Oct. 27, 2004

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UPCOMING EVENTS
at UW-Green Bay
Saturday, Oct. 30, 2004 - 1:00 p.m. EDT
Phoenix Sports Center Pool
Green Bay, Wis.

at Youngstown State (Women)
Friday, Nov. 5, 2004 - 5:00 p.m. EDT
Beeghly Center Pool
Youngstown, Ohio

Setting the Scene
The Vikings will compete in their first dual meet of the season at UW-Green Bay on Saturday (Oct. 30) at 1 p.m. EDT. The meet will be CSU's first in nearly a month since competing in Notre Dame's Dennis Stark Relays on Oct. 1. Following the meet with the Phoenix, the Viking women swim at Youngstown State on Nov. 5 before rejoining the men's team in Cleveland for the home opener against St. Bonaventure on Nov. 6.

Scouting the Phoenix
The Phoenix head into Saturday's meet after swimming in the Northwestern Relays and the Wisconsin Invitational, as well as an intrasquad meet.

In the Northwestern Relays on Sunday (Oct. 24), both men's and women's teams finished second to the host Wildcats, with the men tallying 184 points and the women recording 192. Both Phoenix squads finished ahead of Horizon League opponents UW-Milwaukee and UIC in the event.

Both the men's and women's teams opened their season going 1-1 at the Wisconsin Invitational on Oct. 8 in Madison, Wis. The men topped UW-Milwaukee 171-72 while the women earned a 141-101 win against the Panthers. Both Phoenix dropped their decisions to host Wisconsin, with the men falling 152.5-89.5 and the women finishing at 198-44.

The Green Bay women's team finished as Horizon League Championship runner-up last season, but head coach Mike Lehto is confident in the Vikings' abilities. " Green Bay is traditionally a talented program," Lehto commented, "but we will have some good matchups with them and should be able to put up a good showing this weekend."

The UWGB men's team has also finished as runner-up last season, but head coach Wally Morton feels his team has the leadership and confidence in their abilities to come away with a win. "Luke Wilkens, Pieter Pelser and Daniel Thomasson will be the keys to our success at Green Bay," Morton said. "They are the foundation of our team and, if they perform to their potential, we will come out on top.

"Gabriel Linton also tends to perform well at Green Bay," Morton continued. "His father is a native of Wisconsin, so there traditionally is a good turn out from his family. It's going to be somewhat of a homecoming for Gabe in his senior season."

In Past Meetings...
The Viking men's team holds a 3-2 edge over the Phoenix in their five meetings on record, with CSU claiming wins in the last three years. Cleveland State handled UWGB at Busbey Natatorium last season, scoring a 131-111 victory on Nov. 1. Chris Jones picked up wins in both one- and three-meter diving events while Warren Vickers tallied wins in the 100 and 200 freestyle. Daniel Thomasson and Pieter Pelser also were victorious last season against Green Bay, with Thomasson posting a top mark in the 500 freestyle and Pelser scoring in the 200 back. Additionally, CSU swept the relay events, scoring top times in the 400 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay.

The women's squad has not been able to solve the Phoenix in their five meets, going 0-5 and falling 152.5-70.5 last Nov. 1 in Cleveland. Marianne Lionell proved to be a bright spot last year, however, winning the 200 breaststroke in a school-record time of 2:22.72. Lionell also scored a win in the 50 freestyle, while Kirsty McKechnie tallied the top mark in the 1,000 freestyle.

Green Bay's men's and women's teams both finished as runners-up in the Horizon League Championship last season. Zach Hansen earned Men's Swimmer of the Meet honors in winning both the 100 and 200 butterfly while guiding the men's team to a score of 711. Meanwhile, the women's team picked up wins in the 200 backstroke, 200 butterfly, 200 individual medley and 200 freestyle relay to score 783 points.

Vikings Open Season at Stark Relays
Cleveland State opened the 2004-05 campaign Oct. 1 at the Dennis Stark Relays, hosted by Notre Dame. The tournament featured eight teams in the men's meet and six in the women's, including Horizon League foe UW-Milwaukee.

Despite competing with limited rosters, the Vikings still managed to put up strong showings in both the men's and women's tournaments.

The men's squad was the only team other than Notre Dame to score wins in the tournament. The relay team of Ari Markle, Johan Norling, Gabriel Linton and Ryan Klaus tallied a top 3:39.72 in the 400 fly relay, while the quartet of Markle, Linton, Klaus and Daniel Thomasson scored a win in the 200 medley relay in 1:39.50.

The relay team of Samantha Jones, Marianne Lionell, Kirsty McKechnie and Tina Abbott recorded the women's top finish in the tournament, posting a second-place 4:15.86 in the 400 individual medley relay.

Women's Team Returns Pair of Champions
Senior Samantha Jones and sophomore Marianne Lionell will anchor the women's team this season after turning in championship-caliber performances at last year's Horizon League Championship. Jones swam a first-place 57.65 in the 100 backstroke while Lionell, the 2003-04 league newcomer of the year, recorded a school-record 1:04.98 in the 100 breaststroke.

The Vikings return the top swimmer in every event from last year in Jones (100 back, 200 back, 100 fly, 200 IM), Lionell (50 free, 100 free, 100 breast, 200 breast), junior Kirsty McKechnie (200 free, 500 free, 1,000 free, 200 fly, 400 IM) and senior Tina Abbott (1,650 free).

Men Bank on Leadership of Three Champs
A trio of Horizon League champions will anchor the Viking men's squad. Senior Luke Wilkens, last season's 500 freestyle champion, will be joined by juniors Pieter Pelser, the 100 and 200 backstroke champ, and Daniel Thomasson, the 1,000 freestyle winner.

In addition to the depth of champion talent, the Vikings will rely on the influx of 12 newcomers to the roster. Senior diver Thatcher Carr will be the top candidate to replace last year's Horizon League Diver of the Meet Chris Jones. Additionally, freshmen will battle with the vets for opportunities in the pool in nearly every event, including Ari Markle in butterfly, Khaled Elgamal in distance freestyle, Johan Norling in sprints, Dave Duecker in breaststroke and Pat Burda in backstroke.

Better Lehto Than Never
Women's head coach Mike Lehto is in his 11th season with Cleveland State, compiling a 69-73 career record as the winningest Vikings' mentor in history.

Last season, Lehto guided the squad to its third-straight season at .500 or better, compiling a 7-6 dual meet mark. Under his guidance, the Vikings broke six school records, won two Horizon League Championship events and featured the school's first league newcomer of the year since 1999.

With every top swimmer from last season returning, this year has the potential to be one of the program's finest. "This could be the most talented team that I've coached during my tenure here," Lehto commented. "We have to continue to work hard in practice and remain focused throughout the year so that, when the championship rolls around, we will be swimming at our best."

Wally World
Cleveland State men's swimming has certainly become synonymous with head coach Wally Morton. Morton enters his 24th season at the helm of the Vikings with a school-record 198 dual-meet wins under his belt, as well as nine Penn-Ohio Championships, a pair of MCC titles and 21 winning seasons.

Morton led the Vikings to their third-straight 11-win season and saw CSU swimmers claim nine titles in the Horizon League Championship. In his fourth and final year under Morton, Warren Vickers was named the league's Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Year for the second straight season. Additionally, Chris Jones was named diver of the meet in his senior season, while diving coach Rich Karban was tabbed as Diving Coach of the Year.

Cleveland State's goal remains the same year in and year out: to continue the tradition of producing top caliber student-athletes for this season and for years to come. This 2004-05 edition of the Vikings is no exception, featuring a core of veteran leadership complimented by the youth of a deep recruiting class which will strive for success both in the pool and the classroom.