five-straight Diver of the Meet and Diving Coach of the Year honors.

INTERNATIONAL FLAIR: In 28 seasons with the Vikings swimming and diving programs, head coach Wally Morton has become a well-known face in the swimming world, allowing him to recruit talented swimmers from 18 different countries. During the 2008-09 season, the Vikings have representatives from all over the globe including Carys Behn and Mark deSwardt (South Africa); Kristine and Sandra Bunker (Canada); Maria Culjak, Zvonimir Androic and Deni Gasparin (Croatia); Volkmar Baur (Germany); Jakub Dobies (Poland); Marko Milenkovic (Serbia & Montenegro); and Nedim Nisic (Bosnia & Herzegovina).

MEN'S & WOMEN'S HEAD COACH: Wally Morton (Miami, OH, '70) AT CSU: (as men's coach): 241-133-1 (28 years); AT CSU: (as women's coach): 4-11 (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 home for meets against Butler and Canisius on Oct. 31 in the Robert F. Busbey Natatorium. The meet begins at 5:00 p.m.