WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Maggie Merriman rallied with her top two scores over the final two rounds to win silver on platform, leading the way as Purdue had three of the top five finishers on the tower at the Big Ten Diving Championships for the second year in a row.
Maycey Vieta placed fourth and Emily Bretscher fifth on the platform. Merriman upgraded her bronze medal at Big Tens last season to silver this year. Meanwhile, Vieta has now been top four in her premier event in each of her first two years at Big Tens. Bretscher competed in her sixth consecutive championship final at Big Tens dating back to the platform event at the 2019 championships. A night after winning bronze on 3-meter, she qualified for her eighth career championship final overall.
Brandon Loschiavo qualified for his first career championship final on 3-meter, settling for seventh place on the night before he makes a run at a third career Big Ten title on platform. It was his sixth career championship final overall at Big Tens. He had not even competed on 3-meter at the Big Ten Championships since his freshman season in 2017.
All six Boilermakers that competed Friday advanced out of the preliminaries and went on to finish among the top 13. Greg Duncan and Ben Bramley scored in the consolation final for the second day in a row. Bramley joins Loschiavo among the favorites on platform for Saturday.
The Boilermakers racked up 79 team points in the women's platform and 53 in men's 3-meter.
Merriman's career-best score of 307.6, good for 10th best in program history, was predicated on her strong finish. She aced her armstand in round 4 for an award of 68.8, which put her back in contention for a medal. But it was a 70.4 in the final round, the top-scoring final dive of the competition, that allowed her to win silver. She bested Ohio State's Ciara McGing by 0.6 tenths and Vieta in fourth place by 3.3 points.
Vieta's list score of 304.3 was also a career best, moving her into 11th place in Purdue history. Executing her armstand successfully in round 2, she raced out to a fast start and was in position to medal throughout the five rounds.
Bretscher was once again very consistent over the first three rounds, but she missed her reverse 2 ½ in round 4 and that eliminated her opportunity to medal again.
Loschiavo had the top-scoring dives of the competition in rounds 2 and 6 of the final, but it was rounds 3 through 5 that cost him an opportunity at a medal. He ripped his final dive, a back 3 ½, for a list-high score of 88.2. He improved on his prelim score by seven points.
Duncan once again got stronger as the day played out, continuing to battle through a back injury that ultimately prevented him from medaling at Big Tens for the third year in a row. He improved on his prelim score by 12 points from the prelim to the consolation final (349.85).
The Big Ten Diving Championships conclude Saturday with women's 1-meter and men's platform. Prelims are set for 12:20 p.m. and finals at 6:35 p.m.
2021 Big Ten Diving Championships / Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center / West Lafayette, Ind.
Friday, Feb. 26
Purdue's Divers Competing
* – Purdue Season-Best Score
^ – Personal Season-Best Score
(Z) – NCAA Zone Qualifying Score
Men's 3-Meter (53 Points)
Brandon Loschiavo, 380.10^ (Z) – Finished 7th in Championship Final (23 Points)
Greg Duncan, 349.85 (Z) – Finished 3rd in Consolation Final (16 Points)
Ben Bramley, 347.05 (Z, Prelim Score) – Finished 5th in Consolation Final (14 Points)
Women's Platform (79 Points)
Maggie Merriman, 307.60* (Z) – Finished 2nd in Championship Final (28 Points); 10th Best Score in Program History
Maycey Vieta, 304.30^ (Z) – Finished 4th in Championship Final (26 Points); 11th Best Score in Program History
Emily Bretscher, 281.00 (Z, Prelim Score) – Finished 5th in Championship Final (25 Points)
Maycey Vieta placed fourth and Emily Bretscher fifth on the platform. Merriman upgraded her bronze medal at Big Tens last season to silver this year. Meanwhile, Vieta has now been top four in her premier event in each of her first two years at Big Tens. Bretscher competed in her sixth consecutive championship final at Big Tens dating back to the platform event at the 2019 championships. A night after winning bronze on 3-meter, she qualified for her eighth career championship final overall.
Brandon Loschiavo qualified for his first career championship final on 3-meter, settling for seventh place on the night before he makes a run at a third career Big Ten title on platform. It was his sixth career championship final overall at Big Tens. He had not even competed on 3-meter at the Big Ten Championships since his freshman season in 2017.
| FRIDAYS MEDALISTS AT THE BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS | |
| Men's 3-Meter Gold: Joseph Canova (Ohio State), 435.35 Silver: Lyle Yost (Ohio State), 425.80 Bronze: Jacob Siler (Ohio State), 416.85 |
Women's Platform Gold: Abigail Knapton (Nebraska), 343.55 Silver: Maggie Merriman (Purdue), 307.60 Bronze: Ciara McGing (Ohio State), 307.00 |
All six Boilermakers that competed Friday advanced out of the preliminaries and went on to finish among the top 13. Greg Duncan and Ben Bramley scored in the consolation final for the second day in a row. Bramley joins Loschiavo among the favorites on platform for Saturday.
The Boilermakers racked up 79 team points in the women's platform and 53 in men's 3-meter.
Merriman's career-best score of 307.6, good for 10th best in program history, was predicated on her strong finish. She aced her armstand in round 4 for an award of 68.8, which put her back in contention for a medal. But it was a 70.4 in the final round, the top-scoring final dive of the competition, that allowed her to win silver. She bested Ohio State's Ciara McGing by 0.6 tenths and Vieta in fourth place by 3.3 points.
Vieta's list score of 304.3 was also a career best, moving her into 11th place in Purdue history. Executing her armstand successfully in round 2, she raced out to a fast start and was in position to medal throughout the five rounds.
Bretscher was once again very consistent over the first three rounds, but she missed her reverse 2 ½ in round 4 and that eliminated her opportunity to medal again.
Loschiavo had the top-scoring dives of the competition in rounds 2 and 6 of the final, but it was rounds 3 through 5 that cost him an opportunity at a medal. He ripped his final dive, a back 3 ½, for a list-high score of 88.2. He improved on his prelim score by seven points.
Duncan once again got stronger as the day played out, continuing to battle through a back injury that ultimately prevented him from medaling at Big Tens for the third year in a row. He improved on his prelim score by 12 points from the prelim to the consolation final (349.85).
The Big Ten Diving Championships conclude Saturday with women's 1-meter and men's platform. Prelims are set for 12:20 p.m. and finals at 6:35 p.m.
2021 Big Ten Diving Championships / Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center / West Lafayette, Ind.
Friday, Feb. 26
Purdue's Divers Competing
* – Purdue Season-Best Score
^ – Personal Season-Best Score
(Z) – NCAA Zone Qualifying Score
Men's 3-Meter (53 Points)
Brandon Loschiavo, 380.10^ (Z) – Finished 7th in Championship Final (23 Points)
Greg Duncan, 349.85 (Z) – Finished 3rd in Consolation Final (16 Points)
Ben Bramley, 347.05 (Z, Prelim Score) – Finished 5th in Consolation Final (14 Points)
Women's Platform (79 Points)
Maggie Merriman, 307.60* (Z) – Finished 2nd in Championship Final (28 Points); 10th Best Score in Program History
Maycey Vieta, 304.30^ (Z) – Finished 4th in Championship Final (26 Points); 11th Best Score in Program History
Emily Bretscher, 281.00 (Z, Prelim Score) – Finished 5th in Championship Final (25 Points)