Nov. 30, 2010
Complete Results
Contact: Dan Carr
CLEVELAND, Ohio - It's not even December yet, but the Cleveland State women's swimming and diving team already has the second-most wins in program history, improving to 11-1 after defeating John Carroll, Canisius and Notre Dame College in the City College Meet on Tuesday night (Nov. 30).
The Vikings beat John Carroll, 198-33, defeated Canisius, 186-54, and handed Notre Dame College a 179-57 loss to continue the team's best ever start to a season.
"This has been the most successful fall in the history of the program," head coach Wally Morton said. "Tonight we had terrific efforts by everyone on the team, and this was a good way to end the year."
A variety of Vikings contributed to CSU's success in its last dual meet of 2010. Carys Behn won the 400 IM in 4:46.17 and 100 fly in 57.44. Joanna Olsson won the 200 free (1:58.04) and Alice Sommerville won the 100 free (52.03). Kacey Cummings won both the 1-meter (264.90) and 3-meter (296.00) dives, qualifying for the NCAA cuts in both events.
Ashley Rossi won the 1,000 free in 10:43.59 and the 500 free in 5:15.78.
Beyond the usual headline performers, a number of swimmers Morton says are usually counted for depth made a big splash in Tuesday's wins.
"People like Allison Pallija, Amanda Pallija, Christine Kopacko, Kelly Rath and Jamie Puls are all stepping up and giving us quality performances," Morton said.
All five swimmers had the best times of their CSU careers, with the most notable being Puls' third place finish in the 200 free (2:01.41), Kopacko taking third in the 50 free (25.05) and Rath placing second in the 400 IM (4:49.52).
Diana Mruk, one of the team's captains and the only senior on the squad, had the best performance of her season in the Vikings' win in the 200 free relay (1:38.28). Mruk anchored the squad, finishing her split in 25.38 to help the team take first.
"This was a great end to a tremendous fall season," Morton said. "This is a very young and very hungry team that works extremely hard, and it shows in the results."
The Vikings are now just three wins away from tying last year's squad for the most victories in program history (14).
"I am very excited about the number of wins we've had this year," Morton said. "Unlike some coaches, I believe that you gain much more from winning than losing. You build off of your wins, and they give you confidence going into your next meet. We have had a lot of success this fall, and I am very proud of what the team has accomplished."
Olsson and Sommerville will have one more competition this fall, as they have qualified to participate in the USA Swimming National Championship held in Columbus from Dec. 2-4. The rest of the team will be off until Jan. 8 when the Vikings will compete in the Holiday Invitational.
