March 28, 2010
Sunday Evening Results | Complete Championships Results
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Purdue men's swimming and diving team finished 13th with 97 points as the NCAA Championships concluded Sunday inside Ohio State's McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
Sophomore David Boudia was named national Diver of the Year, and head diving coach Adam Soldati was named national Diving Coach of the Year as the postseason awards were handed out following Sunday's action. Boudia won the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard events earlier in the weekend to bring his career total to four, while Soldati led four divers, who scored 91 total points, to All-America status. The awards were the second straight for each.
"This award means the same thing it meant last year," Soldati said. "It's a great honor to be recognized by your peers, but ultimately it means that we have an athletic department that supports diving and gives us the resources that we need. We have a swimming program that supports diving and allows us to recruit divers like David Boudia."
Boudia closed his exceptional meet with a sixth-place finish in the platform after scoring 405.65 points. The Noblesville, Ind., native ranks ninth in NCAA history for most career titles behind Troy Dumais from Texas, who won seven from 1999-2002, and seven divers tied for second with five. With his 1-meter win Friday, Boudia also became the first diver in NCAA history to win at least one crown from all three boards in a career.
"It's definitely an awesome feeling to win the award two years in a row," Boudia said. "It's cool because I can share it with the rest of the team. We had four other great divers here, and I really don't know if I could be diving as well as I am right now without them because they push me day in and day out. It was awesome that (swimmer) Sam (Wilcher) was here with us."
Junior David Colturi finished eighth in the platform with his score of 372.95 points. Colturi won his third All-America honor in the event and seventh overall, which makes him the most-decorated All-American in program history. The Sylvania, Ohio, native, who finished sixth in the 1-meter and 12th in the 3-meter earlier in the weekend, scored from all three boards for the first time in his career after placing in the 1-meter and platform at his first two.
"Platform is my strongest event," Colturi said. "I may not have finished as well as I wanted to today, but it was a good weekend overall. I'm really happy with the team's performance. This is a good day to be a Boilermaker."
Senior Sam Wilcher closed his collegiate career with a school-record, All-American swim in the 200-yard butterfly. The Arlington Heights, Ill., native moved from eighth to third in the consolation final over the last 50 yards of the race to touch in 1 minute, 43.82 seconds. His time lowers the previous program record of 1:44.12 he set during the qualifying race Sunday afternoon and placed him 11th overall for honorable mention All-America status.
Wilcher is the first Purdue swimmer to become an All-American since 2006. His is the 30th All-America performance for the Boilermakers in the pool since head coach Dan Ross took over the program in 1985.
"This afternoon I was really, really nervous about just making it back for the final," Wilcher said. "Tonight, I was able to relax. I think breaking the record this afternoon was a big confidence boost because I was able to just enjoy the race tonight. Being an All-American is kind of crazy. To do this my senior year, coming here for the first time, is unreal. That's really the only way I can explain it. Being able to represent Purdue and everyone that has been there along the way is the coolest part about it."
Junior Danny Cox earned the third honorable mention All-America citation of his career. The Menomonee Falls, Wis., native scored 372.55 points while placing 11th overall in the platform, tying his career-best placing at a national championship meet. Cox also dove to honorable mention All-America status as a freshman in the 1-meter and platform competitions at the 2007 NCAA Championships.
"It's a really big pleasure to be a part of this with Purdue and put some points on the board," Cox said. "This year has been so crazy with the amount of people we have here, and to be able to help out and score points is a big deal."
Classmate J.P. Perez reached All-American for the first time in his career. The Columbus native scored in 14th place after putting 337.00 points on the board during his final six-dive list. Perez, who ranks third on Purdue's all-time performance list in the platform, is the seventh different male diver to earn All-America honors in Soldati's five seasons with the program.
"Overall, this was a great experience," Perez said. "The meet didn't go exactly the way I wanted, but I'm happy with the season and how I ended it. I scored points for Purdue, which allowed us to better our standing in the NCAA."
The 97 points scored sets a new program high for the second consecutive season. Last year's squad finished 13th with 91 points at the NCAA Championships to break the previous record. Purdue's 13th-place finish ties last season's, which was the highest for the program since a 12th-place showing in 1962.
"You could look back at all the different scenarios that could have improved our team standing," Ross said. "The divers have been carrying us for the last two years, and they did a great job. I'm so glad they recognized David Boudia and Adam Soldati. Both awards are much deserved. We came three-tenths of a point away from having all six guys score, which was our goal for the meet. Thirteenth place is great. There are a lot of teams that would have loved to be 13th. We have all of our scoring divers back, and the swimmers have a great recruiting class coming in. I think everyone can see that we can be a top-10 team. We just have to put it together."
Purdue's five individual All-Americans is the most in program history for one national championship meet, as is the nine different certificates brought home. The previous high for individuals scoring, not including a relay, was four in 1949, and the most honors won was the six from last season's championships.