Dalman Places 18th In One-Meter At NCAA Championships; Freshman Dobies Places 28th in the 100 Breast

March 16, 2007

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Freshman Jakub Dobies placed 28^th in the preliminary heat of the 100-yd. breaststroke at the NCAA Championships on Friday afternoon. Dobies clocked a 54.39 in the event, which included the top 41 breaststroke swimmers in the nation.

Dobies, a native of Poland who enrolled at Cleveland State in January, came into the event as the 13^th-seed after clocking a 53.77 at the Horizon League Championships on Feb. 23 in Chicago. He cited a slow start off the blocks as his reason for slipping .62 seconds.

"I lost time at the start when I got a poor push-off," Dobies said. "I tried to catch up in the first 50 yards, but I didn't have any energy left in the last 50 yards."

Despite clocking the second-best time in school history on the national stage, head coach Wally Morton said the ultra-competitive Dobies always strives to improve.

"Jakub is not exactly happy with his performance, but that just shows what a great competitor he is," Morton said. "It was a really tough competition because he was there by himself with no teammates to help him get ready. And when you're swimming in just one event, it is difficult to get warmed up."

Dobies, the first CSU swimmer to qualify for the national meet in 20 years, joined Morton's squad in January after competing on the national level in Europe. He showed that he is not timid of the national spotlight and that he is capable of competing with the best swimmers in the nation.

"I'm used to swimming in big meets like this," Dobies said. "The competition here was outstanding. Everyone here is capable of swimming at the national level."

The race ended what was a spectacular first semester for Dobies, who broke the school record in the 100 breast (55.29) in his very first meet at CSU and was named Horizon League Newcomer of the Year after winning both breaststroke events at the league championships. It is likely that this appearance at the NCAA's won't be his last as he was one of just two freshmen among the 41 swimmers in the 100 breast.

Senior Chris Dalman placed 18^th in the preliminary round of the one-meter diving event at the NCAA Championships at the University of Minnesota on Thursday. The top 16 divers in the prelims advanced to the next rounds, which concluded on Thursday night.

Dalman's total of 303.15 was short of the top 16 by just 7.7 points and 18^th of the 34 divers in the meet. He led off his six-dive performance with a forward 2.5 somersault pike that was good for 58.5 points and followed that with 51-point forward 3.5 somersault tuck that brought his total to 109.5.

His third dive came up a little short, a backward 1.5 somersault pike that scored just 35.65 points, by far the lowest of his six dives. He recovered with his highest score of the day, an inward 2.5 somersault tuck that garnered 62 points. Dalman's fifth and sixth dives totaled 96 points, including a score of 49.5 in his final dive.

"Chris didn't hit all of his dives, but he had a solid performance," head coach Wally Morton said. "For him to finish 18^th in the middle of the back is quite an achievement."

Florida State's Terry Horner won the finals with a score of 399.35. Magnus Frick of Hawaii (395.05) was second, followed by Auburn's Steve Segerlin (371.40) and Ohio State's Kellen Harkness (359.55).

Dalman continues his championship quest with three-meter diving on Friday afternoon.