Results: Friday / Saturday / Complete / Dive-by-Dive Scoring
INDIANAPOLIS - Lexi Vincent and Emily Meaney earned All-America honors in platform diving on the final night of the NCAA Championships, helping Purdue women's swimming & diving post another top-25 finish at the national championship meet.
Vincent and Meaney were among the top eight in the prelims to advance to the championship final and clinch their first career All-America accolades. It marked just the second time the Purdue women had two divers in the championship final of an event at NCAAs. In 2013, Casey Matthews was the 3-meter national champion and Michelle Cabassol took fourth in the same event. The national championship meet was also held in Indianapolis that year.
With Samm Reese also earning Honorable Mention All-America accolades on 1-meter Thursday, the Purdue women had three All-American divers in the same year for just the second time (2009).
Kaersten Meitz posted a career-best time of 16:03.45 in the 1,650 freestyle, finishing 18th of 43 competitors in the event after taking third in her heat. She improved on her second-fastest time in program history and was only about 1.5 seconds off Caitlin Hamilton's program record time from the 2010 NCAA Championships at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center.
Meitz was an Honorable Mention All-American in the 500 free for the second year a row. Meaney, Meitz, Reese and Vincent teamed up to score 33 team points for Purdue. The Boilermakers finished in 23rd place of the 49 scoring teams, ranking among the top 25 at the national championship meet for the second year in a row and 10th time since 2005. The Boilermakers will also remain part of the exclusive 25/85 club, recognizing dual excellence in competition and the classroom.
Taite Kitchel's career-best time in the 100 butterfly highlighted Friday's action. She moved up to fourth place in program history with a mark of 53.59 in the prelims. Reese (21st) and Meaney (27th) in 3-meter diving along with Meitz in the 200 free (27th) also accounted for top-30 finishes Friday. Kitchel came back Saturday and placed 24th of the 48 competitors in the 200 fly.
Meaney was third and Vincent eighth in the platform prelims Saturday afternoon, making Purdue the only school with multiple divers in the championship final of the event. Meaney was in first place entering round three of the final, but missed dives in the next two rounds took her out of the running for the national title. Seven of the eight divers in the championship final were from Big Ten universities.
Vincent improved on her prelim score by 22.8 points in the final.
All six Boilermakers that qualified for the NCAA Championships this year are expected to return for the 2017-18 season.
PURDUE'S SATURDAY RESULTS AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Platform Diving
Lexi Vincent, 289.75 -- Finished 5th in Championship Final (14 Points)
Emily Meaney, 308.95 (Prelim Score) -- Finished 7th in Championship Final (12 Points)
1650 Free
Kaersten Meitz, 16:03.45 -- Finished 18th Overall; 2nd Fastest in Program History
200 Fly
Taite Kitchel, 1:56.65 (Prelim Time) -- Finished 24th in Prelims
PURDUE'S FRIDAY RESULTS AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
3-Meter Diving
Samm Reese, 301.65 -- Finished 21st in Prelims
Emily Meaney, 286.4 -- Finished 27th in Prelims
200 Free
Kaersten Meitz, 1:45.82 -- Finished 27th in Prelims
100 Fly
Taite Kitchel, 53.59 -- Finished 46th in Prelims; 4th Fastest in Program History
Kaersten and Taite making new friends all week at #ncaaswimdive
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