WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue's Brandon Loschiavo soared to a decisive 41-point victory on platform, winning his third career conference title in the event as the Big Ten Diving Championships concluded Saturday at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center.
Ben Bramley claimed the bronze on the tower, becoming just the fifth Purdue diver to medal at Big Tens in three consecutive seasons. Loschiavo and Bramley also won gold and bronze in 2019.
Loschiavo's victory marked the seventh consecutive season that the Boilermakers have won a Big Ten title on the men's half of the Big Ten Championships, a streak that dates back to Lyam Dias' victory in the 200 breaststroke at the 2015 championships.
Emily Bretscher was victorious in the 1-meter consolation final. She finished among the top 10 in all three diving events for the second year in a row. Maycey Vieta joined Bretscher in the consolation final, scoring in all three events for the second year in a row.
Loschiavo became just the fourth men's diver since the event was added to the championship meet in 1988 to win three Big Ten titles on the platform.
3-TIME BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS IN PLATFORM DIVING
• Minnesota's P.J. Bogart (1993-95)
• Michigan's Jason Coben (2002-04)
• Purdue's David Boudia (2009-11)
• Purdue's Brandon Loschiavo (2018-19, 2021)
PURDUE DIVERS TO MEDAL AT BIG TENS IN 3 CONSECUTIVE SEASONS
• Carrie McCambridge (2004-06)
• David Colturi (2008-10)
• David Boudia (2009-11)
• MacKenzie Tweardy (2013-15)
• Ben Bramley (2019-21)
Loschiavo's 41-point victory was easily the largest of any of the six championship finals contested this week. It would have been even more decisive, but he missed his final dive and it produced a list-low award of 42.55. Thankfully, he had essentially clinched the Big Ten title with a 97.2 on a back 2 ½ twister in round 5, averaging a score of 83.12 over the first five rounds.
Loschiavo won the preliminary round by 71 points over Bramley in second place and his list score of 459.30 likely could have surpassed the 500-point mark, but he opted to utilize a dive with a minor 1.6 degree of difficulty in the final round.
Bramley earned his third medal on the strength of dives that earned awards of 75-plus in rounds 1, 4 and 5. But he too missed his final dive and the list-low score of 44.8 kept the junior from overtaking Ohio State's Jacob Siler for silver.
Prior to Loschiavo and Bramley both finishing on the podium in 2019, the last time Purdue had two student-athletes medal in the same event at Big Tens was 2015 when Steele Johnson and Nate Cox won silver and bronze on the tower. Boudia paired with teammates J.P. Perez and Colturi to accomplish the feat multiple times from 2009 to 2011.
Loschiavo was also the first Purdue diver since Boudia in 2009 to win a Big Ten title at home.
The team points earned by the men's divers this week will be added to the scores of their swimming teammates as the Big Ten Championships continue this coming week in Columbus.
Meanwhile, the divers return to action Sunday, March 7 when they begin competition at the NCAA Zone C Championships. The NCAA Championships qualifier is slated to be held in Lexington, Kentucky, again.
2021 Big Ten Diving Championships / Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center / West Lafayette, Ind.
Saturday, Feb. 27
Purdue's Divers Competing
* – Purdue Season-Best Score
^ – Personal Season-Best Score
(Z) – NCAA Zone Qualifying Score
Men's Platform (59 Points)
Brandon Loschiavo, 459.30* (Z, Prelim Score) – Big Ten Champion (32 Points)
Ben Bramley, 409.35^ (Z) – Finished 3rd in Championship Final (27 Points)
Women's 1-Meter (34 Points)
Emily Bretscher, 295.55 (Z) – Won Consolation Final (20 Points)
Maycey Vieta, 281.50^ (Z) – Finished 5th in Consolation Final (14 Points)
Maggie Merriman, 240.75 – Finished 30th in Prelims
Ben Bramley claimed the bronze on the tower, becoming just the fifth Purdue diver to medal at Big Tens in three consecutive seasons. Loschiavo and Bramley also won gold and bronze in 2019.
Loschiavo's victory marked the seventh consecutive season that the Boilermakers have won a Big Ten title on the men's half of the Big Ten Championships, a streak that dates back to Lyam Dias' victory in the 200 breaststroke at the 2015 championships.
Emily Bretscher was victorious in the 1-meter consolation final. She finished among the top 10 in all three diving events for the second year in a row. Maycey Vieta joined Bretscher in the consolation final, scoring in all three events for the second year in a row.
| SATURDAY'S MEDALISTS AT THE BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS | |
| Women's 1-Meter Gold: Abigail Knapton (Nebraska), 339.15 Silver: Anne Fowler (Indiana), 326.40 Bronze: Sara Troyer (Nebraska), 319.35 |
Men's Platform Gold: Brandon Loschiavo (Purdue), 458.15 Silver: Jacob Siler (Ohio State), 416.25 Bronze: Ben Bramley (Purdue), 409.35 |
| Women's Diver of the Championships Abigail Knapton (Nebraska) |
Men's co-Diver of the Championships Andrew Capobianco (Indiana) Joseph Canova (Ohio State) |
Loschiavo became just the fourth men's diver since the event was added to the championship meet in 1988 to win three Big Ten titles on the platform.
3-TIME BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS IN PLATFORM DIVING
• Minnesota's P.J. Bogart (1993-95)
• Michigan's Jason Coben (2002-04)
• Purdue's David Boudia (2009-11)
• Purdue's Brandon Loschiavo (2018-19, 2021)
PURDUE DIVERS TO MEDAL AT BIG TENS IN 3 CONSECUTIVE SEASONS
• Carrie McCambridge (2004-06)
• David Colturi (2008-10)
• David Boudia (2009-11)
• MacKenzie Tweardy (2013-15)
• Ben Bramley (2019-21)
Loschiavo's 41-point victory was easily the largest of any of the six championship finals contested this week. It would have been even more decisive, but he missed his final dive and it produced a list-low award of 42.55. Thankfully, he had essentially clinched the Big Ten title with a 97.2 on a back 2 ½ twister in round 5, averaging a score of 83.12 over the first five rounds.
Loschiavo won the preliminary round by 71 points over Bramley in second place and his list score of 459.30 likely could have surpassed the 500-point mark, but he opted to utilize a dive with a minor 1.6 degree of difficulty in the final round.
Bramley earned his third medal on the strength of dives that earned awards of 75-plus in rounds 1, 4 and 5. But he too missed his final dive and the list-low score of 44.8 kept the junior from overtaking Ohio State's Jacob Siler for silver.
Prior to Loschiavo and Bramley both finishing on the podium in 2019, the last time Purdue had two student-athletes medal in the same event at Big Tens was 2015 when Steele Johnson and Nate Cox won silver and bronze on the tower. Boudia paired with teammates J.P. Perez and Colturi to accomplish the feat multiple times from 2009 to 2011.
Loschiavo was also the first Purdue diver since Boudia in 2009 to win a Big Ten title at home.
The team points earned by the men's divers this week will be added to the scores of their swimming teammates as the Big Ten Championships continue this coming week in Columbus.
Meanwhile, the divers return to action Sunday, March 7 when they begin competition at the NCAA Zone C Championships. The NCAA Championships qualifier is slated to be held in Lexington, Kentucky, again.
2021 Big Ten Diving Championships / Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center / West Lafayette, Ind.
Saturday, Feb. 27
Purdue's Divers Competing
* – Purdue Season-Best Score
^ – Personal Season-Best Score
(Z) – NCAA Zone Qualifying Score
Men's Platform (59 Points)
Brandon Loschiavo, 459.30* (Z, Prelim Score) – Big Ten Champion (32 Points)
Ben Bramley, 409.35^ (Z) – Finished 3rd in Championship Final (27 Points)
Women's 1-Meter (34 Points)
Emily Bretscher, 295.55 (Z) – Won Consolation Final (20 Points)
Maycey Vieta, 281.50^ (Z) – Finished 5th in Consolation Final (14 Points)
Maggie Merriman, 240.75 – Finished 30th in Prelims