MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Three members of the LSU men’s swimming and diving team will compete against the world’s best at the 2005 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, held March 24-26, at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.
Headlining the group will be senior Christian Clausen, who closes out his two-year career as a qualifier in the 100 and 200 breaststroke.
Clausen, a native of Trelleborg, Sweden, is seeded 16th in the 200 breaststroke (1:57.92). He will carry the 27th seed into the 100 breaststroke with a time of 54.46.
Both of his qualifying times are ranked in the top-five in school history in each respective event.
Clausen earned honorable mention All-America honors last season as a member of the 200 and 400 medley relay teams that shattered the school record books. He will also leave LSU as an all-SEC relay swimmer. As a member of that group, he became one of four Tigers to earn all-SEC honors since 1991.
Joining Clausen will be two talented freshmen who have enjoyed stellar 2004-05 seasons. In the pool, Miko Malberg has proven to be a force as a sprint swimmer and will compete in the 50 freestyle. The Tallinn, Germany native is seeded 27th in the 50 free with his all-time top-five time of 19.95.
Malberg qualified at the Last Chance Bulldog Invitational last month, swimming the first 19-second time in the 50 free in eight years. He also was the Tigers most valuable swimmer at the SEC Championships in February.
Closing out the trio will be freshman diver Niko Dalman. Dalman delivered an impressive performance at the NCAA Zone B Diving Meet to qualify for this weekend’s championships.
Dalman, a native of Auburn, Wash., will compete in the 10-meter platform. Out of all of the Zone B divers who qualified for the championships, Dalman was the lone freshman. He scored a mark of 429.10, capping the weekend with his last dive.