By Tom Schott
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Take a bow, Steele Johnson.
The freshman diver won two NCAA Championships last weekend - the 1-meter and platform. He became the first man to win national titles on both a springboard and platform event since Purdue's David Boudia in 2009. Johnson was named both the Big Ten and College Swimming Coaches Association of America Diver of the Year.
Purdue student-athletes now have won 27 individual national championships.
Johnson also won the consolation finals of the 3-meter event to earn honorable mention All-America honors. He accounted for 49 of the Boilermakers' 75 team points. Purdue finished in 17th place, its best showing since 2011.
Two other Boilermaker divers were All-Americans in the platform event, seniors Sean Mokhtari (seventh) and Jamie Bissett (eighth). Adam Soldati was named Big Ten and CSCAA Diving Coach of the Year.
Senior Lyam Dias was an honorable mention All-American in the 200 breaststroke for the second straight year after placing sixth in the consolation final and 14th overall.
B1G Home Weekend of Tennis
Both tennis teams host a pair of Big Ten foes this weekend on the Basham Courts at the Schwartz Tennis Center.
The men (4-12, 0-4 B1G) take on No. 68 Iowa (10-5, 2-2) at 3 p.m. today and No. 73 Nebraska (9-7, 2-2) at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The No. 35 women (10-4, 3-2) face No. 14 Michigan (15-3, 6-0) at noon tomorrow and No. 43 Michigan State (16-3, 5-1) at 10 a.m. Sunday.
Today, the men's team will host Be The Match Day in honor of former athletics department administrator Tom Reiter. Be The Match will be on hand starting at 2:30 p.m., and individuals will be able to join the Be The Match National Bone Marrow Registry and be someone's cure. The five-minute process includes a simple form and a cheek swab. A silent auction also will be held, closing at the completion of doubles play. Items up for bid include rackets, balls, a racket bag, grips and more. All proceeds from the auction will be donated to Be The Match in honor of Reiter, who passed away in 2014 following a battle with cancer.
Take Me Out to Alexander
Baseball (10-18, 1-2) opens a three-game Big Ten series against No. 24 Iowa (18-7, 3-0) at 5:30 p.m. today at Alexander Field. Be sure to enjoy music, games and alcoholic beverages (for those fans 21 and over) at the Boiler Block Party.
The Boilermakers and the Hawkeyes will play at 2 p.m. tomorrow (Bark at the Park with free Purdue dog leashes to the first 100 fans) and at 1 p.m. Sunday (Easter Egg Hunt following the game).
In Purdue's 9-1 win over IPFW on Wednesday, freshman right fielder Alec Olund hit a pair of home runs, the first multi-homer game by a Boilermaker since Sean McHugh in May of 2013 and only the second in 43 regular-season games at Alexander Field.
Women's Golf Tops Three Ranked Opponents
Women's golf defeated three ranked opponents at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic last weekend in Athens, Ga. The Boilermakers topped No. 22 Auburn, No. 21 Alabama and No. 14 Stanford. Freshman Marta Martin went 3-0 to lead the way, and she was recognized as the Big Ten Co-Golfer of the Week.
The Boilermakers return to action April 10 and 11 at the Dallas Athletic Club/Southern Methodist University Invitational.
Carson Honored by B1G
Sophomore Savannah Carson was named the Big Ten Female Track Athlete of the Week for her performances last weekend at the Texas State Bobcat Invitational and the Texas Relays.
Carson finished second among collegiate performers and seventh overall in the 100-meter dash at the Bobcat Invite on Friday with a time of 11.66 seconds (+0.4 wind). That mark is merely 0.01 of a second off the school record and ranks first in the Big Ten and 14th nationally this season.
Later that day, Carson competed in the 4x100-meter relay at the Texas Relays, and she teamed with classmates Carmiesha Cox and Devynne Charlton and freshman Autumn Heath to set the school record with a time of 44.97 seconds in the prelims. That mark also is tops in the conference and No. 14 in the country. In the finals Saturday, Purdue finished sixth with a time of 45.25 seconds.
This weekend, the track & field teams will be on both coasts, with the majority of the men and women traveling to the Florida Relays in Gainesville and another group at the Stanford Relays.
Burkhardt Drafted
On Wednesday, senior first baseman Ashley Burkhardt was selected by the Dallas Charge with the No. 15 pick in the National Pro Fastpitch draft.
The NPF is made up of five teams: Chicago Bandits, USSSA Pride, Akron Racers, Pennsylvania Rebellion and the Charge. Dallas is the league's newest team.
Burkhardt, who owns a .332 career batting average with eight triples, 20 home runs, 110 RBI, and 47 stolen bases, is a two-time all-region honoree and was a first team All-Big Ten pick last season.
Haas Freshman Finalist
Men's basketball center Isaac Haas is one of 21 finalists for the Kyle Macy Freshman of the Year award. Haas is one of four Big Ten players up for the award, along with Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell, Maryland's Melo Trimble and Indiana's James Blackmon Jr. Haas averaged 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in just 14.6 minutes per game. He had 25 blocked shots and shot 53.5 percent from the field while helping the Boilermakers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012. Haas was the only player in the country to shoot 130 or more free throws in fewer than 15.0 minutes per game, and is the only player nationally since the 2010-11 season to accomplish that feat.
Volleyball Notes
Redshirt freshman Ashley Evans has been selected to the U.S. Collegiate National Team's China Tour team. The squad will compete in a series of six matches in China between June 13 and 25 25. After a brief training session in the United States, the team will land in Shanghai on June 16. Last season, Evans ranked second on the Boilermakers with an average of 2.34 digs per set to go with 1.19 kills per set, 40 assists and 18 aces. She recorded two double-doubles.
Purdue played its first of four spring matches last night against Illinois State at Holloway Gymnasium. The Boilermakers play at Butler on April 9, at the Indy Collegiate Invitational on April 18 and against Indiana at home April 25.
Former Purdue outside hitter Lisa Pierce (2006-09) has been named one of the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Top 30 Coaches Under 30. Pierce is the head coach of the Milwaukee Sting Volleyball Club. After serving as a student assistant for the Boilermakers in 2010, Pierce was awarded the AVCA Coaches for Coaches scholarship. She was an assistant at Samford University from 2011 to 2014.
Den to be Recognized
Purdue will recognize the Den of Defensive Ends during its spring football game April 18.
The group is scheduled to sign autographs for fans at the Ross-Ade Stadium South End Zone Patio from noon to 12:45 p.m. and will be honored on the field at halftime.
Those Den members that have confirmed their attendance to date include Cliff Avril, Akin Ayodele, Rosevelt Colvin, Ray Edwards, Ryan Kerrigan, Chike Okeafor, Leo Sugar and Keena Turner.
Etcetera
After playing its first two Big Ten series at home in the new Boilermaker Softball Stadium, the softball team (24-11, 4-2) begins a three-game set at Northwestern (17-11, 5-0) today. The Wildcats are the lone undefeated team in conference play after two weeks ... Men's golf plays at the 37th-annual 3M Augusta Invitational at Forest Hills Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., tomorrow and Sunday. It marks the third straight year that Purdue has played in the prestigious event. The Boilermakers finished seventh among 15 teams a year ago and ninth out of 19 squads in 2013 ... Football will hold its Thursday, April 9, spring practice at Arsenal Tech High School, 1500 East Michigan Street, in Indianapolis. The Boilermakers will work out from 4:30 to 6:15 p.m., and the public is invited ... Men's basketball senior guard Jon Octeus participated in the College Slam Dunk Contest last night at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. He finished sixth among eight dunkers in the first round ... Incoming freshman men's basketball player Ryan Cline won the national three-point shooting contest Wednesday at his home court in Carmel, Indiana. Incoming freshman women's player Tiara Murphy also competed.