Full List of Swimming Qualifiers for NCAAs / Boiler-Make-It Results
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Breaststroke standouts Trent Pellini and Nick Sherman have officially qualified to represent Purdue men's swimming & diving at the NCAA Championships later this month in Indianapolis.
Pellini qualified via the 100 breast for the second year in a row. His time of 51.81 from the Purdue Invitational in November ranked tied for 10th nationally this season. The junior is headed back to the national championship meet after earning honorable mention All-America accolades in his premier event and both medley relays a season ago.
Sherman's career-best time in the 200 breast (1:53.31) at Sunday's Boiler-Make-It NCAA last chance meet clinched a bid for the sophomore. He moved into third place in program history and his national ranking this season climbed to 22. The 200 breast cut line for NCAAs was placed at 1:54.03, with 30 swimmers invited. Sherman's time in the event at Big Tens was 1:55.77, so it was a clutch swim for him Sunday.
Pellini and Sherman will each have an opportunity to race in both breaststroke events as well as the 200 individual medley at NCAAs. They had provisional qualifying times (B Cuts) in the additional events.
The Boilermakers qualified multiple swimmers for individual events at NCAAs for the first time since 2015.
Divers earn their NCAA berths based on their performances at the Zone Championships. Purdue competes at the Zone C meet this week in Lexington, Kentucky, with action set for Thursday through Saturday. Each of the last three years, every Boilermaker that has competed at Zones has qualified for NCAAs.
Purdue actually improved on its times in the 200 freestyle and 200 medley relays compared to its showings at the 2019 Big Ten Championships. Even though the Boilermakers had two individual qualifiers for NCAAs, they did not have an automatic qualifying time (A Cut) in a relay like last year. That's mostly because the A Cut threshold was raised again in the 200 medley relay. Had the Boilermakers qualified at least four swimmers for individual events, their 200 relay teams would have also been invited.
At the Boiler-Make-It time trials meet, Purdue registered a mark of 1:17.43 in the 200 free relay. That would have been an improvement on the program record (1:17.61) set at Big Tens. However, a negative reaction time of -.01 on the second leg of the race would have resulted in a disqualification. The Boilermakers had an opportunity to appeal the DQ, but head coach Dan Ross said that since the time of 1:17.43 was shy of the A Cut threshold (1:17.17), it was ultimately a moot point. The Boilermakers also raced multiple times in the 200 medley relay in pursuit of an A Cut at the Boiler-Make-It meet.
It was a successful year for Purdue relays nonetheless. The 200 medley team of Michael Juengel, Ryan Hrosik, Pellini and Niola Aćin won bronze in the event at Big Tens, claiming the program's first relay medal since 2009. Team records in the 200 free and 800 free relays were eclipsed. The 200 free team was Aćin, Hrosik, Pellini and Ryan Lawrence. Pellini, Aćin, Niklola Bjelajac and Sherman teamed up for the 800 free benchmark. Over the last two seasons, records have been set in all five relays. The Boilermakers broke a 200 free record that had stood since 2012 and (in 2019) a 400 free mark that had stood since 2014.
The IU Natatorium on the campus of IUPUI is serving as the host aquatic center the men's NCAA Championships this year. Divers Casey Matthews (3-meter in 2013) and Steele Johnson (1-meter and 3-meter in 2017) won NCAA titles at the venue in recent years. Indianapolis' premier aquatic center is also slated to host the U.S. Team Trials for Diving in June.
The NCAA Championships are set for March 25 to 28.
2020 PURDUE MEN'S SWIMMING NCAAs QUALIFIERS
Event, Time (Rank Among NCAAs Qualifiers)
Trent Pellini
100 Breast, 51.81 (T-10th)
200 Breast, 1:55.30 (39th)
200 IM, 1:44.79 (41st)
Nick Sherman
200 Breast, 1:53.31 (22nd)
100 Breast, 53.62 (40th)
200 IM, 1:44.91 (43rd)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Breaststroke standouts Trent Pellini and Nick Sherman have officially qualified to represent Purdue men's swimming & diving at the NCAA Championships later this month in Indianapolis.
Pellini qualified via the 100 breast for the second year in a row. His time of 51.81 from the Purdue Invitational in November ranked tied for 10th nationally this season. The junior is headed back to the national championship meet after earning honorable mention All-America accolades in his premier event and both medley relays a season ago.
Sherman's career-best time in the 200 breast (1:53.31) at Sunday's Boiler-Make-It NCAA last chance meet clinched a bid for the sophomore. He moved into third place in program history and his national ranking this season climbed to 22. The 200 breast cut line for NCAAs was placed at 1:54.03, with 30 swimmers invited. Sherman's time in the event at Big Tens was 1:55.77, so it was a clutch swim for him Sunday.
Pellini and Sherman will each have an opportunity to race in both breaststroke events as well as the 200 individual medley at NCAAs. They had provisional qualifying times (B Cuts) in the additional events.
The Boilermakers qualified multiple swimmers for individual events at NCAAs for the first time since 2015.
Divers earn their NCAA berths based on their performances at the Zone Championships. Purdue competes at the Zone C meet this week in Lexington, Kentucky, with action set for Thursday through Saturday. Each of the last three years, every Boilermaker that has competed at Zones has qualified for NCAAs.
Purdue actually improved on its times in the 200 freestyle and 200 medley relays compared to its showings at the 2019 Big Ten Championships. Even though the Boilermakers had two individual qualifiers for NCAAs, they did not have an automatic qualifying time (A Cut) in a relay like last year. That's mostly because the A Cut threshold was raised again in the 200 medley relay. Had the Boilermakers qualified at least four swimmers for individual events, their 200 relay teams would have also been invited.
| RELAY COMPARISONS – 2019 vs 2020 | ||||
| Relay | Purdue's 2019 Time | 2019 A Cut | Purdue's 2020 Time | 2020 A Cut |
| 200 Medley | 1:24.53 | 1:24.56 | 1:24.44 | 1:24.30 |
| 200 Free | 1:18.30 | 1:17.41 | 1:17.61* | 1:17.17 |
| 400 Free | 2:52.19* | 2:51.39 | 2:53.83 | 2:51.11 |
| 400 Medley | 3:07.70 | 3:06.78 | 3:09.25 | 3:05.95 |
| All Times Prior to NCAA Championships // *Current Program Record | ||||
Hmm, we have the 10th seeded time in the country 200 Medley Relay but didn't get the A cut so cannot swim it at NCAA. Last year we went slower had the A cut qual 20th and got 10th in prelims. Rules are rules I accept that but @NCAASwimming please look into so doesnt happen again
— Dan Ross (@CoachDanRoss) March 11, 2020
At the Boiler-Make-It time trials meet, Purdue registered a mark of 1:17.43 in the 200 free relay. That would have been an improvement on the program record (1:17.61) set at Big Tens. However, a negative reaction time of -.01 on the second leg of the race would have resulted in a disqualification. The Boilermakers had an opportunity to appeal the DQ, but head coach Dan Ross said that since the time of 1:17.43 was shy of the A Cut threshold (1:17.17), it was ultimately a moot point. The Boilermakers also raced multiple times in the 200 medley relay in pursuit of an A Cut at the Boiler-Make-It meet.
It was a successful year for Purdue relays nonetheless. The 200 medley team of Michael Juengel, Ryan Hrosik, Pellini and Niola Aćin won bronze in the event at Big Tens, claiming the program's first relay medal since 2009. Team records in the 200 free and 800 free relays were eclipsed. The 200 free team was Aćin, Hrosik, Pellini and Ryan Lawrence. Pellini, Aćin, Niklola Bjelajac and Sherman teamed up for the 800 free benchmark. Over the last two seasons, records have been set in all five relays. The Boilermakers broke a 200 free record that had stood since 2012 and (in 2019) a 400 free mark that had stood since 2014.
The IU Natatorium on the campus of IUPUI is serving as the host aquatic center the men's NCAA Championships this year. Divers Casey Matthews (3-meter in 2013) and Steele Johnson (1-meter and 3-meter in 2017) won NCAA titles at the venue in recent years. Indianapolis' premier aquatic center is also slated to host the U.S. Team Trials for Diving in June.
The NCAA Championships are set for March 25 to 28.
2020 PURDUE MEN'S SWIMMING NCAAs QUALIFIERS
Event, Time (Rank Among NCAAs Qualifiers)
Trent Pellini
100 Breast, 51.81 (T-10th)
200 Breast, 1:55.30 (39th)
200 IM, 1:44.79 (41st)
Nick Sherman
200 Breast, 1:53.31 (22nd)
100 Breast, 53.62 (40th)
200 IM, 1:44.91 (43rd)