LEXINGTON, Ky. – Purdue divers Emily Bretscher, Greg Duncan and Brandon Loschiavo all finished among the top five in their springboard event Sunday to qualify for the NCAA Championships on the first day of the Zone C Diving Championships.
Bretscher finished third among a field of 28 competitors in women's 1-meter. Duncan and Loschiavo placed 4-5 among a field of 19 entries. Divers had to finish among the top seven in Sunday's events to auto-qualify for the NCAA Championships. By auto-qualifying Sunday, Bretscher, Duncan and Loschiavo now only need to be top 12 in their other events at Zones to add those events to their schedules at NCAAs.
Loschiavo joined Casey Matthews (2009-14) and Joe Cifelli (2016-19) as Purdue divers to be four-year NCAAs qualifiers.
Duncan is now a four-year qualifier as well. Along with his All-American season for the Boilermakers in 2019, he competed at the national championship meet for North Carolina in 2018. Last year, he had already finished among the top seven on 3-meter at Zones (and thus qualified for NCAAs) when the shutdown was issued due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Bretscher qualified for NCAAs for the third time. She was in the 1-meter final at Zones last year when the meet was shut down. She has made plans to return next season as a fifth-year senior and thus could join Matthews, Cifelli and Loschiavo on the four-year qualifier list.
Duncan improved on his prelim score by 27.75 points to climb from ninth place after the prelim to fourth place overall as scores carry over at Zones. In the final, he executed the top-scoring dives among the field in rounds 2, 5 and 6 – 80.5, 72.85 and 78.2.
Loschiavo got off to a strong start, with scores in rounds 2, 3 and 5 of the prelim that were all among the top five in the 19-diver field. After not even competing on 3-meter at championship meets during the 2018 and 2019 seasons, this year he has now been a championship finalist at Big Tens and qualified for NCAAs in the event.
Bretscher's consistency again propelled her to another top-flight finish. Her first and final dives of the prelim produced the No. 2 scores (49.4, 52.8) among the field in those rounds. She moved up from fifth place in the prelim as she improved on prelim score by 5.9 points.
The NCAA Zone C Championship continue Monday with the women on 3-meter and the men on the platform. Prelims begin at 10:30 a.m. and are being streamed live on Vimeo.
PURDUE AT ZONE C CHAMPIONSHIPS – SUNDAY'S EVENTS
Women's 1-Meter
Emily Bretscher, 568.00 (281.05 Prelim, 286.95 Final) – Finished 3rd; NCAAs Qualifier
Men's 3-Meter
Greg Duncan, 770.45 (371.35 Prelim, 399.10 Final) – Finished 4th; NCAAs Qualifier
Brandon Loschiavo, 755.50 (387.40 Prelim, 368.10 Final) – Finished 5th; NCAAs Qualifier
AUTOMATIC QUALIFYING SPOTS TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS FROM ZONE C
Top 12 in an event also qualify for NCAAs if he or she has already auto-qualified
1-Meter - Women: 7 // Men: 7
3-Meter - Women: 6 // Men: 7
Platform - Women: 10 // Men: 10
PURDUE'S REMAINING DAILY SCHEDULES AT ZONES
Monday
Women's 3-Meter: Emily Bretscher
Men's Platform: Ben Bramley, Brandon Loschiavo
Tuesday
Women's Platform: Emily Bretscher, Maggie Merriman, Maycey Vieta
Men's 1-Meter: Greg Duncan
Bretscher finished third among a field of 28 competitors in women's 1-meter. Duncan and Loschiavo placed 4-5 among a field of 19 entries. Divers had to finish among the top seven in Sunday's events to auto-qualify for the NCAA Championships. By auto-qualifying Sunday, Bretscher, Duncan and Loschiavo now only need to be top 12 in their other events at Zones to add those events to their schedules at NCAAs.
Loschiavo joined Casey Matthews (2009-14) and Joe Cifelli (2016-19) as Purdue divers to be four-year NCAAs qualifiers.
Duncan is now a four-year qualifier as well. Along with his All-American season for the Boilermakers in 2019, he competed at the national championship meet for North Carolina in 2018. Last year, he had already finished among the top seven on 3-meter at Zones (and thus qualified for NCAAs) when the shutdown was issued due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Bretscher qualified for NCAAs for the third time. She was in the 1-meter final at Zones last year when the meet was shut down. She has made plans to return next season as a fifth-year senior and thus could join Matthews, Cifelli and Loschiavo on the four-year qualifier list.
Duncan improved on his prelim score by 27.75 points to climb from ninth place after the prelim to fourth place overall as scores carry over at Zones. In the final, he executed the top-scoring dives among the field in rounds 2, 5 and 6 – 80.5, 72.85 and 78.2.
Loschiavo got off to a strong start, with scores in rounds 2, 3 and 5 of the prelim that were all among the top five in the 19-diver field. After not even competing on 3-meter at championship meets during the 2018 and 2019 seasons, this year he has now been a championship finalist at Big Tens and qualified for NCAAs in the event.
Bretscher's consistency again propelled her to another top-flight finish. Her first and final dives of the prelim produced the No. 2 scores (49.4, 52.8) among the field in those rounds. She moved up from fifth place in the prelim as she improved on prelim score by 5.9 points.
The NCAA Zone C Championship continue Monday with the women on 3-meter and the men on the platform. Prelims begin at 10:30 a.m. and are being streamed live on Vimeo.
PURDUE AT ZONE C CHAMPIONSHIPS – SUNDAY'S EVENTS
Women's 1-Meter
Emily Bretscher, 568.00 (281.05 Prelim, 286.95 Final) – Finished 3rd; NCAAs Qualifier
Men's 3-Meter
Greg Duncan, 770.45 (371.35 Prelim, 399.10 Final) – Finished 4th; NCAAs Qualifier
Brandon Loschiavo, 755.50 (387.40 Prelim, 368.10 Final) – Finished 5th; NCAAs Qualifier
AUTOMATIC QUALIFYING SPOTS TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS FROM ZONE C
Top 12 in an event also qualify for NCAAs if he or she has already auto-qualified
1-Meter - Women: 7 // Men: 7
3-Meter - Women: 6 // Men: 7
Platform - Women: 10 // Men: 10
PURDUE'S REMAINING DAILY SCHEDULES AT ZONES
Monday
Women's 3-Meter: Emily Bretscher
Men's Platform: Ben Bramley, Brandon Loschiavo
Tuesday
Women's Platform: Emily Bretscher, Maggie Merriman, Maycey Vieta
Men's 1-Meter: Greg Duncan