Season Recap: Diving Medals at Big Tens, Merriman's Top 5 at NCAAs Highlight CampaignSeason Recap: Diving Medals at Big Tens, Merriman's Top 5 at NCAAs Highlight Campaign

Season Recap: Diving Medals at Big Tens, Merriman's Top 5 at NCAAs Highlight Campaign

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Maggie Merriman's second career top-five finish on the tower at the NCAA Championships and a 100-point showing in the same event at the Big Ten Championships highlighted Purdue women's swimming & diving's 2021-22 season.

Maycey Vieta and Merriman teamed up for another 2-3 finish on the platform at Big Tens after also accomplishing the feat in 2020. They were joined in the championship final by Sophie McAfee and Emily (Bretscher) Pfeiffer.

Season Recaps: 2010 / 2011 / 2012 / 2013 / 2014 / 2015 / 2016 / 2017 / 2018 / 2019 / 2020 / 2021

McAfee finished among the top 10 in all three diving events in her debut at Big Tens and went on to qualify for the NCAA Championships in all three events as one of 20 divers to accomplish the feat this season. With a pair of consolation final victories at Big Tens, McAfee is believed to be just the second Boilermaker since 2002 to accomplish that feat.

Also at Big Tens, Hannah Hill eclipsed the Purdue freshman record in the 50 freestyle (22.88) in both the individual event and on the leadoff leg of the 200 free relay (22.76). Going back to the fall, she lowered the program's first-year benchmark in the event by 0.3 tenths of a second as the first freshman to break 23 seconds.

Pfeiffer competed in her fifth consecutive platform championship final at Big Tens and was also a championship finalist on 1-meter this year, closing out her career at Big Tens as a 10-time qualifier for championship finals. The three-time Big Ten medalist accounted for 300 team points over her five years, a team record that has the potential to stand for a long time.

Jenna Sonneberg joined McAfee as Boilermakers to score in all three of her individual events in her debut at Big Tens. Sonnenberg also earned a trip to Atlanta for NCAAs, qualifying on 3-meter.

Merriman accounted for 14 points with her All-American performance on the tower, helping Purdue finish in 30th place in the team scoring at the national championship meet. The Boilermakers have had an All-American diver in 17 of the last 18 years dating back to 2004. Excluding the unique circumstances of the 2020 campaign, Merriman is Purdue's fourth female diver to be a full-fledged (top-8 finish) All-American in the same event in consecutive seasons. She joined Carrie McCambridge (1-meter and platform, 2005-06), Michelle Cabassol (3-meter, 2013-14) and Lexi Vincent (platform, 2017-18) as the Boilermakers to accomplish the feat.

Lindsay Turner (1:57.93 in 200 fly) and Abby Harter (1:57.01 in 200 back) moved into the top five in program history during the final session of the Big Ten Championships. They each scored in both the 100 and 200 events. Turner will enter her senior season with an opportunity to be a four-year scorer at Big Tens. Masy Folcik scored in both breaststroke events for the second year in a row and was the team's top scorer among the swimmers.

Purdue had at least one member of each academic class score in an individual event at Big Tens. Led by two-event scorer Madeline Greaves, who joined Turner in the B final of the 200 butterfly, five true freshmen scored for the Boilermakers. Maggie Love won the C final of the 100 breaststroke while cracking the program's all-time top 10 in the event.

CAREER BESTS TO JOIN RECORD BOOK
Maycey Vieta – 3rd in Platform Diving (349.50)
Abby Harter – 4th in 200 Back (1:57.01)
Lindsay Turner – 4th in 200 Fly (1:57.93
Hannah Hill – 6th in 50 Free (22.76)
Abby Harter – 6th in 100 Back (54.12)
Maggie Merriman – 8th in Platform Diving (324.00)
Maggie Love – 8th in 100 Breast (1:01.16)
400 Medley Relay Team – 9th (3:39.44)
…Harter, Folcik, Turner, Hill
200 Medley Relay Team – 10th (1:39.75)
…Hill, Folcik, Moon, Love
Kat Mueller – 12th in 100 Back (54.93)
Sophie McAfee – 13th in Platform Diving (294.75)
Madeline Greaves – 14th in 200 Fly (1:59.96)
Sophie McAfee – 14th in 3-Meter Diving (338.35)
Kat Mueller – 15th in 100 Fly (54.70)

The Purdue divers have won a medal on platform at Big Tens for five consecutive years dating back to 2018. Prior to 2020, the Boilermakers had not had two student-athletes medal in the same event since 2014.

Merriman (USA) and Vieta (Puerto Rico) are also slated to compete at the FINA World Championships this summer after they both medaled at the USA Diving Winter Nationals in December.

The Boilermakers had 25 Academic All-Big Ten honorees for the second year in a row, matching the fourth most in program history. They've built a 3.53 cumulative team GPA through the end of the 2022 spring semester thanks to a streak of 10 consecutive semester with a mark of at least 3.40. Individual GPAs of 3.5-plus were also numerous – 23 for the fall semester and 24 in the spring.

Purdue will bid adieu to a group of dedicated seniors but is slated to return the core of the team for the 2022-23 season. Merriman is also projected to return for a fifth year, exercising an eligibility extension granted by the NCAA in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

ALL-AMERICAN
Maggie Merriman – Platform Diving

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS QUALIFIERS
Sophie McAfee – 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform Diving
Jenna Sonnenberg – 3-Meter Diving
Maggie Merriman – Platform Diving
Maycey Vieta – Platform Diving

USA DIVING WINTER NATIONALS MEDALISTS
Maycey Vieta – Silver on 10-Meter
Maggie Merriman – Bronze on 10-Meter

BIG TEN MEDALISTS
Maycey Vieta – Silver in Platform Diving, Second Team All-Big Ten
Maggie Merriman – Bronze in Platform Diving

SCORED IN ALL 3 INDIVIDUAL EVENTS AT BIG TENS
Sophie McAfee – 65 Points
Jenna Sonnenberg – 35 Points

FRESHMAN RECORD
100 Free – Hannah Hill, 22.76

CSCAA 100 GREATEST COACHES OF LAST 100 YEARS
• Adam Soldati

BIG TEN SPORTSMANSHIP HONOREE
Elissa Haake

TEAM GPAs
Fall Semester: 3.46
Spring Semester: 3.50
Cumulative GPA: 3.53

FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS QUALIFIERS
Maggie Merriman – for USA
Maycey Vieta – for Puerto Rico

ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN (3.0+ GPA)
Claire Abbasse
Kendra Bowen
Masy Folcik
Elissa Haake
Abby Harter
Belle Hinshaw
Maddi Johnson
McKenna Jule
Sylvia Kobylak
Maggie Merriman
Kat Mueller
Emily (Bretscher) Pfeiffer
Hayley Pike
Angelina Rossi
Kate Saczawa
Kali Sayovitz
Kendal Schreder
Evie Sierra
Jenna Sonnenberg
Lindsay Turner
Erin Verbrugge
Maycey Vieta
Leanna Wall
Tessa Wrightson
Rachel Young

CSCAA FIRST TEAM SCHOLAR ALL-AMERICA (3.5+ GPA & NCAAs Qualifier)
• Sophie McAfee
• Maggie Merriman
• Jenna Sonnenberg
• Maycey Vieta

CSCAA SECOND TEAM SCHOLAR ALL-AMERICA (3.5+ GPA & B Cut/Zones Qualifier)
• Masy Folcik
• Maggie Love
• Emily (Bretscher) Pfeiffer

BIG TEN DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS (3.7+ GPA)
Kendra Bowen
Belle Hinshaw
McKenna Jule
Maggie Merriman
Kat Mueller
Emily (Bretscher) Pfeiffer
Hayley Pike
Evie Sierra
Jenna Sonnenberg
Maycey Vieta
Leanna Wall
Tessa Wrightson
Rachel Young