MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Purdue's Jordan Rzepka ripped a 100-point dive in the sixth and final round to punctuate a career-best list score and win his first individual national title for USA Diving, claiming gold on 10-meter at Winter Nationals on Saturday.
It was the Boilermakers' second gold medal of the weeklong USA Diving Winter Nationals after alumnus Greg Duncan repeated as the champion in synchronized 3-meter with Tyler Downs on Thursday. Duncan claimed his fourth career 3-meter synchro title at a USA Diving senior nationals meet and ninth career medal overall.
Rzepka entered the final with a 12-point lead in the cumulative scoring after winning the prelim with a list score of 402.10. But Zach Cooper surged to the top of the leaderboard with consecutive 80-point dives over rounds 3 through 5 of the final. Rzepka trailed Cooper by nine points entering the sixth round and was trailing second-place Joshua Hedberg by 64 points as Rzepka readied himself for the final overall dive of the competition.
Rzepka's forward 2 ½ three-twist pike (5156B) earned all eights and nines for the total award of 100.70, making the sophomore a winner by 36.5 points. Cooper missed his last dive for a score of 43.20 and settled for bronze.
In February in the sixth round of the platform final at the Big Ten Championships, Rzepka also earned a score of 100.70 on his forward 2 ½ three-twister to claim his second silver medal of the meet. He earned a score of 70.30 on the same dive in Saturday's prelim.
Rzepka improved on his list score by 49.3 points from the prelim to the final (451.40) Saturday. He improved on his ninth-best mark in Purdue history with his performance in the final Saturday.
Rzepka had two 80-point dives in the prelim. His top score of the final going into the sixth round was an 86.40 on a back 3 ½ pike in round 3.
Rzepka was slated to compete alongside Olympian and Purdue alumnus Brandon Loschiavo in Wednesday's 10-meter synchro competition but the duo had to scratch the event duo to an injury to Loschiavo, which also kept the 2021 NCAA champion on platform sidelined Saturday.
The Boilermakers have now won 65 medals at the USA Diving Winter Nationals since the annual showcase was founded in 2010. Rzepka won his fifth career medal at a USA Diving senior nationals meet and his second gold overall after also being 10-meter synchro champion at the 2018 Winter Nationals.
The Winter Nationals conclude Sunday with the women on 10-meter and the men on 1-meter. Sophie McAfee, Maggie Merriman, Maycey Vieta and Daryn Wright are all scheduled to compete for Purdue. Wright is the defending champion at Winter Nationals; Vieta and Merriman also won medals on 10-meter last season. The prelim is set for 12:50 p.m. and the final is at 4:50 p.m.
PURDUE AT THE 2022 USA DIVING WINTER NATIONALS
Saturday, Dec. 17
Men's 10-Meter Prelim – Jordan Rzepka (402.10, 1st)
Men's 10-Meter Final – Jordan Rzepka (451.40, 853.50 Total, Gold Medalist)
Women's 3-Meter Prelim – Sophie McAfee (233.90, 16th), Jenna Sonnenberg (188.25, 30th)
Friday, Dec. 16
Men's 3-Meter Prelim – Greg Duncan (382.05, 4th), Sam Bennett (314.60, 18th)
Men's 3-Meter Final – Greg Duncan (360.05, 742.10 Total, 6th)
Thursday, Dec. 15
Men's 3-Meter Synchro – Greg Duncan (792.84 -- 382.38 Prelim, 410.46 Final; Gold Medalist)
It was the Boilermakers' second gold medal of the weeklong USA Diving Winter Nationals after alumnus Greg Duncan repeated as the champion in synchronized 3-meter with Tyler Downs on Thursday. Duncan claimed his fourth career 3-meter synchro title at a USA Diving senior nationals meet and ninth career medal overall.
Rzepka entered the final with a 12-point lead in the cumulative scoring after winning the prelim with a list score of 402.10. But Zach Cooper surged to the top of the leaderboard with consecutive 80-point dives over rounds 3 through 5 of the final. Rzepka trailed Cooper by nine points entering the sixth round and was trailing second-place Joshua Hedberg by 64 points as Rzepka readied himself for the final overall dive of the competition.
Rzepka's forward 2 ½ three-twist pike (5156B) earned all eights and nines for the total award of 100.70, making the sophomore a winner by 36.5 points. Cooper missed his last dive for a score of 43.20 and settled for bronze.
"I had one goal in mind tonight, and that was to take it one dive at a time. I usually get a little overwhelmed and think about dives I'm not doing at that moment. I feel like I did a good job with that tonight," Rzepka said. "I had a good feeling. It felt a little bit short, but when I came up and heard the cheers, I knew it was pretty solid," he added about his final dive.
In February in the sixth round of the platform final at the Big Ten Championships, Rzepka also earned a score of 100.70 on his forward 2 ½ three-twister to claim his second silver medal of the meet. He earned a score of 70.30 on the same dive in Saturday's prelim.
Rzepka improved on his list score by 49.3 points from the prelim to the final (451.40) Saturday. He improved on his ninth-best mark in Purdue history with his performance in the final Saturday.
Rzepka had two 80-point dives in the prelim. His top score of the final going into the sixth round was an 86.40 on a back 3 ½ pike in round 3.
Rzepka was slated to compete alongside Olympian and Purdue alumnus Brandon Loschiavo in Wednesday's 10-meter synchro competition but the duo had to scratch the event duo to an injury to Loschiavo, which also kept the 2021 NCAA champion on platform sidelined Saturday.
The Boilermakers have now won 65 medals at the USA Diving Winter Nationals since the annual showcase was founded in 2010. Rzepka won his fifth career medal at a USA Diving senior nationals meet and his second gold overall after also being 10-meter synchro champion at the 2018 Winter Nationals.
The Winter Nationals conclude Sunday with the women on 10-meter and the men on 1-meter. Sophie McAfee, Maggie Merriman, Maycey Vieta and Daryn Wright are all scheduled to compete for Purdue. Wright is the defending champion at Winter Nationals; Vieta and Merriman also won medals on 10-meter last season. The prelim is set for 12:50 p.m. and the final is at 4:50 p.m.
PURDUE AT THE 2022 USA DIVING WINTER NATIONALS
Saturday, Dec. 17
Men's 10-Meter Prelim – Jordan Rzepka (402.10, 1st)
Men's 10-Meter Final – Jordan Rzepka (451.40, 853.50 Total, Gold Medalist)
Women's 3-Meter Prelim – Sophie McAfee (233.90, 16th), Jenna Sonnenberg (188.25, 30th)
Friday, Dec. 16
Men's 3-Meter Prelim – Greg Duncan (382.05, 4th), Sam Bennett (314.60, 18th)
Men's 3-Meter Final – Greg Duncan (360.05, 742.10 Total, 6th)
Thursday, Dec. 15
Men's 3-Meter Synchro – Greg Duncan (792.84 -- 382.38 Prelim, 410.46 Final; Gold Medalist)